'GRID' a good racing sim

• By JOSHUA WASCOM
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Sep 30, 2008 - UPDATED: 2:40 p.m.

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While it doesn’t share much beyond a name with its console predecessor, “GRID” is a good, but never great, entry into a somewhat underdeveloped genre on the handheld: racing games for the DS that don’t feature cartoon characters or pudgy plumbers.

As a more realistic racing sim, “GRID” is a very different experience from something like Mario Kart. First, it’s definitely not as easy to pick up and play. Maneuvers like drifting, while still vital to maintaining higher speeds, are harder to perform, and even on early tracks there are times when you’ll have to apply the brakes to get around a sharp bend. The underlying complexity of basic gameplay that results in this increased learning curve is by no means a bad thing, however.

Mastering a course or maneuver is a more enjoyable experience overall, even if the overall process of achieving that mastery can be tedious. A guided practice mode for newer players is glaringly absent, as the only real way to learn here is through trial and lots of errors.

The graphics are good for the DS, but the 3-D engine in use doesn’t hold up as well at distances. This can make it hard to distinguish the features of the road ahead at time, which can lead to major problems with sharp curves. Until you’re very familiar with a particular course, you’re often forced to frequently check the map on the lower screen to determine what’s coming up. Coupled with the precise timing needed to properly drift around a curve, this can lead to a lot of restarted races when first picking up the game.

The variety of events on hand is one of the game’s stronger points. Beyond standard races, there are events that require you to perform certain tasks, like maintain a high average speed or maneuvering with precision. While many of these come pretty close to feeling like the main game repackaged, all provide at least some variety, and a few stand out as being quite interesting in their own rights.

Some of the most enjoyable diversions are the blueprint events, in which you are asked to use the game’s track design mode to create courses built to certain specifications. This works both as an introduction and highlight of the track designer and a sort of puzzle game as you attempt to fit the requested track areas into the space available without going over your budget or making an unraceable mess. Most of these events strike a good balance on the difficulty, not being so easy as to be thoughtless, but not being so hard as to take much more than a few minutes once you’ve become accustomed to the track design mode.

This mode has a number of flaws. The actual interface for selecting new pieces to place is awkward and slow and often interrupts the flow of design, and it’s very easy to remove a piece by placing or rotating another piece over it, so the undo button gets a lot of use. Overall, though, the system works well, particularly thanks to the ability to draw basic track pieces with the stylus. You have access to a surprisingly large number of pieces, and you can actually create interesting tracks fairly easily. User-created tracks can be used in the multiplayer mode as well, breathing further life into both sections of the game.

The multiplayer mode is good, if nothing particularly special. Both online and local play are supported, and the local options include a single-cart download game, though with the usual reduced availability of play options.

Overall, “GRID” is a competent realistic racing sim. While there isn’t a lot that’s inherently unique about it, its lack of many direct competitors on the DS makes it a good addition to the handheld library of any fan of the genre.