GRID

Developer: Codemasters
Publisher: Codemasters
Release Date: May 30, 2008
Systems: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: I have no idea what the name GRID is supposed to mean.

0:00 I've heard this game compared favorably to MotorStorm and Dirt, two other driving games I enjoyed quite a bit.

0:01 "CODEMASTERS PRESENTS" some generic shots of European cities and tracks. Extremely shiny car porn commences, complete with extreme camera shaking during some spectacular crashes. Nice shots from inside the cockpit and wheel well. My wife Michelle watches from the couch: "I'm not the demographic, but it doesn't even seem like good car porn to me."

0:02 "Please Press Start," the screen says. So polite! Most games would just order me to press start. "Welcome. Please fill out your driver profile," says a semi-robotic female voice. I enter Drivey McDriverson, causing Michelle to say, I'm "very predictable." What can I say?

0:03 I can choose from a list of "audio names" for the voice actors to call me during play, I guess. I choose Spanky, because it's just so ridiculous. I mean, come on, Spanky?

0:04 "Hello, Spanky. You're now ready to race," says the semi-robotic voice. I nearly fall out of my chair with laughter. SPANKY!

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer