This is the highly acclaimed original Codemasters Grid game released world wide in 2008. It still stacks up pretty well against modern race game releases despite being 14 years old. I also feel it has the best multi view replay of any race game I've played.
I'll be posting these one region of one tier at a time. I won't however be posting any of the Drift events, because I suck at drift, and since I play on keyboard, I don't stand much of a chance at it anyway. This is why I'm calling it highlights vs a full game walkthrough.
I'm also sticking to Career events only, with no Driver Offers, or 24 Hours of Le Mans races, the latter of which is an option at the end of each season. 24 Hours AI can see in the dark just as well as day, but what my old eyes CAN handle showcases the game well enough.
As the title mentions, this is on Extreme, the hardest difficulty. I am however using full assists, which includes Auto Transmission, ABS, Traction Control, and Stability. Without being able to feather gas and brake on keyboard, it's just too hard without them.
Some of the game's signature features are AI will lose traction and start squealing tires at times when you approach them going into turns. It can be hard to predict whether they'll recover before the turn, spin out, or slide into a wall. There's also often lots of tire smoke where there's been a spinout or a crash, making it hard at times to see a line through it. AI will also at times swerve into you or weave back and forth in front of you, but this is more likely to happen if you or AI in front of them take radical lines.
Another key feature to note with this game is the events are not always on the same tracks, and your starting position won't always be the same. In fact, your grid starting position can change just by choosing to Quit to Garage if you don't have time to finish a race. Quit to Garage WILL save your finished race progress, but you're generally put farther back in the grid in the one you're currently on upon return. I'm pretty sure track venues only change after you've completed or retired from an event though, as far as I've seen anyway.
---ARL Rookie Badge---
Lucas Oil Bay Bridge Trophy
Class - Classic Muscle
Car - Ford Mustang Boss 302
This is an event on walled off streets of San Francisco. These are the shorter San Fran tracks, without the iconic steep, stepped hills. There's still plenty of challenge in these older cars though due to them leaning when hitting curbs and unweighting in turns. I managed to do both races pretty clean, but I'd rather the AI be a bit less cautious and more worried about winning than spinning. The stepped hills tracks come later in the game, so there's plenty of that Steve McQueen Bullitt vibe for those looking to really slam pavement.
Michigan Demolition Derby
Class - Stock Car
Car - Jupiter Eagleray MK5 (fictitious)
This is a crazy figure 8 style race on tarmac with dirt jumps at the intersections. The cars are sort of jalopy stock car-like, with pretty slippery handling. At times I narrowly avoided a free haircut at the intersections, with cars flying close overhead crossways. I also had trouble at times running into DNF cars, and smacking walls head on, the latter of which made it look like I was trying to turn my ride into a compact car in the 2nd race. This was a fan favorite event of many due to the pure unpredictability and sky high fun factor.
Cobra Pro Tuned Tour
Class - Pro Tuned
Car - Nissan Skyline G-TR Z-Tune
This is an event on walled off streets of Long Beach California and Detroit Michigan. The car selection is an odd mix of everything from Japanese tuners, to American classic muscle. Since the lead AI are always in Japanese tuners though, I picked one as well. I learned the hard way you can't afford to take your time carefully picking your way through the grid, as the lead AI can be hard to catch. There's two turns however that allow passing with some sneaky slithering, so I managed to finish both races clean. Who says snakes are dirty?
Quickshift DC Challenge
Class - Touring Car
Car - Chevrolet Lacetti
This an event on streets of Washington DC. The first race is walled off and rather madcap, as you have to pass a lot of cars and the lead AI gets off the front fairly far. Plus you only have 3 laps to get in front, so there's a bit of contact going on. I also said screw it on the final lap when I caught the lead AI, choosing to take my normal route skipping across a turn curb the AI drive around, He had just prior nearly spun out anyway, so I thought I'd help him with that. The 2nd race is more park-like, with a lot of grass areas you need to avoid sliding onto. I was able to drive it much cleaner though, not that I was feeling guilty.
Dodge Motor City Cup
Class - Pro Muscle
Car - Dodge Challenger Concept
As the name implies, this is a Detroit Michigan based event, in which you can choose the Dodge Viper SRT-10, or the Dodge Challenger Concept. The Viper has a bit better top speed and acceleration, but I prefer the handling of the Challenger. This is another walled off city street event, with some tough chicanes to negotiate. There's not a lot of room to pass, but I managed both races with an acceptably minimal amount of contact, especially considering the type of cars, traffic slowing obstacles, and fairly narrow track sections.
Direzza Club Trophy
Class - Club GT
Car - TVR Tuscan Challenge
The TVR Tuscan Challenge is the only car available for this event. It has a bit of a classic Euro sports car feel, and it bounces a fair bit on curbs, and can spin unpredictably out of tight turns (at least on keyboard not being able to feather gas) . Thus it was a handful racing it on these venues, which were once again, the San Fran short tracks. With a lot of perseverance and several passing tactics tried, I finally managed to finish both races pretty clean. That isn't to say it didn't require some really next level sneaky slithering again.
Head 2 Head Classic Muscle
Class - Classic Muscle
Car - Ford Mustang Boss 302
This is the bonus event at Long Beach California that unlocks when you win all events in this tier's region. It's a one on one race against Ravenwest, where both drivers are in the Ford Mustang Boss 302. Obviously there's less stress in this event just due to not having to work your way through a grid. The AI you're up against is a bit faster, but it's really just a matter of braking a bit deeper into the first turn, and avoiding a mishap after you're free and clear.
