Demo for GRID races on to Xbox Live
by Justin McElroy 
{ May 8th 2008 at 11:30AM }
Graphically, Codemasters certainly seems to be on the way to its lofty goal. But the rubber doesn't truly meet the road, as it were, until you get your hands on the controller. As usual, we'd love for you to give the demo a spin and share your thoughts, that is if you can control your shaking hands long enough to type them out. You know. Because of all the excitement.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Go White Sox and Go other Team @ May 8th 2008 11:33AM
Will be in Thursdays PSN update.
deaftly @ May 8th 2008 11:35AM
I agree with the GT5P is boring part at least.
xFenixKnightx @ May 8th 2008 11:44AM
Ditto, hoping they arent full of shit about this game. I'm checking it out later.
PojoMofo @ May 8th 2008 11:50AM
I will be too busy with the Haze demo.
xFenixKnightx @ May 8th 2008 11:56AM
Sarcarsm, right? o_O
PojoMofo @ May 8th 2008 12:29PM
+1 to fenixknight for the correct answer!!
DWells55 @ May 8th 2008 12:46PM
Darn shame, too. I was hoping it'd be good, but the initial impressions I've heard indicate otherwise. Oh well, I'll try it out, but chances are I'll go right back to GT5P after a few minutes. And then, thirty minutes of GT5P later, I'll be frustrated with how much I suck and go play GTA4 on Live.
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 8th 2008 11:53AM
I'm ready. Codemasters showed with TOCA Race Driver 2 that they know a lot more about making realistic racing exciting than Polyphony Digital + Turn 2 (Forza) combined.
It's too bad the only supported wheel on the 360 is the awful MS Wireless Racing Wheel.
The good news is Codemasters currently uses Sony's open-source PhyreEngine (awful name) graphics engine, so this game will likely show up on PS3 where you can use just about any USB steering wheel you like, like the Logitech PS3 wheels, Momo, G25 and new GT5P wheel, plus the Fanatec Porsche wheel.
Nate @ May 8th 2008 12:58PM
Play it on the PS3... GT5P supports a TON of wheels, including all the big name third party ones, and I would imagine these guys would try to do the same for their game.
Nate @ May 8th 2008 12:59PM
I'm an idiot and didn't read the bottom half of your post..... you said it all before I replied. My bad.
Zeus.:God @ May 8th 2008 4:38PM
Turn 10...
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 8th 2008 5:23PM
You're right. It is Turn 10. My brain isn't in gear today I guess.
Noshino @ May 8th 2008 11:58AM
Justin, according to Jem, it will be on PSN today.
http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/05/08/european-psn-store-releases-for-may-8th/
Kye - Joystiq Greybeard @ May 8th 2008 12:07PM
Japanese racer + drum n bass music = :-D + X >
I really hope it's good.
t_m @ May 8th 2008 1:38PM
codemasters opened a japanese studio???
epsilon343 @ May 8th 2008 12:13PM
The game's pretty impressive actually, graphics are crazy almost to the point of being stylized, crashes are pretty brutal and the music is good. I'd like to see a little more of the customization and how it'll work with the PGR-like racing. I'll have to keep my eye on this one.
LeadBoxx @ May 8th 2008 12:22PM
This looks pretty good. Does anyone know what song that was that is playing? I can hear that is a sample of "No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age.
LOKIOLR @ May 8th 2008 12:50PM
It's No One Knows (UNKLE Remix)
Varone @ May 8th 2008 12:36PM
You have a sister site that focuses on PS3 news who already mentioned it would be in Thursday's update, and I would be quite shocked to here that nobody at joystiq actually has a PlayStation 3 when you cover all the major console news, so either say "I am not sure" before you guess at the demo being there or not, or ask a colleague or someone at PS3F instead of speaking on behalf of Joystiq as a whole and having no idea.
Snipermike @ May 8th 2008 12:54PM
Just got done playing this for a couple hours and all I can say is "WOW".The best part about this demo is its free.I thought all racing demos were $39.99 nowadays.
Nate @ May 8th 2008 1:01PM
-1 tired and old
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 8th 2008 1:37PM
I've been playing that demo a couple hours each day since it came out. It's almost as if it weren't a demo at all...
E.J. @ May 8th 2008 3:25PM
+1 too true
embassy @ May 8th 2008 12:57PM
style, excitement, gorgeous graphics?
has codemasters essentially replaced the PGR series?
im gonna miss my PGR games. :(
but i shall give this a spin anyway.
i'm a sucker for a good racing game.
embassy @ May 8th 2008 2:19PM
just played it. amazing graphics. great style/presentation.
horribly arcadey controls. rivaling NFS.
blah.
