GRID Preview - A Hybrid Racing Title for the Hardcore and Casual Fan

Written by Brandon Hofer  on August 23, 2019

Previews: GRID will keep you busy for quite a while with the plethora of content and options that will be at your fingertips.

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In addition to checking out Wasteland 3, we were also invited by Deep Silver and Codemasters to take a look at the upcoming GRID racing title. As I was going through the demo and speaking with Simon Barlow (Principal Games Designer on GRID) I was immediately impressed with what the development team at Codemasters has accomplished. They appear to have made a racing title that will reward players regardless of skill level. They wanted the game to be authentic and realistic, however, not be a slave to those two things. For example, to progress in the career and unlock new events you don’t necessarily have to win races, just complete them. For the hardcore racing fans, there will be additional rewards if you are successful and you are winning races but if you are more of a casual fan, you will still be able to progress and experience everything the game has to offer.



GRID Racing has a new vehicle handling model, inspired by the original GRID title. It balances both simulation and arcade to achieve what I described above. It is still accessible for the more casual fan, however, the hardcore fan will still have a lot to do and can really crank up the difficulty if they so choose. During my time racing, I was impressed with how some of the different classes handled. I didn’t perform so well in some of the stock races but I was able to secure first place in a race with some cars that were a bit more maneuverable. Each one was definitely different and it made me adjust on the fly to try and stay competitive. This definitely is not “one size fits all” racing.

GRID offers a lot of choices when you are going through your career. You can qualify for the finale of the GRID World Series by competing in events you want. These events include Touring, Stock, Tuner, GT, and Invitational races, and more. There is even the Fernando Alonso career thread where you will take on his team and, eventually, race against the man himself. Every victory that you earn can be taken online so that you can show off your driving prowess to the world.



As you go through races in GRID you will notice the different personalities that are in the game. GRID’s AI will battle both the player and each other to try and be the one to cross the finish line first. There are 400 AI drivers that each have variable skill levels that you will have to deal with. If you make a mistake or aggressively overtake an opponent, they might become your nemesis and will essentially match fire with fire. They will become more aggressive towards you as well and it will become a battle to see who can cross that finish line first. You can also hire a teammate to complement your driving style while developing rivalries or a Nemesis to try and challenge your skills. There were also instances where I would try and get in front of the pack (or at least in front of my teammate on the track) and then if they were loyal to me I could tell them to drive defensively and try to hold other racers back to help make sure I emerged victoriously. Just because I asked my teammate to do that though doesn’t mean he will do it so you need to be prepared for anything and loyalty is one of those traits you will need to consider when you are building your team.

To kind of build on what I just mentioned above, GRID also has a “race choreographer” that you will have to contend with This race choreographer creates dynamic AI events based on what is going on. There might be wheel-to-wheel racing battles, spins, flips, mechanical damage and more during a race. Other factors in the race obviously include street and/or circuit racing, multiple car classes, day and night racing, dry and wet road surfaces, and more to really test out your skill and reflexes as you try to leave everyone behind and get to that finish line.



GRID will feature racing locations from around the world. You can race through Asia, USA, and Europe through four cities and eight circuits across eight countries with a total of 80+ routes to race. Some of these will include Zejiang, China in a circuit race, Okutama, Japan in a point to point race, Brands Hatch, UK in a circuit race, San Francisco, USA in a street track and much more. In addition to all of that there is obviously the multiplayer component to GRID as well. With multiplayer you can race the cars you want on the tracks you want to try and create your ideal, multi-race event and then challenge your friends.



As I mentioned up above Fernando Alonso has been heavily involved with GRID. He is the race consultant that has advised the development team on handling and the art of wheel racing. Fernando and his esports team, FA Racing Esports also feature in the game as part of the 400 AI players.

GRID is currently slated to be released on October 8th for the Ultimate Edition and October 11th for the Standard Edition. Take a look at the trailer below and then tell us what you think about GRID. Will you be picking it up when it arrives in stores?