Codemaster's Grid 2

[Teal]

Also there is no cockpit cam, so I'm frankly surprised PK would be interested in the game. Maybe it's the IndyCar tie-in.

I enjoy GRID and still play it. Plus I'm getting a free copy of GRID 2.

Bastard.

[J_Cauthen]

I got an e-mail from Gamefly informing me that my rental copy of Grid 2 was mailed Saturday. I'm curious about the game, but not really all that stoked for it. I'm not sure the hood view is going to get the job done, but I'll give it a go. I watched a video of some of the live stream online multiplayer that Codemaster's ran on the 23rd and wasn't terrible impressed with what I saw. The were developers racing each other using the chase view, which I think shows the game in its worst possible light, with the "sawing" center pivot steering. It's one of those games that I'm not going to have a clue about until I get my hands on it.

[DChaps]

I will be picking this up against my better judgement mainly because I can get it for $9.99 through GameStop's Trade 2 Deal: http://www.gamestop.com/trade2 - getting rid of Tiger Woods 14, biggest disappointment of all my 360 purchases, bar none. (at least I didn't buy over $100 worth of DLC like I did with TW13).

[XXXIV]

I just remembered the only multiplayer race I have won online was with a bunch of you girls at Lemans in Grid.

I think I will get it afterall. Maybe?

[Rodster]

I'm now glad I decided to wait. I read some of the reviews that are starting to come in and the verdict is weird handling, and inconsistent AI especially when racing in narrow tracks. Like every other racer that mixes sim and arcade, the handling gets more predictable as you progress.

[GB_Simo]

Am I right in thinking that there are only 5 real-world tracks and that there's no way I can drive definitive versions of them all without a load of day one DLC? I can't see a way of getting Indy oval, Brands Hatch GP and Yas Marina GP in the same package otherwise. Not a fan of that, to be honest, particularly since it probably means you won't see those tracks in the career mode.

I'm pretty much where Zep is with this one. I very much want to like it, but there are so many things - the reports of skittish handling, the track situation, the Live Routes that I liked in Split/Second but can't quite get my head around in a sim-cade setting - I find it hard to enthuse over. Looking forward to seeing what you all think of it, though.

[Zeppo]

I watched the gametrailers review, and what clinches it for me is the confirmation that the online mode is exactly antithetical to what we are all about here at dsp. In grid 2, you have a small number of cars available to you at the start and must unlock the rest of the vehicles bit by bit by leveling up. And since online mode is completely separate from offline mode, nothing you do offline will help you earn more stuff to play with online. And apparently leveling up online is a very slow progression.

Does everyone remember how we bitched and moaned about one of the ToCAs having a similar set of limitations for online racing? Only to see a patch eventually released that allowed us to behave like adults, able to decide for ourselves what cars to drive on what track when we joined each other online, no matter how little spare time any individual among us had to grind away and level up?

It just rubs me very much the wrong way. Not to mention throughout the entire review I didn't see one image of an open wheeled car of any kind. And I didn't even realize what Adam posted about how few real tracks there are in the game.

[Macca00]

Probably in the minority but I played about an hour on the PC this morning and had a blast. Very arcadey but a lot of fun nonetheless and very nice visuals.

[Zeppo]

Probably in the minority but I played about an hour on the PC this morning and had a blast. Very arcadey but a lot of fun nonetheless and very nice visuals.

I bet it's fun as hell single player, at least for a while. I'm just absurdly bitter that they refuse to make an updated toca 3 type game so I let my disappointment get the best of me with the greatest of ease.

I'm curious to hear how PK finds it, since for him it'll be a no-expectations, no-pressure kind of thing since he got the game gratis.

[pk500]

Probably in the minority but I played about an hour on the PC this morning and had a blast. Very arcadey but a lot of fun nonetheless and very nice visuals.

I bet it's fun as hell single player, at least for a while. I'm just absurdly bitter that they refuse to make an updated toca 3 type game so I let my disappointment get the best of me with the greatest of ease.

I'm curious to hear how PK finds it, since for him it'll be a no-expectations, no-pressure kind of thing since he got the game gratis.

