Play the GRID demo and win the $90,000 Ford Mustang GT-R (ends May 25th)

[HeilSvenska]

I love Codemasters, they make such fun driving games. If you've ever played Colin McRae and TOCA/DTM Driver series, you know what I'm talking about.

http://www.codemasters.com/games/uploadedimages/grid2.jpg
http://www.codemasters.com/games/uploadedimages/grid3.jpg
http://www.codemasters.com/games/uploadedimages/grid4.jpg
http://www.codemasters.com/games/uploadedimages/grid5.jpg

I think this might be the first game to feature Milan as a circuit in a racing game... or any game for that matter.



GRID™ Is all about the race- that period from lights to flag; full of tension, pressure, noise, and action.

GRID will take players to beautifully realised and dramatic race locations over three continents to compete in an unprecedented variety of racing events. Packed with the most powerful race cars – new and classic, circuit and drift – players will compete to conquer the most prestigious official race tracks and championships and then go beyond to compete in challenging city-based competitions, through to road events and urban street races.

In Europe, race gamers will compete on the greatest official tracks in prestige Marques including Aston Martin, Koenigsegg and Pagani. Iconic cities across the U.S. – including San Francisco, Washington DC and Detroit and each with their own atmosphere and events – play hosts to diverse street races. Here, high-performance V8 muscle cars set the pace in aggressive closely fought pack competitions.

In the Far East, Japanese racing culture sets the tone where night races, including Drift racing, take drivers through neon illuminated cities and to outlying mountain roads. There is also the opportunity to compete in races that operate on the fringes of legality in the back streets and industrial areas of Yokohama.

GRID is coming mid 2008 for the Xbox®360, PLAYSTATION®3 system and Games for Windows®.

[ViperASR]

I might look into that if it has some race tracks on it (not street circuits)

[acmarttin]

Mmmm.... I'll be busy playing GTA4.

But at least I'll have time to find out if it's good or not :)

[5vz-fe]

With Forza 2 and GT5P, I really don't think there's much room for this game unless it has something special (but from the looks of it, nada)

[blue8]

I hope it's similar to Forza 2 / GT5 P or even PGR4 but for the PC. There aren't any realistic racing games for the PC that I know of. Looks nice!

[HeilSvenska]

As long as it feels like TOCA Race Driver series, you'll have more fun than GT5...maybe. I thought driving physics for TOCA 2 was so much more fun than GT4 without being ridiculous. I just hope that they don't have the career mode as the only mode like TOCA, though.

[RC45]

I hope it's similar to Forza 2 / GT5 P or even PGR4 but for the PC.

This statement,


There aren't any realistic racing games for the PC that I know of. Looks nice!
...cannot logically preced this statement.

Forza2/PGR4 and even GT5 are no where near as "realistic" as the realistic PC sims. They may "look better' (subjectively)a and they may "play simpler and funner" - bu tthey ar enot more realistic ;)

...and the modern NFS PC titles do not qualify as "almost realistic".. ;)

The realistic titles are the legendary GP Legends (and derivatives), GTR (and derivatives) and rFucke.. I mean rFactor (and derivatives) etc etc.

[HeilSvenska]

The realistic titles are the legendary GP Legends (and derivatives), GTR (and derivatives) and rFucke.. I mean rFactor (and derivatives) etc etc.

Yup. And I can't say that I've ever had "fun" playing those games. They're cool and all, but can get really frustrating. NFS series is a joke, and the rest are still not realistic.

[HeilSvenska]

Trailer. They don't say much about the actual product, but still looks good.
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/30610.html

[xbeakerx]

awesome looking game...

[enzoferrari]

I'll try this out on my PC,thats 4 sure,It looks awesome,and it has the cars that I like.

[79TA]

Grid is supposed to use the same engine as Dirt so it should be pretty realistic.

[toffytofik]

Excuse me, but if we talk about realistic games:

- all that Codemasters develops (CMR, Toca) is in fact... crap. (read: arcadish).
- all the "realistic" games from PS (GT4/5, Forza) are in fact... crap (read: arcadish).
- all of the ISI and SimBin developed simulators (GPL, GTR/GTR2, Race WTCC/Race 2007, rTractor) are realistic but their physics aren't any good.

