Standard model, but still looks and drives great.

Codemasters knows racing. They’ve been doing racing games for decades at this point, and they really have mastered their genre. Back in 2008, they brought us Race Driver: Grid that was a mix of simulation with some arcade racing feels thrown in. It was good racing game, and with Grid 2, they expanded on the franchise. It’s been 11 years since the first Grid and now it seems Codemasters wishes to reboot the franchise. While having a few shortcomings, the new game, just titled Grid, still has deep roots embedded in a fantastic playing racing game.

Grid has players taking on numerous races in different categories to make their way to the Grid World Series to become the best racer in the league. Players can assign teammatesthat can be in the races with them. These teammates can offer up help bybeing more aggressive or setting up a passing opportunity with a simple press of the D-pad. This adds another layer to the driving, but when I found myself in first place, I didn’t really worry too much about my teammate.

Platforms: XB1, PS4, PC
MSRP: $59.99
Price I’d pay: $59.99

There is a nice arrangement of cars to purchase and use here in Grid. While not as customizable as I would have liked, they did allow for fine tuning in certain aspects. If I wanted better grip around turns, I could adjust my springs. If I was going to be doing a lot of drifting on a certain track, I could adjust accordingly, but it was more of a line meter that I could move up and down with only a few options to adjust. Which is fine since Grid is not a very difficult game to begin with.

The rewind feature is back and really does help out when players make a big mistake. Sure, for the purest out there, they don’t have to use it, but when I’m doing great in a race and end up over steering slightly in the last turn, I will use that rewind in a heartbeat.

Players earn cash depending on their placement in the race, they will also gain experience points for doing certain feats during a race like drafting, passing, and keeping close proximity to other cars on the track. This experience goes towards the driver level that will unlock new paint and decal styles and other teammates to hire.

What Grid boasts in the features the most is the Nemesis System. If I were to collide with another racer too hard or too many times, they would become my nemesis. That meant they would become much more aggressive towards me and do what they could to bring me down. It only lasted for that particular race, but it was fun seeing how many enemies I could make on the track. I could even turn my own teammate into a nemesis. Maybe that just goes to show you how I actually play racing games(if you’re not first, you’re last.)

The biggest issue with Grid is the number of tracks currently in the game. After doing a series in a certain category, I was already starting to see repeated tracks. That’s not to say they aren’t great. Practically every track, real world or not, is well done and fun to race on. They also look absolutely gorgeous. In fact, Grid as a whole is a very impressive looking game, especially in 4K, and it never skips a beat. Almost zero frame drops.

But what really matters is what happens on the track, and in Grid, it is a fantastic experience. The driving and feel of each car is superb, and really gives off that simulation feel. At the same time, it also plays into the arcade aspects of the racing genre and really feels like that perfect middle ground where a reckless buffoon like me can get to race dirty and still keep up with the competition, but the simulation fans will still have a great time trying to perfect their lap times making proper adjustments to turn speeds and drafting. The moment to moment racing is very well done here and in the end, that’s what really matters.

Grid is a decent reboot. Sure, it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that some may expect and the number of tracks are a bit lackluster, but what it is missing is made up for with great handling cars and a fun race gameplay. People looking for a good racer havefound one here even with the issues it may have.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.