GRID: Autosport (Xbox 360)

This is a very solid racer from Codemasters, which makes up for the insult to racing which was Grid 2. Realising that they had made an error, CM went back to the community, listened to the feedback (cockpit view anyone?) and implemented much of it into the final product, which, in my opinion, is certainly one of the three best racers on the PS3/360 generation. Most of the disciplines are fun to drive and different enough to be rewarding in their own right: the Endurance racing can feel a little contrived, as there is noticeable tyre degradation, but no way to pit in and strategise the race through tyre changes. Also, depending on which team you decide to race for, the cars can be extremely unbalanced. For example in the Tuner section, you can have a car which dominates all sections in the first four races, but then have a vehicle which is practically undriveable for the remainder which puts pay to the championship. Unlocking the special events can also seem like grind, as you must achieve proficiency in all disciplines to progress, but if you've played any of the GT or Forza series you'll be well conditioned to this. All in all, this is a good racer which will scratch the itch until the awesome Project Cars arrives in November 2014.

Firstly, Grid AS is not Forza 4or 5, so please people don't start directly comparing every last detail about the differences. To me Forza is a 'sim' and Grid has always been more 'arcade' and is no worse for it. Good things: * Great sound * Lots of tracks * Lots of racing styles * Some old favourites like 'Demolition Derby' re-hashed * Basically good fun with decent AI to race against * Still imo the best touring car and drift racing. * City tracks, which I like. * A penalty which slows you for a few seconds if you exceed the track limits and gain advantage OK things: * Graphics... better than the original Grid but then they should be. But they are not Forza standard * Handling can seem a bit odd, though I do like that you can get it wrong and properly spin out * The difficulty setting of the AI seems a bit harsh. I would say that 'Easy' on Grid is around "Hard' on Forza. I came late to gaming and Grid was my 1st ever game and it took me months to get even half good at it. Now I know that the Grid AI are set very hard and don't feel quite so depressed at my abilities! Things that really need attention imo: * Grid 2 was a bad sick joke, it has no internal view and is similar dross to Forza Horizon. Though to be fair neither are as bad as Dirt Showdown which gave a whole new meaning to the words "Total unmitigated garbage". But in Grid AS they have learnt that lesson so you have two internal views, essentially 'nose against windscreen' and standard 'you can see the wheel'. This is all good and without an internal view I would never have bought the game. HOWEVER - the steering wheel and dash are 'fogged' out, you can just see the wheel move and just make out the outline of the clocks but that's it - why? I've tried every setting and nothing seems to change it. It cannot be to save computing power because in Forza you have easily 30% more detail with shadows etc and a full set of instruments that work. In Forza even the clock in most cars has the correct time. So no working visible clocks in Grid AS can only be a 'saving money on coding' action and frankly it is very poor. * No working mirrors - again there is no reason for this apart from cutting out on the coding as far as I can see. Instead you get irritating as hell 'car close arrows' which so far I can't seem to turn off * You have a garage of cars in the game, you can earn points to buy cars - but you can only use those cars on-line...why? That's ridiculous. I suspect that a large proportion of people if not a majority do not play 'on-line', I personally hate 'on-line' it is always full of idiots. * Fixed liveries, you only get a choice of maybe 4 or 5 that they provide which is just dull. You can create your own livery if you have a 'club' but you have to race on-line to use it...why? In Forza you can use the livery you made off-line. For example with Forza 4 I have been playing it religiously ever since it came out, but often that is making a livery up or taking pictures, not necessarily racing. That is just one of the geniuses of Forza 4 and a trick which Grid and games such as WRC completely miss to their detriment imo. * The garage from Grid which was fantastic is gone to be replaced by... a pretty blank screen with silly little pictures as you go through the menus. Why? For instance when you're choosing your track the picture you get is the size of a postage stamp - again, why? The whole interface is very dark, uninviting, not very clever nor intuitive imo. Overall, Grid AS is a really, really good game. I pre-ordered it because I loved Grid and this seemed to be Grid reborn and it is exactly that. But it is spoilt by some real silliness like the fogged out dash and the awful interface... top tip boys and girls, internal view, full interior, working clocks and mirrors is a BASIC in any decent driving game be that arcade or sim. *Update - It really is a great game but Codemaster's do some really odd things. On my the RaceNet.com page in the news it says "Go to Gridgame.com to buy the AutoSport season pass and get the DLC to complete the game!". So I did and no sign of anything. I then emailed CM at head office to be told there is no DLC/Season pass available at present... what? Sort yourselves out CM...

