It is sometimes disturbing to observe precisely how little content sequels add to the offering of their predecessors. Can you really release what is effectively a mildly rejigged experience, with a few new twists, a few coding updates, and few new graphical tweaks, and then ask the public to pay full whack for it? Apparently you can, as history has shown with an embarrassing number of games lazy enough to deceive their loyal adherents. It’s even more disturbing when I look at reviews of previous GRID titles, and realise I could copy/paste 80% or more of the text straight into this GRID Autosport review without any alterations. Of course there are various technical differences in how career works, and some other minor tweaks and modifications, but the game experience is frankly almost identical. It is true that racing games are limited in how many changes they can offer, but is the passing of time a sufficient enough reason for us to pay for the same experience all over again? For those who are new to the GRID universe, it is certainly a universe you want to take part in. It is overall one of the most polished racing experiences available today. Codemasters are not new to racing titles, so they have had many years to hone ideal car handling and physics. To the end of creating a great balance between simulation and arcade, they have done a really great job and with various difficulty tweaks to broaden the player spectrum, things can be toned up or down depending on ability. There is just one huge, glaring, ridiculous bug. There is something in the handling code that occasionally resets your button presses. So if you are driving along normally, the accelerator button that you are holding will deactivate itself, meaning you are effectively no longer pressing the button. You will therefore slow down until you realise what is happening, and will have to re-press the accelerator to speed up again. This also happens with steering. You are sliding round a corner, then the direction button will reset, meaning you stop turning, and usually make the acquaintance of a barrier or two. To ensure this wasn’t just my controller, I tried a different one, but the problem persisted. Whilst the bug doesn’t sound too game threatening, it can be absolutely devastating when it occurs at the wrong time. For instance, one race I was in an 8 minute Endurance slog, having a really close battle on advanced difficulty with the Ravenwest boys. We were jostling at the front the entire race and then with less than a minute to go, the directional key reset, and my car ploughed into the sand, followed by a barrier. That has not been a one-off situation. In total, the bug has occurred over 30 times throughout career mode, and has cost me numerous wasted hours in having to re-attempt races it has ruined. Hopefully an upcoming patch will resolve this glaring issue. You’ll also find a new or pre-owned BMW 335is for sale on Zemotor. Aside from the controls, there is the usual career mode to work your way through. There are the normal mixed array of driving disciplines, such as Open Wheel and Endurance. These focus on different aspects of driving, and add a bit of needed variety to proceedings. With the more scalable difficulty, you can create a real challenge for yourself if you turn off all the assists and shove the difficulty up to maximum. Not only will your car require the utmost precision to master, but the AI enemies will also raise their game. Speaking of AI, those pesky Ravenwest drivers are frankly automatons. Almost every single race in the entire game has the same result: both Ravenwest drivers on the podium. In challenges where you need to get a higher place on the team standings, it is hard because the earlier co-drivers are so inept, so even if you win a race, the 2nd and 3rd places are inevitably for Ravenwest. Thus tactics resort to attempting to smash them out of the race early on, knocking them to the back of the pack, and giving your team-mate a chance. Although with AI cars made of concrete, it is a bit tricky. As a matter of priority, I always try to see how human and fallible the enemy AI are. Sadly, their resemblance to real drivers is terrible. Whilst a few tussles and ‘mistakes’ are coded into their nature, the problem is when interacting with them. Hit an AI car from behind, and you will spin off the track. Hit them from the side, and you will spin off the track. Get hit from behind and…you will spin off the track. During one session of experimentation, I took a run up, and smashed at high speed into the side of an AI racer. The impact spun him a full 90 degrees, which he somehow managed to correct whilst driving over 100 mph. Meanwhile, I of course spun off the track. That’s just cheating! Where GRID Autosport really shines is in the multiplayer side of things. With the car handling mixed in with real life racers, making real life mistakes, it pushes the racing experience up near perfection. The online matchup system had a few flaws, which have been ironed out now, and the whole process is near-seamless. There are online lobbies that rotate driving disciplines, as well as giving players the opportunity to vote on the next track, plus car choices are kept on a reasonably tight leash, so that most races are balanced. GRID Autosport is not a required purchase if you own the previous title. However, it is worth a look if you are new to GRID, despite a few annoyances. I thought one experience summed up the game nicely: At the end of a very long straight, I rammed Nathan McKane so hard we both slid behind a small barrier. Nathan could get back onto the track by heading either side of this barrier but instead the dear fellow decided the best course of action was to ram directly into it. Time and again he reversed, then ploughed forwards at full speed into the barrier. I gave up trying to win the race and just watched the wretched fellow methodically destroy his car. Usually he is so smooth, so polished, so professional but every now and then, the façade cracks, and you see something broken underneath. That pretty much describes GRID Autosport as a whole. It is mostly polished and professional, but the veneer sometimes peels back to remind you that it is still just a game.