Iridium @ May 8th 2008 1:11PM
Dirt is a fantastic game. I actually think it looks better than GT5P. Gran Turismo is too clean so it actually comes off looking fake. 720p with good effects looks better than 1080p with no effects.
The only problem I have with Grid is that it looks like you will be forced into certain races. Hopefully the drift mode will work really well or the game will be terrible.
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 8th 2008 1:40PM
Do yourself a favor. Drive GT5P in the cockpit mode on Daytona (tri) oval. Notice how the sun casts a shadow of the a-pillars and it sweeps across the dash as the car goes around a circle and the sun angle changes.
If you think GT5P doesn't have effects, you're not looking very hard.
I agree DiRT looks great too. It's the first rally game to even come close to matching Rallisport Challenge 2 (an Xbox 1 game) for graphics. Why can I not play Rallisport Challenge 2 (or a sequel) on a next-gen system? Why? It's not fair.
SovietSpartan @ May 8th 2008 6:05PM
@why not the LS2LS7:
Are you on drugs? Do you wear glasses? Please load up DiRT and play it for a bit. Then hook up your Xbox (no bc for RS2 on 360) and play that for a bit. It looks horrible compared to DiRT. I'm playing HD so xbox games don't hold up anymore...
And if you really want to see how good DiRT looks, you have to see it running on a PC with AA and AF enabled. I've got it running on a Q6600 3.4ghz and a 8800gt on a 22inch monitor and this game looks fantabulous and is the best looking racing game I've seen yet.
However, I still think GT5P looks good too but its more like the perfect showcar commercial look instead of the gritty realistic "holy crap" look.
Kind of like comparing a shiny Naboo Starfighter to Luke's carbon-scored X-wing.
Okay I'm getting carried away :P
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 8th 2008 7:38PM
Why bother trying to appear resonable after starting with "are you on drugs?".
And when I speak of how DiRT looks, I'm not talking about on your PC, I'm talking about on consoles (I tried it on 360 and PS3).
If you're crapping on how Rallisport Challenge 2 looks, I have to ask, have you played it? No, it's not high-res, but it's driving game. Crap is flying by super fast, does it matter if every blade of grass isn't resolved? You're supposed to be on the road anyway.
Go check it out, it's everything you could hope for in an arcadey rally game.
thomashenwood @ May 8th 2008 2:17PM
Wow this is really fun, nice blend of arcade and realism. Want it now!
Dadidito @ May 8th 2008 2:31PM
i am buying this. Hands down. Looks fantastic and more importantly seems they have (might be mistaken by the video) the 240sx in there. One of the best drifter ever in my opinion.
jesterdom @ May 8th 2008 2:36PM
It's fun but it's annoyingly hard to get away from signs you've crashed into (stuck.) Also combo'ing is WAY! too easy
Alex S. @ May 8th 2008 2:49PM
naming your name GRID is like naming your game AIDS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_related_immune_deficiency
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 8th 2008 2:54PM
or Alex S.
nmezib @ May 8th 2008 3:34PM
pwned
john @ May 8th 2008 4:03PM
This game seems pretty fun. The graphics look a little like DiRT, but less stylized. They even have the whole 3D floating stats thing going on.
They do some interesting stuff with the camera, too. For instance in 3rd person view, when your car goes into a uncontrolled spin at a certain speed, the camera detaches a bit and lets the car do a quick 360 without spinning your view around. It took a few times for me to realize what was going on (I'm not quite used to the somewhat simmy controls, so I was skidding out a lot), but it's far less disorienting.
NOT ME @ May 8th 2008 4:18PM
yea looks solid. after playing this i see what GT and forza lacks PERSONALITY GT whats to be diva and forza is like the adopted child I forgot that stuff actually goes on with the driver in a real like your pit talking to you. after all these years of playing GT with no online the racing in that game has just gotten boring. amd maybe because there are a few more cars on the track in this game it feels more like a complete challenge not just the same ol....go faster. It also make me understand why i like forza better. I dont care what you way damage matters!!! the old bump and run ish is really old now. and say what you want about NFS but in prostreet they nailed the oversteer/understeer in that game.
Zeus.:God @ May 8th 2008 4:48PM
The funny thing is, I think this game looks better than GT5P... DiRT did- I have to play the demo, but I wouldn't be surprised.