The only realistic racing simulator with great physics and tire model is on PC and that is Live For Speed. (http://www.lfs.net/) I'm surprised no one knows about it.
netKar Pro (PC) is another sim featuring good physics and tire model, but the development is on halt.
Richard Burns Rally (PC) has decent physics and by far the only real rally simulator available on the market.

[Sapetoku]

Excuse me, but if we talk about realistic games:

- all that Codemasters develops (CMR, Toca) is in fact... crap. (read: arcadish).
- all the "realistic" games from PS (GT4/5, Forza) are in fact... crap (read: arcadish).
- all of the ISI and SimBin developed simulators (GPL, GTR/GTR2, Race WTCC/Race 2007, rTractor) are realistic but their physics aren't any good.

The only realistic racing simulator with great physics and tire model is on PC and that is Live For Speed. (http://www.lfs.net/) I'm surprised no one knows about it.
netKar Pro (PC) is another sim featuring good physics and tire model, but the development is on halt.
Richard Burns Rally (PC) has decent physics and by far the only real rally simulator available on the market.

Live for Speed is indeed very very good! I'm having a hard time looking at the GT/Forza series as realistic, they're fun on a PSx or XBOX but that's it, nowhere near as good as LFS. If you have a good steering wheel, preferably with three pedal set and two spare joysticks (one for e-brake and one - preferably a vibrating one - to change gears) Live for Speed is the ultimate driving game, although Richard Burns Rally is very good as well, just another format. Another good rally game is Rally Trophy, it's abit old but still very good!
rFactor is good as well, only downside is the desperate need for add-ons if you really want to enjoy this game.
And BTW comparing PS1/2/3 or XBOX games - as I just did - to PC driving games is quite difficult and may even be pointless :)

This being said, I can't wait to play this GRID game, it does look fantastic!

[HeilSvenska]

Live for Speed eh? Well. It might sound shallow, but I like games with real life cars in them. GRID is obviously not trying to be realistic as a racing sim, but Codemasters stuff are pretty realistic-ish for an arcady game. In fact, it's probably more fun than a sim. Racing sims are awesome, but they can be very tiring (I don't think I can play any of the SimBin stuff for more than a week). I remember in Colin McRae games where you can just do insane lurid slides on dirt around corners just for fun, not realistic, but fun. I dunno. It's just me. Besides, it'll be worlds better than anything EA can cook up.

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/1808/racedrivergrid200802130np4.th.jpg (http://img229.imageshack.us/my.php?image=racedrivergrid200802130np4.jpg)

[RC45]

Excuse me, but if we talk about realistic games:

- all that Codemasters develops (CMR, Toca) is in fact... crap. (read: arcadish).
- all the "realistic" games from PS (GT4/5, Forza) are in fact... crap (read: arcadish).
- all of the ISI and SimBin developed simulators (GPL, GTR/GTR2, Race WTCC/Race 2007, rTractor) are realistic but their physics aren't any good.

The only realistic racing simulator with great physics and tire model is on PC and that is Live For Speed. (http://www.lfs.net/) I'm surprised no one knows about it.
netKar Pro (PC) is another sim featuring good physics and tire model, but the development is on halt.
Richard Burns Rally (PC) has decent physics and by far the only real rally simulator available on the market.

We all know about LFS and NKP - but as has been said, even if LFS is "real' (which its not) it is pretty stupid that after all these years theystill have crappy imaginary cars and have never bothered to take the title properly mainstream.

Sadly I paid for their product,a nd it really has not progressed much in the last 2 years at all.

RBR is no better than the IS engine based stuff sorry to say.

I do however fear that GRID will be a more "drift" than "shift" ;)

[toffytofik]

^
Imaginary cars and tracks doesn't bother majority of people playin' it anyway as long as they get the right feel of the car while racing each other online. That's the fun of LFS which made it the most popular racing sim so far.

RBR's engine isn't that good indeed, but yet it covers some basic aspects of rallying pretty decently. I mentioned it just because there's no better rally sim. If there would be, be sure i'd forgot what RBR is.

