![]() Ultimately, all of these minor details come together to make you feel like you’re right there on the track. Image used with permission by copyright holder Sputtering exhalations are a constant reminder when your exhaust system takes a hit, and unintended weaving or downright broken steering marks a decimated steering column. Beaten-down rides don’t just look the part they sound and act like it, too. There’s a lot of visual feedback connected to damage and natural wear, with front ends crunching in and sparks flying off of tire-less rims. The cars themselves look sharp, but once again, it’s the level of depth behind the textures that wins here. Everything outside the bounds of the racetrack is similarly rich with detail, right down to the individually modeled spectators gathered to watch the action. The race tracks benefit the most from this, with responsive environments that become increasingly trashed as 16 automobiles traveling at high speeds collide with obstacles and spin into walls. These are sweet rides. There are nicer-looking racing games out there, but Grid Autosport puts a welcome emphasis on delivering smaller details. ![]() This isn’t any kind of revelation for racing games, but there’s a level of craft present here that translates to a very satisfying experience. Cars handle like they’re supposed to, and flashback gives even the most lead-footed players an opportunity to quickly and easily learn from their mistakes. That may not be a surprise given Codemasters’ deep background in the genre, but the careful balance between precision and accessibility is immediately apparent when you pick up a controller. More than anything else, the tight controls are what stand out. Each car has very different characteristics, and the pre-race rounds are just as valuable for learning the car as they are for learning the track. You stand to secure yourself a better starting position from doing well during the qualifier, and there’s also a lot of value in learning how to handle your car going into key turns. The temptation with racing games is always to dive in and get to the action, but we quickly learned that in Grid Autosport, it’s a very good idea to take advantage of the Practice and Qualifying rounds that precede each race. The flashback feature also returns, allowing you to rewind a few seconds of an offline race at the press of a button, say after a poorly executed turn. Car handling doesn’t break physics completely, but rules are bent here and there for the sake of fun. Autosport seems to strike a balance between the two. Grid leaned very heavily in the direction of simulated racing, and Grid 2 put the brakes on simulation to deliver more accessible play. In truth, advancement comes even more quickly when you take the time to really commit to a discipline, especially since there are additional XP bonuses to be had as you turn off difficulty-easing features like Steering Assist and Traction Control. ![]() In our limited time spent with Grid Autosport, there didn’t appear to be any penalty for sticking to a particular discipline. The intent is to let players focus on finding success with whatever style of racing suits them most. ![]() Your first Touring event might only have one sponsor with limited vehicle upgrade opportunities available, but complete that event and you’ll have the opportunity to work with other sponsors (and their increasingly diverse garages) in the Touring circuit. Grid 2‘s fictional World Series Racing league is gone, with the thin attempt at delivering a pre-conceived narrative replaced by player-guided progression that breaks all multi-race events up across five categories: Touring, Endurance, Open Wheel, Tuner, and Street.Įach one requires a very different approach to how you play, and each also carries its own “level” progression that informs which events are available and how much juice different sponsors brings to the table. Story/ConceptĬhoose your own racing career. The multi-discipline racing that’s always been at the heart of the Grid games gets fine-tuned in Autosport in a way that makes the game feel a bit more approachable. Quite a bit, as a recent, extended hands-on look demonstrated.
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