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 8th 2008 5:28PM
Obviously, this looks very good.
GT5P is more trying to look real than real fancy, so it's not tough to make something that looks more spectacular.
Can't wait to play the demo tonight. Hope it doesn't make me do stupid drifting though.
rainking187 @ May 8th 2008 5:34PM
Plays demo...and it's just as dull and boring as pretty much every other racing game. I'll take Burnout Paradise please.
rainking187 @ May 8th 2008 5:34PM
Plays demo...and it's just as dull and boring as pretty much every other racing game. I'll take Burnout Paradise please.
schwal @ May 8th 2008 8:26PM
I hated it. To me it felt like that said "Hey, lets ignore everything everyone loved about DiRT and make it a PGR clone!"
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 8th 2008 8:54PM
Played it. As above, it drives poorly. Honestly, it just feeled like DiRT with a track pack.
It does support the G25 gated shifter (w00t), but not the clutch pedal. However, the force feedback is misprogrammed (just like in DiRT) so that the steering wheel drives itself, weaving down straights unless you clamp hard on the wheel to stop it. This makes it tough to use the gated shifter, since you have hold two hands hard to keep the wheel straight, you can't get over to the shifter. The paddles work fine though.
Also, it has the same bug as DiRT where it doesn't even center the steering wheel at the start of the race. If you let your Logitech wheel go through its calibration and then start the first race, the wheel is 90 degrees to the right at the start. I do wish to give kudos that they give the option to turn off the 900 degree wheel, which is great as no race car has over over 300 degrees of lock. GT should offer this.
As to the driving model? Well, it's basically junk. Want to touch up your attitude in mid turn? Go ahead. Want to crank in a lot more lock and hammer the gas before the apex? No sweat. Want go trailbrake? Hell, want to hammer the brakes while your car is already crossed up? Have at it. And note I had all the aids turned off except ABS.
I couldn't keep up with the other cars, because I'm used to GT5P (in professional mode) right now, and I kept slowing down BEFORE the turn in like you're supposed to. If you want to win races, you need to trailbrake like made and hammer the gas before the apex, because oddly, when you hammer the gas the car often turns in more (in an RWD car!). The style required of driving requires you do often countersteer, which is tough since the force feedback is done wrong and it's very difficult to turn the wheel outward against it.
The graphics are pretty good. If you're looking at stuff off the track, it perhaps looks better than GT5P The trees, for example, look a ton better. The track itself (including curbs and braking markers) looks a little worse and the cars look a lot worse (which isn't surprising, GT5P perhaps overemphasizes the details on the the cars).
I think I'll try again with force feedback turned off, and then maybe with a Dual Shock 3 instead of the wheel, but I've mostly given up.
If you've ever said that you wish you could drive a road-racing game with arcade-rally physics, have I found the game for you.
I figure Codemasters probably needs the money, so going with a more casual driving model probably makes sense. But I know I'm disappointed. This is not a follow-on to TOCA Race Driver 2 or 3, it's something else.
Unknown @ May 8th 2008 10:45PM
I tried the demo on my ps3 and logitech GT wheel
I was disapointed by the steering so went into settings
and increased the 'deadspot' some and that really helped. But I still found the steering difficult
and I think it's cause I've gotten used to GT5P
or maybe that there is just something not quite right
in the feedback? I'll try different settings and diff cars. I was impressed by the damage... you can wreck the car, crack glass.... press X to have a drivers seat view like GT5P.... I don't think they have as much detail but it's really good. after a few laps
you have some crud on the windscreen, my mirror was cracked, side window spidered. but as for the racing
I could not keep pace with the other cars because I just could not negotiate a turn very well....
I'll give it a few more tries another time.
one of the screens from the time trial says that
the top time trialers will get to compete for a new 3 series BMW.... only elible are EU residents :(.
straight away I'd say I enjoy driving GT5P better
but kinda wish that there was damage like GRID.
I'm not loving this game yet but if i can get the
stupid BMW around the track/ ON the track I'd be
having more fun.... and having to tweak the controls
so the wheel isn't swerving on it's own was kinda lame
to have to sort out.
Cosmic Gypsy @ May 9th 2008 7:54AM
"one of the screens from the time trial says that
the top time trialers will get to compete for a new 3 series BMW.... only elible are EU residents :("
There is a car on offer for U.S residents too. There are 2 time trials, one for the U.S and one for Europe (and to be honest, you yanks seem to get the better car)