Game was really bad i did not like this game.

The game looks worse than the first Grid. I use it with a fanatec wheel & pedals, and the usage of the manual clutch (pedal + H) is not very well supported (1 time out of 4 the game goes to Neutral, you actually have to shift much slower, thus loosing all the advantage of a manual transmission...). The cockpit view is a joke: no review mirrors! Another anoying thing: each session consists of several races. And you cannont quit (with saving) in the middle of the session. I was a huge fan of the first Grid, didn't buy Grid 2 because no cockpit view. This Grid "3" is a clear disappointment.

Great game because Ai cars rages cheat, i think they have cheat person are hack, I no happy sorry, if forum cheat will be ban soon.

Best racer on the 360 the feel and sounds are brilliant and racenet challenge every week is a superb way of staying competitive

This is excellent entretainment. A substantial improvement on previous editions.

A very solid racing game indeed. It comes highly recommended from me. Codemasters have been perfecting their racing games for many years and this one is perhaps the best since TOCA 2. Brilliant car physics for both the open wheelers and the tin-tops. A great damage engine, the graphics are the best yet in the Grid series. If you like arcade style racing and or doing your car up with shiny decals and NOS; look elsewhere. This is a serious racing game. Not as serious as R Factor but it does suit someone that is a fan of motorsport and understands the sports subtleties. For me its a good thing, but for a NFS fan it might not be so. Although there is a nod to arcade racing with the 'tuner' and 'street' classes this Grid title also gives back more to the anoraks than previous incarnations. Where the game is a real winner in the longevity stakes is the online mode. I have had some dramatic and close races online with some serious game racing competition, you are able to run nose to tail and dice to the flag. The AI are pretty good. Probably one of the best AI in a racing game although they are no match for myself of course they can fight back and hold their line. One of the things I find an issue with many racing games AI is that they are too tentative when attempting to overtake. Not shy in this game however! The Grid series was for me a little pretentious in places. Especially Grid 2 where it seemed almost every car could only driven with an annoying arcade style drifting style. Not so here. Just like real racings its all about braking, taking the apex nicely and getting the power down fast out of the corner minimising wheelspin. You can even adjust the setup so this can be done smoother although that aspect is fairly simple this is surely a good thing to everyone except a car mechanic. The handling on most codemasters racing games is very good. The rally style handling of the Colin Mcrae games really was spot on and they have always seemed to have a good grasp on that aspect of racing since. Where GTA and Forza often seem to suffer from box-like understeer or wild oversteer you can really get a nice feel for most of the vehicles in Grid. Realistic or not they are satisfying to use. You will however get more than a hint of deja vu if you have bought the previous Grid games. This is more of an update of the previous incarnations than a new game. For me though for the price you cannot argue. The game bears the name of a popular motorsport magazine and herein lies the key difference in the Grid series that makes this one stand out. The racing is a sober and realistic (without being too realistic). They have stopped trying to copy Need For Speed and actually produced something reminiscent Codemasters great racing games of old. As a bit of a purist I wasn't sure about the rewind feature, although on reflection I think its actually quite handy. Especially in a long race against the computer cars (where you would have had to restart the race on older games). There is a wide selection of cars and tracks on offer. I think this is where the game progressing from the earlier titles comes in handy, since much of the old content has simply been given a lick of paint whilst new machinery has been added on top of that. The tin tops and open wheelers both handle characteristic to their class. Such great tracks as Spa, Brands Hatch and Hockenheim are all beautifully rendered. The damage engine much like previous Grid games is very satisfying. The only game that I recall that comes close to its level of intricacy is one of the recent GTA games. You can enjoy some epic and frightiningly realistic looking shunts. Here is also where improved technology in the visual department is beneficial. The sense of speed is more tangible than ever and when you do get it very wrong you thank your lucky stars its a game and you are not inside the roll-cage! I am not a moaner and realise you don't always get what you want in life. But if I had to criticize this game I would probably say I would have liked a few more real permanent circuits (even if that meant less fictional street circuits.) Also to complete career mode you have to total every class of racing in the game. Certain classes I like and certain ones not so much so they became somewhat of a chore. I also think the endurance class was quite interesting but they missed an opportunity to put in much longer truer enduro racing with pit-stops. Pit stops were one of the reasons TOCA 2 is one of my all-time favorite games. Overall this is a game for race fans by race fans and they have done a tidy job.