Game:

Grid Autosport (2014)

Category:

Review

Duration: 1:09:27

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12

I'm playing GRID Autosport, a racing simulation by Codemasters. The game focuses on five racing disciplines: touring, endurance (up to 40-minute-long night races, but only eight minutes by default and no pit stops), open wheel, tuner, and street. The career mode allows you to change between each discipline at will, and you can create custom cups with all features unlocked. Online play through RaceNet features clubs and challenges, and a local split-screen mode with several party modes (destruction derby, eliminator, and checkpoint races) is also available. GRID Autosport does away with "silly" race modes like passing slow cars or random live routes, focusing on more traditional races and timed events. With a large number of vehicles in each discipline, 100 track routes spread out over 22 locations, the reintroduction of practice and qualifying sessions, and two (albeit low-resolution) cockpit views, GRID Autosport is going for a more realistic feel. The handling strikes a nice balance between sim and arcade, tending more towards the former with distinct attributes for each car class. Vehicle upgrades and assists are also available. The damage model is more responsive to running into things at high speed (but still not completely realistic), and the handy flashback feature allows you to retry the last few seconds of track action. The AI is challenging, aggressive (without spinning you out), occasionally mistake-prone, doesn't "rubber band", and adjusts behavior based on the car type. Overall, GRID Autosport is a grand improvement over GRID 2.