It might sound shallow, but I like games with real life cars in them. GRID is obviously not trying to be realistic as a racing sim, but Codemasters stuff are pretty realistic-ish for an arcady game. In fact, it's probably more fun than a sim. Racing sims are awesome, but they can be very tiring (I don't think I can play any of the SimBin stuff for more than a week). I remember in Colin McRae games where you can just do insane lurid slides on dirt around corners just for fun, not realistic, but fun. I dunno. It's just me. Besides, it'll be worlds better than anything EA can cook up.
Vice versa in my case. I sometimes play these racing games too, they're very appealing visually, but somehow i usually get bored before i even complete 'em. I guess i'm spoiled by simulators, lol.

Anyway, i guess that doesn't really matter what games we play untill we enjoy them and have our fun.

[HeilSvenska]

Anyway, i guess that doesn't really matter what games we play untill we enjoy them and have our fun.

In the end, yes. That is why we play games: to have fun. ;-)

I do however fear that GRID will be a more "drift" than "shift" ;)

Yeah. I was disappointed that they included drifting, but I guess when you're making a mass selling street racing game these days, you have to have it in there somehow. It'll still be fun. :-P

[acmarttin]

In the end, yes. That is why we play games: to have fun. ;-)



Yeah. I was disappointed that they included drifting, but I guess when you're making a mass selling street racing game these days, you have to have it in there somehow. It'll still be fun. :-P

I agree completely, man. If I wanted to be challenged and frustrated all the time I'd take up ballroom dancing. Most of the time when I'm on my couch playing games it's because I'm trying to wind down from my day.

[HeilSvenska]

It looks like GRID doesn't want to make things too serious, but that doesn't mean that it can't have lots of awesome features.

Here's what I've gathered so far.


Real circuits

Belgium: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
France: Circuit de la Sarthe
Germany: Nürburgring (GP-Strecke)
Spain: Circuito Permanente del Jarama
Turkey: Istanbul Park
United Kingdom: Donington Park CircuitFantasy tracks

USA

Detroit
San Francisco
Washington DCJapan

Shibuya District, Tokyo
Yokohama docks
Haruna mountain road from the Initial D film (shudders)Italy

MilanProduction cars

Dodge Challenger
Hennessey Venom
Pagani Zonda
Plymouth 'CudaRace cars

Aston Martin DBR9
BMW 320si WTCC
Chevrolet Corvette C5 Z06 Race Car (?)
Chevrolet Corvette C6R
Chevrolet Lacetti WTCC
Ferrari F430 GT
Ford Boss 302 Mustang
Koenigsegg CCGT
Lola B06/10 LMP2 Chamberlain-Synergy Motorsport (?)
Mazda 787B
Nissan 350Z drift
Nissan Silvia S15 drift
Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 drift
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (996)
Saleen S7R
Subaru Impreza driftMisc.

Chevrolet Camaro Concept
Ford Mustang GTR ConceptGameplay

EGO Engine - based on NEON engine
No customization
Car damage
Drifting - sophisticated scoring system, likened to D1 GP's.
Officially licensed 24 Heures du Mans - won't take 24hrs. (24 minutes?) Time of day rendering
Flashback - give you ability to recover from a crash by going back in time to prevent it. (?!!!?!?!!!)

[enzoferrari]

Im waiting for that game!

[rwd-freak]

I only have one problem with Live for Speed... It is so perfect, that everything else, even GTR2 feels like a cheap arcade game.

But back to topic. The screenshots look realy cool and the car list is awesome, maybe a bit short, but if every car really behaves different (and a bit more realistic than Race Driver 3), it should be enough to have much fun.

[HeilSvenska]

But back to topic. The screenshots look realy cool and the car list is awesome, maybe a bit short
It's not a complete list. ;-)

[enzoferrari]

is that an MC12 in the 3 pic???

[HeilSvenska]

Nope. S7R. Who knows, they might have one in the game.

[HeilSvenska]

I need a new computer NOW!
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/32013.html

[Pokiou]

i think the milan circut was also used in Grand Turismo 2 ???

[RC45]

I need a new computer NOW!


PS3 ;)

[79TA]

Holy cow this game looks great. Hopefully the Dirt physics engine translates well to tarmac surfaces.

[HeilSvenska]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/32539.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/32753.html

There's a rumor that the game will be locked at 30fps. If that's true, I hope that's only for the console version, and stay uncapped for the PC. :-(

YouTube
This is probably from a PC. And it looks like the replay cam programmer comes from the Michael Bay school of cinemaphotography.