I'll be posting these one region of one tier at a time. I won't however be posting any of the Drift events, because I suck at drift, and since I play on keyboard, I don't stand much of a chance at it anyway. This is why I'm calling it highlights vs a full game walkthrough.
I'm also sticking to Career events only, with no Driver Offers, or 24 Hours of Le Mans races, the latter of which is an option at the end of each season. 24 Hours AI can see in the dark just as well as day, but what my old eyes CAN handle showcases the game well enough.
As the title mentions, this is on Extreme, the hardest difficulty. I am however using full assists, which includes Auto Transmission, ABS, Traction Control, and Stability. Without being able to feather gas and brake on keyboard, it's just too hard without them.
Some of the game's signature features are AI will lose traction and start squealing tires at times when you approach them going into turns. It can be hard to predict whether they'll recover before the turn, spin out, or slide into a wall. There's also often lots of tire smoke where there's been a spinout or a crash, making it hard at times to see a line through it. AI will also at times swerve into you or weave back and forth in front of you, but this is more likely to happen if you or AI in front of them take radical lines.
Another key feature to note with this game is the events are not always on the same tracks, and your starting position won't always be the same. In fact, your grid starting position can change just by choosing to Quit to Garage if you don't have time to finish a race. Quit to Garage WILL save your finished race progress, but you're generally put farther back in the grid in the one you're currently on upon return. I'm pretty sure track venues only change after you've completed or retired from an event though, as far as I've seen anyway.
---ARL Rookie Badge---
Lucas Oil Bay Bridge Trophy
Class - Classic Muscle
Car - Ford Mustang Boss 302
This is an event on walled off streets of San Francisco. These are the shorter San Fran tracks, without the iconic steep, stepped hills. There's still plenty of challenge in these older cars though due to them leaning when hitting curbs and unweighting in turns. I managed to do both races pretty clean, but I'd rather the AI be a bit less cautious and more worried about winning than spinning. The stepped hills tracks come later in the game, so there's plenty of that Steve McQueen Bullitt vibe for those looking to really slam pavement.
Michigan Demolition Derby
Class - Stock Car
Car - Jupiter Eagleray MK5 (fictitious)
This is a crazy figure 8 style race on tarmac with dirt jumps at the intersections. The cars are sort of jalopy stock car-like, with pretty slippery handling. At times I narrowly avoided a free haircut at the intersections, with cars flying close overhead crossways. I also had trouble at times running into DNF cars, and smacking walls head on, the latter of which made it look like I was trying to turn my ride into a compact car in the 2nd race. This was a fan favorite event of many due to the pure unpredictability and sky high fun factor.
Cobra Pro Tuned Tour
Class - Pro Tuned
Car - Nissan Skyline G-TR Z-Tune
This is an event on walled off streets of Long Beach California and Detroit Michigan. The car selection is an odd mix of everything from Japanese tuners, to American classic muscle. Since the lead AI are always in Japanese tuners though, I picked one as well. I learned the hard way you can't afford to take your time carefully picking your way through the grid, as the lead AI can be hard to catch. There's two turns however that allow passing with some sneaky slithering, so I managed to finish both races clean. Who says snakes are dirty?
Quickshift DC Challenge
Class - Touring Car
Car - Chevrolet Lacetti
This an event on streets of Washington DC. The first race is walled off and rather madcap, as you have to pass a lot of cars and the lead AI gets off the front fairly far. Plus you only have 3 laps to get in front, so there's a bit of contact going on. I also said screw it on the final lap when I caught the lead AI, choosing to take my normal route skipping across a turn curb the AI drive around, He had just prior nearly spun out anyway, so I thought I'd help him with that. The 2nd race is more park-like, with a lot of grass areas you need to avoid sliding onto. I was able to drive it much cleaner though, not that I was feeling guilty.
Dodge Motor City Cup
Class - Pro Muscle
Car - Dodge Challenger Concept
As the name implies, this is a Detroit Michigan based event, in which you can choose the Dodge Viper SRT-10, or the Dodge Challenger Concept. The Viper has a bit better top speed and acceleration, but I prefer the handling of the Challenger. This is another walled off city street event, with some tough chicanes to negotiate. There's not a lot of room to pass, but I managed both races with an acceptably minimal amount of contact, especially considering the type of cars, traffic slowing obstacles, and fairly narrow track sections.
Direzza Club Trophy
Class - Club GT
Car - TVR Tuscan Challenge
The TVR Tuscan Challenge is the only car available for this event. It has a bit of a classic Euro sports car feel, and it bounces a fair bit on curbs, and can spin unpredictably out of tight turns (at least on keyboard not being able to feather gas) . Thus it was a handful racing it on these venues, which were once again, the San Fran short tracks. With a lot of perseverance and several passing tactics tried, I finally managed to finish both races pretty clean. That isn't to say it didn't require some really next level sneaky slithering again.
Head 2 Head Classic Muscle
Class - Classic Muscle
Car - Ford Mustang Boss 302
This is the bonus event at Long Beach California that unlocks when you win all events in this tier's region. It's a one on one race against Ravenwest, where both drivers are in the Ford Mustang Boss 302. Obviously there's less stress in this event just due to not having to work your way through a grid. The AI you're up against is a bit faster, but it's really just a matter of braking a bit deeper into the first turn, and avoiding a mishap after you're free and clear.
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