The most ironic thing about GRID is how many ways the game lets you get off the GRID.
What the Gran Turismo games offer in incredibly diverse car variety, they far, far less than make up for in variety. In fact, there's so little variety, it's like spending a weekend locked in a car showroom--with no food.
Right off, the small touches that make GRID special start to show up. When you put in your name, the game will present a list of names it has in its library that it can actually say. Each time I boot up, the pleasant female voice says, “Welcome to your garage, Eric.”
Everything about the presentation, in fact, is very polished. The “Floating Text” motif manages to be one of the cleanest and coolest I’ve seen in a while. The replays that allow frame-by-frame viewing are also quite cool, though I wish they would’ve allowed you to do things like follow other cars and take full control of the camera.
From a graphic standpoint, GRID stands well with Forza and PGR as a great-looking racing game. Damage is modeled well, and seeing your wheels separating from your crushed axel in slow motion is I'm not sure if gratifying is the right word here – effective. The car models aren’t quite up to the standards set by GT5 Prologue, but they’re more than passable. The interiors get as much attention as the exteriors and the vehicles look good from every angle.
Where GRID really stands out though is the variety of options available for racing. Top Speed runs, timed laps, standard lap races, downhill drift sessions, no-touch touge hill climbs, and more. The sim-arcade hybrid style takes a bit of getting used to but it feels great with the controller. I don’t know if anything will ever beat Gran Turismo with the wheel, but GRID manages a good balance that’s easy to pick up but feels real enough to be a challenge.
If you’re a fan of racing games at all, you owe it to yourself to pick up GRID – you won’t be disappointed.
Skate 2 isn’t something I’ve picked up yet – I’m not sure if I will – but the demo sure made it tempting. Thing is, I’m horrible at these games. It’s yet another case of admiration not translating into fun. I remember being in my college dorm in freshmen year, playing Tony Hawk 2 with a couple guys down the hall. One was pulling multi-million point combos, 900’ spins, and insanely long grinds. The other was doing kickflips and ollies and having the time of his life. Skate, I think, understands the skater much better than Tony Hawk Pro Skater ever has. It understands the fun of just managing an ollie or a manual. Combos are still the flavor of the day, but they’re more subtle. The controls continue to baffle and confound me, but at the same time, the personal reward for pulling off a sweet trick is greater. I’ll definitely be renting it, but a purchase is unlikely with my skill level.
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