Games for Lunch: GRID
In a nutshell: I have no idea what the name GRID is supposed to mean.
8/11/2008 7:25 PM | 1 Comments | Page 3 of 4
0:44 On the first two laps, I've missed the target by roughly 10 seconds. So far, this event has been kind of lonely, with no other cars to bump against. Plus, now I have no excuse when I barely touch the grass and spin out.
0:46 I'm doing great on the final lap, now that I know the course well enough. I go too fast on the last S-curve, though, plowing into some tire barriers and going airborne. I miss the target time by three seconds. Bleh. I still get 10 Gamerscore points for my "First Win!" Um, there were no opponents.
0:47 Team Hudson Tech wants me to race a Chevy Lachetti in Washington, D.C. If I'm in the top five, $2,000 extra. This doesn't seem like much incentive, seeing as I get paid $8,000 anyway.
0:49 The DC course couldn't be more different than the first two. It's a narrow set of streets with walls right against the edges. On the plus side, that means no spinning out on the sand/grass. On the minus side, I go flipping 720 degrees over a wall when I take a turn too fast. It's painful to watch, but I still land intact in last place. Restart.
0:51 I really like the crowd noise here. Wolf whistles when I'm doing well and cries of "aww" when I crash. The waving American flags in the stands are a nice touch.
0:52 Other cars actually seem afraid of crashing in to me -- if I cut them off during a turn, they slow down to let me by. I don't know why. Bumping other cars out of the way has been my best advancement strategy so far.
0:53 Spanky alert: "Well done, Spanky, nice driving." I get 20 Gamerscore points for a "Hot Lap," whatever that means. Almost immediately after that, I hit a stray tire on the course and go FLYING 10 feet into the air and plow into a wall. From second to 12th, just like that. The car wasn't totaled, though, so it looks like it's time for another restart.
0:56 Uh, wow. Playing around in the instant replay menu, I just realized I don't have to total the car to use the "flashback" ability. Apparently I can activate it at any time through the replay menu. This changes everything! All those annoying race restarts could have just been flashbacks! Glad I found this in time.
0:58 I use my new-found flashback-at-any-time ability to maintain a sixth-place position after a major screw-up. Before I know it, I've advanced to first when the lead car spins out and causes a pile up. Sa-weet!
0:59 I seem to have a psychological aversion to first place. Once I'm in it, I always do something to screw it up. A 360 flip sends me back to third. I save my flashback in case I need it later. I don't, though, and I finish up in third place. "You're on the podium! Well done!" My radio voice says this like he can't believe it. Voice acting has been uniformly excellent, actually.
1:00 I get 225 reputation points for completing the objective. About damn time! I really like having the flashback ability as a limited "get out of crash free" card. Mean I don't have to be absolutely perfect to do well.