Still don't have my copy yet. Might be awhile, as it must be shipped to me when it arrives in Indy.

[TCrouch]

Not nearly as bad as the reviews are saying.

[DChaps]

Not nearly as bad as the reviews are saying.

Wait a minute. I thought I saw a much more detailed post with an awesome screenshot earlier. I went ahead and picked this up for the 360, so I will try to post some impressions tonight.

[Macca00]

Granted, only put in 2 hrs but those reviewers are crazy - this game is a really, really fun quasi-arcade style racer. By quasi-arcade I mean it's not like Ridge Racer but it's not iRacing either. In fact, the handling model reminds me a lot of Dirt 3 - not a sim but a lot of fun nonetheless. Looks good on the PC but I think Dirt 3 looks better, screenshot quality is a bit crap because I didn't use FRAPS (just the garbage Steam capture).

[Fshguy]

Any chance for a regular game night on this one? Been a long time... I know Mix picked this one up too.

[J_Cauthen]

I've played it a couple of hours now. I really miss the cockpit view because they did such a great job with it in the original Grid. I guess the hood view is better than no sense of the car's space at all. As expected, I suck with the thumbstick in this game. I still don't have my Fanatec Club Sport Pedals fixed yet, so I gave my Microsoft Speed Wheel a try. I finally found some advanced wheel settings that work pretty good with it (for me anyway) and I was able to compete with the AI cars in medium.

It's difficult to say at this point how this game will pan out. It really is gorgeous, but it might be too heavily tilted toward the arcade side to be more than a short lived fascination. I've only had the chance to drive three different cars so far and I think that's giving me a limited slice of the game. It would be unfair for me to "tjung it" the way the game is built. I'll get my money's worth out of it as a rental at the very least.

[Spooky]

It would be unfair for me to "tjung it" the way the game is built.

Love that this saying is still utilized.

[J_Cauthen]

Love that this saying is still utilized.

It is the man's legacy to Internet foruming

[DChaps]

Does anyone have any tips for how to dial in the controller settings for the original MS Force Feedback Wheel for 360? I have tried the deadzone at everything from 0%-30% and the linearity from 1-5 and nothing is giving me an actually good feeling connection to the car on screen. With a regular controller this game is near impossible for me to keep the car in a straight line. Also, not that I really had any expectations of sim realism for this game, but similar to Need For Speed Shift 1/2, the real world tracks are in some cases barely recognizable with extra stands, structures, flags, banners, signs, bridges, crowds, etc. Not a big deal to the audience they are trying to reach, but it bugs me a little nonetheless. Mainly just like Zeppo alluded to: I know the game is not supposed to be TOCA 4, but it makes me long for a next gen game that would give us anything remotely resembling that.

[J_Cauthen]

Does anyone have any tips for how to dial in the controller settings for the original MS Force Feedback Wheel for 360? I have tried the deadzone at everything from 0%-30% and the linearity from 1-5 and nothing is giving me an actually good feeling connection to the car on screen.

My MS force feedback wheel is broken, as are the Club Sport Pedals for my Fanatec GT3. I'm using the Microsoft Speed Wheel with Grid 2, and I'm having much better luck holding a line and keeping the car straight using it than the stock controller. I have my Advanced Wheel Settings set at Linearity - 1, Saturation - 95, and Dead Zone - 0 and I'm surprised at how well that works. The problem with the Speed Wheel is that manual shifting is awkward to the point that it's a detriment for me.

I know the game is not supposed to be TOCA 4, but it makes me long for a next gen game that would give us anything remotely resembling that.

I'm glad I got the game as a rental. It's had its moments, but it's such a wreckfest. Even the AI's have no problem about rear-ending you. I get owned by the wreckers in online races, where my average finish is 8th. I always get spun out and pinned facing the wall. Others seem to bail out of wrecks and get back into the race quicker than me. I must be missing some trick. You mentioned TOCA-4, oh how I long for something that would be TOCA-4 in this generation. TOCA 3 on the XBox remains my favorite console racer of all time... still play it from time to time and it hasn't lost its luster!

