DS #2565: GRID (USA)

[JPH]

Someone goofed on the boxart just now me thinks.

jph is sorry for the goofage

fixed :I

 

[Satangel]

Nice it finally got here

I'm going to play this for a while, looks very nice.

 

[silent sniper]

DISCLAIMER:

This is an arcade racer. But, it is leaning more to the simulation side. A simulation game means that YOU MUST SLOW DOWN A LOT BEFORE TAKING A CORNER. Unlike Ridge Racer, drifting is hard. You must learn how to master the turns. Also, to help your turns, their is a imaginary "line" to follow around corners. this is called an "apex". It is the fastest way around corners.

You see, the best line to follow is the light blue one. The saying goes "slow in, fast out", meaning that you must slow down a lot, but then you can accelerate more after, gaining more than you lost by going slow in. You must find the ideal speed for each corner.

ah i needed that, i'm dumb with cars =\

 

[MagNetCZ]

Such a pity it still suffers from the framerate slowdowns and weird car collisions but other than that it got only better and seems to be a good racer overall.

 

[DrTek]

Best DS Racing Game so far!
@n00bs: learn how to drive...

 

[DjFIL]

it's funny hearing the two sides of reviews... happens every time when racing games are somewhat realistic. I really love this game, it is the best non-kart racer on the DS (mario kart is still great). I too can't wait for Trackmania DS, it should be great too. But I really hope firebrand games gets the chance to do F1 2009 on DS for Codemasters.

 

[Prime]

omg, I had to turn the sound down, the sound of the cars are AWFUL!

 

[kikoexe]

the framerate is really smooth.. if only asphalt runs like this on the DS..

this is a good game nonetheless.. a big improvement from Race Driver..

 

[Satangel]

It's indeed a great game. But what's with the sound? Big bummer IMHO, but all the rest, very good.

 

[Deleted-119707]

the gameplay is terrible imo. the graphics and gameplay is no way near NFS standards. the new need for speed undercover will be brilliant.

 

[thedicemaster]

the gameplay is terrible imo. the graphics and gameplay is no way near NFS standards. the new need for speed undercover will be brilliant.

let's hope so.
usually nfs games are good, tough they really did a bad job with most wanted DS


anyway, for me the only thing that is better than NFS prostreet in grid is the possibility to make your own tracks.

 

[DeMoN]

Very interesting, if you crash too much your car actually gets damaged and drives worse. I still think these types are games are better left to the arcades.

 

[thedicemaster]

Very interesting, if you crash too much your car actually gets damaged and drives worse. I still think these types are games are better left to the arcades.

just take a pit-stop.
fixes all damage.

 

[MagNetCZ]

Very interesting, if you crash too much your car actually gets damaged and drives worse. I still think these types are games are better left to the arcades.

just take a pit-stop.
fixes all damage.

And takes ages to get through

Rather try to completely avoid the damage.

 

[DeMoN]

Very interesting, if you crash too much your car actually gets damaged and drives worse. I still think these types are games are better left to the arcades.

just take a pit-stop.
fixes all damage.

And takes ages to get through

Rather try to completely avoid the damage.

Yeah, once I was 4th and then I became last when I used it. I guess it's best to only use it when your car is totally fucked. That one time, my car kept drifting to the left, and the max speed was insanely slow.

 

[miezu]

By far the best racing game on NDS til now.
I wonder why they made diferences in control between DS and other versions. The DS doesn't have button pressing senzors?

 

[Rayder]

I'm liking it. It's the kind of racing game I like when I want a challenge. I like racing games in general though. It was VERY helpful that they raised the viewing angle a bit to see turns better, that was a major improvement over Create & Race.

The graphics.....well, I'm not too sure what a lot of people are expecting from the DS in terms of graphics. I think they look pretty good for the DS. The damage doesn't show on the cars as you play, but the damage icons tell you how screwed up your car is, that was a slick way to add damage. It's cool that they have a full replay of the race, but since there's no physical appearance of damage on the cars, it's kinda boring to watch.

The sound....yep, they skimped on that one.....it doesn't bother me though, I usually play racing games with the sound low anyway. All that engine revving is annoying on any of them. If you set it to surround sound output, it sounds a little better. Not much, but a little. The opening title tune sounded a little trippy in the surround mode.

The options menu....surprisingly sparse compared to the PC version. I expected some watering down, but not to this extent. Maybe more menus open up or fill-out as you play through the game? I've only ran the first track so far....

Gameplay....about what I expected from a simulation-based racer when using the DS's dpad and buttons. I get the car around the track alright. Gotta work on smacking the walls to get around corners though. I'm used to the arcadey "pinball-racing" theory most DS racing games have. That don't work game like this.

We only have 3 games at this level of "simulation" for the DS right? Create & Race, GRID and NFS Pro Street? Were there any other racers on the DS that were more simulation racer than arcade? I'd be interested in checking any others out.

Most people are used to the arcadey racers, so a sim racer like this will suck to them. People used to sim racers on the PC will be limited because of the dpad and buttons as opposed analog control. Veteran gamers like myself should be able to cope with the controls pretty well, since we've played many racers with digital controls back in the day. I think the DS version of GRID found a good balance between arcade and sim play-mechanics for the DS. Makes it a unique experience.....if you got the skillz to play it.

All-in-all, I'd say GRID DS is a great game for fans of sim racers. It's about as good as it's gonna get on the DS. To expect them to squeeze much more out of the little DS is pretty noobish.

I gave it a 9 on this thread's ratings.


I'll have to check out the NFS Pro Street game.....lotta people praising it....hmm....most of the DS NFS games left A LOT to be desired as far as I was concerned. I never give them a more than a cursory glance anymore. I'll have to give Pro Street another go.

 

[Ferrariman]

I liked NFS: Prostreet....



Until the cars got WAAAAAAAAAY too touchy(Supra) . Wade me want an analog wheel.

 

[concealed identi]

That don't work game like this.

This is an awesome sentence.




I played Pro Street, it was ok. It's definitely not a simulation at all though, very arcadey. It's a competent racing game, it just doesn't stand out as particularly fun for me for some reason. I think it was all of the variety they tried to add (drag racing, drift racing, the mini game)...if they just focused on really fun races, I would have been satisfied.


I'm bummed the Burnout for DS is so terrible...I would LOVE a portable Burnout game (I don't have a PSP).

 

[ackers]

Well, I played with GRID last night and it's pretty much the same as Create & Race... just a few changes but I don't think it's a worthy upgrade for those that bought C&R.

Above ^ Burnout rocks!! But yeah, it sucked on DS

I think EA made that, not Criterion.