But it gets Long Beach as a track!

[knigh7]

Same Company made D.I.R.T
And After I played D.I.R.T I'm definitely buying G.R.I.D.

[MidEngine4Life]

Same Company made D.I.R.T
And After I played D.I.R.T I'm definitely buying G.R.I.D.

Ditto :thumbup:

[HeilSvenska]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/33397.html

This certainly is a plus, but I've been reading bad things about it. Hopefully, that won't be the case.

[RC45]

Notice how the cars seemed to be sliding everywhere.

I think this game is going to be visually stunning, but a little too arcadey for most o fus. It may still turn out to be heaps of fun though.

[HeilSvenska]

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/7908/13285437av8.jpg

A Ford Mustang GT-R is Up for Grabs as Codemasters Launches The GRID Playable Demo

The top five players will receive an all expenses-paid trip to the GRID launch party and a chance to win the eBay Motors Mustang GT-R.
http://www.codemasters.com/press/?showarticle=11656


Technically, it'd be the only road-legal Mustang GT-R in existance.

So, how this works. Go home (unless you're home already), and download the GRID demo on your 360 (today) or PS3 (later this week). Play the eBay Motors Challenge at the San Francisco eBay Motors Muscle Cup Track, which is a time trial race. Then submit your best time here, http://community.grid-game.com/win-ebay-mustang/ Wait for them to authenticate your time, and if you're one of the top five, you get to go to San Francisco, where you'll face off against the others for the Mustang GT-R.

The GT-R, which is supposedly costs $90,000 comes with the following.

-Supercharged V8
-445hp
-Side ported exhaust system
-GT-R body
-six stage custom pearl paint
-...eBay graphics? (Surely that detracts from the value)

Anyways, the competition ends on May 25th, 2008. So, not a lot of time left.

[RC45]

Top 5 hey?

I will allow others to dive my GT-R :P

[HeilSvenska]

Top 5 hey?

I will allow others to dive my GT-R :P
Or you can always eBay it (oh the irony) and spend the extra $90,000 on the Camzilla. ;-)

[RC45]

Downloaded the demo, played one time trial, 3 corners of one race and deleted the demo.

This a visually stunning title that has an even more crappy control than PGR4.

Again, the lack of a decent steering wheel for the XB360 shines through.

This game is aimed squarely at the NFS arcade fans.

Steering with the control stick is an on/off thing, you are either at full lock or full center.

I will parlay my $5 preorder money into something else at GameStop - very dissapointed with the game.

Again, I say it is visually stunnign, with great replay camera angles and awesome smoke effects and ok sounds - but don't kid yourself, this is a "game" for the occasional player - not what I expected from Code Masters.

[HeilSvenska]

Downloaded the demo, played one time trial, 3 corners of one race and deleted the demo. ...not what I expected from Code Masters.

Worse than the TOCAs? If you've ever tried those.

[RC45]

Worse than the TOCAs? If you've ever tried those.

To me, about the same,and funny you mention the TOCA series, because I traded a pile of games for GTA4, and had kept the entire TOCA series because I remembered thembeing so good - and when I tried them out before I left for GameStop, I realised that in comparison to todays titles, TOCA sucked hehe.

But I just tossed Forza2 into the 360 to see if I was giving GRID a fair shake, and the difference between FM2 steering input and GRID is night and day.

Maybe I am being hyper critical because of how spoiled we have become, and by all means still try GRID out, but I was not impressed - its one of the most visually stunning games ever - adn rivals GT5P for the level of detail - not photrealistic, but that gritty Quake4 style "realism".

Visually its freaking awesome - control wise it was terrible (for me). Seriously, GTA4 drivng input is more controlable and progressive than GRID - the Mustang GT-R needed about 1mm of steering input to go almost full lock.

[HeilSvenska]

To me, about the same,and funny you mention the TOCA series, because I traded a pile of games for GTA4, and had kept the entire TOCA series because I remembered thembeing so good - and when I tried them out before I left for GameStop, I realised that in comparison to todays titles, TOCA sucked hehe.
A shame. That's exactly what I was worried about. I remember TOCA 2 being so fun when it was new. :-( But. I dunno. I'll try it myself one day, if anything for that Mustang.