[J_Cauthen]

Guess who's name I saw all over the GRID 2 leaderboards over the last four days? Does the gamertag "Mechberg T10" strike a chord with any of you? Seriously, he was on top of every Friends leaderboard the game displayed for me, while my VIP 48 hour pass was active, and I mean on top by a large margin. Good to know he's still got game with the competition

[pk500]

Finally put in two hours last night with GRID 2. Those who had misgivings and held out on buying this game are wise men.

GRID 2 is a mediocre game at best because it has no idea what it wants to be. It suffers from the syndrome of trying to please all and ending up pleasing few. Codemasters has veered this game further than ever from the spiritual roots of the TOCA Race Driver series.

For starters, the early parts of the career mode emphasize street and open-road racing. I saw no real racetracks other than a bullsh*t "test session" on a layout of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course that doesn't even exist. Otherwise, I was racing on street circuits in Chicago and Miami and open-road courses in Big Sur of California. It felt like a bad hybrid of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit and Project Gotham Racing.

The sense of speed in GRID 2 leans heavily toward the arcade side, and the handling model is almost pure arcade. There's almost never an instance in which you need to do more than tap the brakes. I saw no setup options, either.

Don't believe the reviews: This is an arcade driving game. It's not sim-cade, at least in the early stages of the career mode that I experienced last night.

Another odd quirk is the handling model among cars. I drove a RWD 1960s Mustang and a RWD 1980s or 1990s Nissan Fairlady. They handled almost exactly the same, which is ridiculous. I know both are RWD cars, but a Fairlady has a far more sophisicated suspension and weight balance than a 1960s Mustang.

I hesitate to say that the Codies simply put all drivetrain styles and horsepower ranges into one handling bin, as I only played the game two hours. But it sure felt that way last night.

The lack of a cockpit view is VERY annoying. But that's my only graphical quibble. This is a pretty, pretty, pretty game. Tons of eye candy. Solid framerate, too.

I raced online in an open server, and it was a chaotic clusterf*ck, as to be expected. Harvey Wallbanger was the most successful driver, and there was an odd amount of lag, too.

I'm very lucky I got a free copy of this game. I would have been pissed if I paid $60 for it.

GRID 2 is a regression for the series and one of the worst Codemasters driving games I've played. If you're looking for a GREAT driving game, stick with Forza Horizon. It's a far, far better, deeper and more enjoyable sim-cade game and can be purchased for $30 or $40 these days. Hell, F1 2012 absolutely destroys GRID 2 if you're looking for more of a sim.

Tidy summary: After playing GRID 2 for two hours last night, I have little to no desire to play it again. I'm already aiming my 360 joystick toward my copy of GRID on my 360 hard drive.

[Macca00]

I didn't really play the first Grid and with the way the Dirt series had been progressing I wasn't convinced that GRID would be anything really sim-like so I'm enjoying it as an arcade racer. I think it does get better the more you unlock - things improve quite a bit once you get to Europe and the special event races are fun but you're spot on about cars all handling the same. That blows. Online racing, unless you're playing with someone you know, is a cornhole cluster-f***.

On the PC I got a free copy of the first GRID for pre-ordering GRID II - PK, do you think it's worth me playing that instead?


PS If you're playing the PC you can download a patch/mod to add cockpit view. It's low res so far but should improve.

[pk500]

Macca:

I would play GRID and GRID 2 on your PC and decide which game you prefer.

GRID 2 is a poor man's version of Project Gotham. Not worth $30, let alone $60.

[Macca00]

Man, I feel like such a pleb for liking this game - I know it's arcade trash but like junk food I still find myself diggin' it. With the half-baked narrative it almost feels like a sequel to Ridge Racer 4...

[pk500]

Man, I feel like such a pleb for liking this game - I know it's arcade trash but like junk food I still find myself diggin' it. With the half-baked narrative it almost feels like a sequel to Ridge Racer 4...

Nothing wrong with liking the game, Macca. It's a fun arcade racer. But GRID 2 comes from a pedigree that has been destroyed. It's almost like Brendan Rodgers walking in the same footprints as Bill Shankly.

Well, not that bad.