Race Driver Grid is an amazing racing game that put's a lot of new ideas on the Racing Simulator genre.
Gameplay:
Race Driver grid is very good, it's solid and responsive. every car has is own handling and every track needs a lot of different tactics to be completed because, this game is very dynamic. Every track has is own dynamic personality, the player needs to be cautious and patient if the win is desired. Every track can change with the weather or with an simple crash. The game is very dynamic and the player get's an incredible feeling of realism that some few other racing simulator's can achieve.
Race Driver Grid really deliver's on the gameplay, the control's are responsive, every vehicle has an amazing feeling of weight on every track, every race feel's real and totally random and the A.I is strong, responsive, dynamic, furious, realistic, menacing, smart and challenging. The A.I on this game truly deliver's on every aspect, the other driver's will try everything to pull up an victory like the player would, if the A.I needs to play dirty, they will play dirty. This is an great A.I on action.
There are two last features that I need to talk about, one of them is the damage system. This one is top notch but some times buggy and annoying. Every crash is very effective and all of them look sweet, but sometimes it decides to go buggy and it might frustrates the player. The last feature that I am going to address is the replay system. This feature is not an innovation but rather more an leap forward. It's an great gameplay feature that can help the player winning the races and lower some frustrations. This mechanic can be very helpful, but also makes the game a bit easier and less challenging.
The game lacks a bit on vehicle's variation, there is an decent number of vehicles on the game, but I got the feeling that it deserved more.
Pros:
. Great and realistic driving feeling;
. Amazing, dynamic and challenging A.I;
. Great looking and very effective crash system;
. Solid and responsive control's;
. Great, stunning and dynamic design on the tracks;
Neg:
. Weak car collection;ยด
. The replay system makes the game less challenging;
. Sometimes bugs may occur, most of the time during car crashes;
Story:
The game story is simple and rather repetitive, but somehow it's solid and effective on putting the player immersed and interested on developing it's driver, completing all the race's to finish the season on the incredibly done and executed 24 Hour's Le Man race and buying new cars. There not that much more to say of the single player campaign.
Pros:
. Simple, entertaining and efficient;
. Great moments, like the 24 Hours Le Mans;
Neg:
. Somewhat repetitive;
. Might not be that interesting to some players;
Graphics:
Race Driver Grid visuals are amazing. The graphics are sharp a very detailed, every aspect of this game is filled with a lot of detail and the engine well optimized: Even till today this game is on the top of the most detailed race driver simulator's. But there are some negative aspects, sometimes the vehicle and track reflections can get really annoying and some times the asphalt doesn't have that much detail.
Pros:
. Amazing visual quality, even today;
. Great level of detail in cars and tracks;
. The engine is greatly optimized for the computer;
Neg:
. The reflection effects can sometimes get rather annoying than pretty;
. Some lack of detail in some tracks;
Soundtrack and Audio Design:
The Soundtrack on Race Driver Grid is amazing and very atmospheric for an racing game, evoking strong and desirable dreams of victory and inspiration on the game. The Audio design is also amazing and very strong. The player can feel and ear the impact sound of those high powered car engines, the sound of the burning tires curving down the tracks and also the noisy and disastrous sound of an accident, the sound design is truly terrific.
Pros:
. Amazing Soundtrack and ground breaking Audio Design;
Gameplay: 9.0
Story: 8.0
Graphics: 9.5
Soundtrack and Audio Design: 10
Final Score: 9.0 out of 10