[nthfinity]

A shame. That's exactly what I was worried about. I remember TOCA 2 being so fun when it was new. :-( But. I dunno. I'll try it myself one day, if anything for that Mustang.

I played NFS 5 (Porsche Unleashed) with my Logitech MOMO the other day.... and it's just as good as I remember.... just more blocky, cartoony graphics hehe

[HeilSvenska]

I played NFS 5 (Porsche Unleashed) with my Logitech MOMO the other day.... and it's just as good as I remember.... just more blocky, cartoony graphics hehe
:thumbup: That was a fun game. I remember playing the game as some sort of body shop owner who'd buy used cars, repair them, and resell them for way more than what I had spent on them. (very realistic even in that aspect) 40 car garage was never enough for me. :mrgreen: I remember being stuck on one of the Factory Driver missions, though...

Hopefully the game has features other than just racing to make it worth buying.

[HeilSvenska]

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/901014/race-driver-one/videos/grid_protuned_050808.html
I just watched a video featuring the Long Beach track. I know it's a fantasy track, but too many things were displaced, removed, or added. I guess Long Beach wasn't interesting enough for the programmers.

[RC45]

Well - I gave Code Masters a second chance...

downloaded the PS3 version - I cannot believe that in 2008 for a PS3 driving/racing title there is no steering wheel support!!!

Even if it is the demo of the game - there is NO excuse for not having wheel support.

The PS3 controller is a little less jerky than the XB360 controller, but still - I have had enough of "controller" only driving games.

Very poor showing for Code Masters.

Again, a visually stunning title -but no wheel support is a very poor show.

[79TA]

I watched an in car video of the game play . . . the steering wheel is VERY twitchy. I also found Long Beach's innaccurate layout (not the track, but the buildings and features themselves) to be disheartening. I'll download it as soon as finals end this week. Hopefully, it's still a fun racer.

[Vansquish]

I downloaded the demo...played it for a bit and decided it was just about the most arcadey POS that I've driven in a very long time and that I can't believe that it's been released at all...

[thiago]

:thumbup: That was a fun game. I remember playing the game as some sort of body shop owner who'd buy used cars, repair them, and resell them for way more than what I had spent on them. (very realistic even in that aspect) 40 car garage was never enough for me. :mrgreen: I remember being stuck on one of the Factory Driver missions, though...

Hopefully the game has features other than just racing to make it worth buying.

I have that game but it's back home (NFS Porsche Unleashed), in Brazil, I guess I'll have my sister mail it to me to try it on my new rig. It's one of my favorite games ever. Crazy good looking graphics for that time (late 90's). I kind of lost interest in that game after I sold my Voodoo 5 5500 to get a Geforce 4 4200 Ti. The new card didn't have as good graphics (lack of good 3dfx engine support) as the Voodoo did. The same happened with F-22 Lightning II.

I'm having a blast playing GRID on my PC with the Xbox 360 wheel at 1920x1080 and a 37" monitor.

[HeilSvenska]

^Early 2000's man. Not early 90's.

[RC45]

^Early 2000's man. Not early 90's.

No, it was late 90's.

[HeilSvenska]

No, it was late 90's.
Released in year 2000. I suggest we call it a draw. ;-):mrgreen:

[79TA]

I wouldn't mind the way Grid turned out so much if going fast didn't require an arbitrary slight drift through the corners. I kept up with the fastest lap ghost through two turns after a bit of effort and then gave up as I could just feel myself losing my Forza 2 and GTL perception.

[RC45]

Released in year 2000. I suggest we call it a draw. ;-):mrgreen:

hhhmm - I bought my first 36" monitor in late 1999 to play Porsche unleashed - while still living in the apartment, and we moved out of the apartment into a house in Jan 2000 - I had my copy before that - maybe I am remembering the demo.

[nthfinity]

I kind of lost interest in that game after I sold my Voodoo 5 5500 to get a Geforce 4 4200 Ti. The new card didn't have as good graphics (lack of good 3dfx engine support) as the Voodoo did. The same happened with F-22 Lightning II.


3dFX had created "open GL" .... and were the undisputed masters of open gl .... nvidia had open gl support witht he GeForce 4200+ however, it never ran as silk smooth as even a Voodoo 3 series.