Grid Autosport : review

Grid Autosport

" Nintendo Switch " owners are finally able to get a real-life racing and simulation game

 UK's " Codemasters ", in collaboration with " Feral Interactive's " development team, is bridging a hole in the Nintendo hybrid gaming library and introducing Grid's exciting racing game that combines home and Mobile, so how was the result ?

Codemasters has a long history in racing games and no one knows.

The company has specialized in the production of this type of games. The company was founded in 1986 but found the great success that put it on the map with the release of the game " Micro Machines ", which we have a lot of beautiful memories. The company began to specialize more and more in racing games when it started issuing chains such as the " TOCA "racing series and 

the " Colin McRae Rally " series .

The company maintained this legacy when it launched two fantastic series in the last generation, the first is the Grid racing series, a racing game that combines real-life simulation and unrealistic arcade gameplay, and the second is the Dirt racing series, both of which have achieved commercial success and public appeal.

Grid got a second part that didn't meet the aspirations of fans of the first part because of his exaggeration in the arcade style of play and abandonment of the elements of real leadership that existed in the first part, to return Codmasters to plan again and return the series to the roots through " Grid Autosport ".

The game was released on the last generation home appliances in 2014, and the PC was transferred to smartphones as well, and is finding its way to the Nintendo Switch platform .

Since this game is not entirely new we will start by talking about the advantages of this version of the game. The development team Feral Interactive has worked hard to ensure that this version of the game meets the expectations and aspirations of fans of racing games.

The game supports many control options including motor control, button control and ZR button acceleration, or even using the right analog to increase or decrease speed gradually, because the ZR and ZL buttons in the Switch Pro controller are not as gradual as other devices The game also allows the use of the " GameCube " controller, which has gradual shoulder buttons for those who are satisfied. Of course, there are also a range of driving assistance options that can be closed or changed.

Even on the graphics side, the development team has been keen to offer many options to satisfy all players. The game works with 1080p resolution in the home mode and 720p in the mobile mode, and there is a package available on the store free size 3GB to improve the models of all cars in the game , You can choose the performance mode in the game that makes it run at 60 frames to provide a truly smooth driving experience, although the frame rate drops below that number when congested and there are plenty of other cars. You can choose the graphics mode that enhances the visual experience level such as improved shadows and light reflections versus reducing the frame rate to 30 frames, and there is a phase to save the battery even, which reduces graphics significantly to extend battery life to the longest possible .

Most of the time we played was in the performance phase with 60 frames and the graphic teams were not significantly large or noticeable compared to the phase that offers better graphics and fewer frames, and in general we applaud the development team to make all these efforts for this version of the game, and even The game menus are large enough to be compatible with the mobile version, unlike many other small-line games, and even the game supports HD Rumble vibration, where you can feel the car touching the ground and move very nicely, you can increase or decrease this Vibration to the degree you see fit .

For those who don't know the game, Grid Autosport offers career mode, individual races, the possibility of creating your own competition, and many other types of races such as Drag and Time Trial.

Career development in Grid is somewhat different from other games, it does not force you to start a slow car and then step in the competition and the acquisition of better cars, nor does it impose on you the quality of the races that will play. Instead, the game offers five different types of competitions, each with several seasons, and you can finish any season and then move to seasons of other types directly. One of these is Endurance, which puts you in long distance night races, or Street, which

forces you to compete in city streets.

For the game that is distinctive in artificial intelligence and there are many different levels of challenge, Grid is a game with a variety of choices and this philosophy is evident in all aspects of the design of the game. Even the impact of a collision and damage to the car can only make it visible, and you can make it affect the performance of the car to make the experience more realistic. The game is playable even for non-professionals, there is a rewind option that returns you back in case you have a bad performance in driving and want to try again, and the game also has a bar that appears on the floor of the racetracks to guide you to the optimal path to drive, and change color between green And red to help you increase or decrease speed at turns.

Well, is the game flawless? of course no. We can say that the driving experience in the game in terms of car physics and sounds does not match the masterpieces such as Microsoft's " Forza " glittering, and the game lacks a variety of weather conditions such as rain and fog, and by mentioning weather conditions we recall one of the games that have been very much innovated in this aspect and Is "Project Gotham Racing 4" on Xbox 360.

The game fee is the best on the Nintendo Switch platform so far, those roads and buildings look absolutely beautiful ,

Car models and lighting may not look as stunning as we've seen with some of the current home appliance games like Sony's "Driveclub" for interactive entertainment, but they match and outperform the best of this genre on last-generation games with higher resolution in Home, or the perfect look in mobile mode.

This game is a beautiful technical review of the "Nintendo hybrid " platform, which is only 6 inches in size, and it is amazing that a device of this small size is able to play a game of this graphic level with the consumption of less than 15 watts of electric power!

Grid Autosport is a game that intelligently harnesses its resources and distributes them to create a gaming experience that can last hundreds of hours with the player.

Unfortunately, the game did not get online gameplay from the start, which the publisher promised to add in a later update, but even without it the best racing and driving game tends to be realistic on the Nintendo Switch platform and possibly on any mobile device yet .

Finally, the main advantages and disadvantages of the game can be

summarized as follows :

advantages :

Great gameplay value, perfect and fun gameplay, excellent graphical options, numerous control systems, many options to customize the experience as you like.

disadvantages :

There are no weather conditions and climate changes such as rain or fog. The online multiplayer option is currently unavailable, with the publisher promising to offer it later.