What are you currently playing?

[Sepp Salerno]

Finished and then Re started Dead Space 2 again

[Bub&Bob]

Im currently playing jerwinmunoz spams the forum and I report the posts - Getting a little bored of it now though

[Crunchy]

Im currently playing jerwinmunoz spams the forum and I report the posts - Getting a little bored of it now though

Curse these spammers and their cunning ways! The genius of them is endless! Surely they should be working hard with the Large Hadron Collider to crack the secrets of the universe instead of wasting their colossal intellect selling hoodies and other essential items to us simple folk?

[nakamura]

I haven't played Shift 2 yet but Shift 1 crapped all over Grid for the feel of real racing. The handling on Grid was terrible, felt like a digital arcade game, miles worse then the Toca games in fact. I found Shift 1 to feel the closest I have ever felt to real racing. It is a total rush to play.

I really wanted to like Grid but just didn't.

Found the handling in Grid far better than the first Shift, and the TOCA games. Realism I couldn't give two hoots about - but the car handled responsively, if you made a mistake it was your mistake and not the game, and the races were tough, fun and exciting, with evenly matched cars that meant winners were decided on who was the best driver rather than who had the fastest car (and like MPM said, if you knew where to look the online was superb). I thought it found the balance between 'serious' racer and Arcade racing better than any game before or since, and certainly better than Shift, which got very boring very quickly (although I'll admit I didn't last a huge amount of time in the game, and a sealed PS3 copy is still waiting for me to go through, which I shall be soon). No problems with those who don't like it, I know plenty don't, but Grid, and Dirt, and the Colin McRae and TOCA games before them, have for me been the most consistant, exciting racing games of the last decade. Shift isn't quite there yet...although it's closer than it was before.

I think the problem many have with Grid is that it doesn't fit into either the arcade racing genre or the serious sim genre, so it's sort of disappointing to anyone who want's it to be either of them. I never approached it like that, I wanted it to be a continuation of the TOCA series with simple, fun handling and I wasn't disappointed.

But then Codemasters do own my soul...

That is fair enough Mike, if it suits you then it will work. For me though, that last paragraph sums it up well. Grid doesn't know what it wants to be and it suffers as a result. I found it too arcadey, much more so that Toca. Don't get me wrong though, Shift isn't super realistic but it simulates track racing far better than anything else. Perhaps if I hadn't done track racing myself, I would not have been so interested.

I still play Toca 3 on the PS2 to this day and find it far more rewarding than Grid. I just find Grid has simplified the handling a bit too much.

[Space_turnip]

That is fair enough Mike, if it suits you then it will work. For me though, that last paragraph sums it up well. Grid doesn't know what it wants to be and it suffers as a result. I found it too arcadey, much more so that Toca. Don't get me wrong though, Shift isn't super realistic but it simulates track racing far better than anything else. Perhaps if I hadn't done track racing myself, I would not have been so interested.

I still play Toca 3 on the PS2 to this day and find it far more rewarding than Grid. I just find Grid has simplified the handling a bit too much.

Hey, each to their own, I know Grid has it's fans and those who aren't. And I can't even drive so I don't think I can say much about it's realism anyway But to be fair, I have a mate who is heavily into track days and racing himself, and he said the exact same thing about Grid as you do, so I think there's something in it!

As for Shift 2, I've kept on with it and it's certainly growing on me. It's not yet turned into a 'upgrade your car to destroy the opposition' game (although upgrading is far too easy and far too cheap, making it a bit pointless), and i'm having some exciting races. It'll be good enough until Dirt 3 steals my life anyway.

[C=Style]

Been having so much fun with Mario Kart DS, messed about with my router so I can play it online and it's hilarious fun. Most of the people I play are Japanese and they are so good you are lucky to come 3rd but it's fun trying.

Also been messing about with NesDS as it's being worked on atm and the emulator is really coming along now, much better sound and compatibility, even supports FDS. Having the entire NES library in the palm of your hand is all you need!

[nakamura]

That is fair enough Mike, if it suits you then it will work. For me though, that last paragraph sums it up well. Grid doesn't know what it wants to be and it suffers as a result. I found it too arcadey, much more so that Toca. Don't get me wrong though, Shift isn't super realistic but it simulates track racing far better than anything else. Perhaps if I hadn't done track racing myself, I would not have been so interested.

I still play Toca 3 on the PS2 to this day and find it far more rewarding than Grid. I just find Grid has simplified the handling a bit too much.

Hey, each to their own, I know Grid has it's fans and those who aren't. And I can't even drive so I don't think I can say much about it's realism anyway But to be fair, I have a mate who is heavily into track days and racing himself, and he said the exact same thing about Grid as you do, so I think there's something in it!

As for Shift 2, I've kept on with it and it's certainly growing on me. It's not yet turned into a 'upgrade your car to destroy the opposition' game (although upgrading is far too easy and far too cheap, making it a bit pointless), and i'm having some exciting races. It'll be good enough until Dirt 3 steals my life anyway.

Hated Dirt 1 and 2. Dirt 3 though, is looking very tasty. A return to proper rallying.

Don't get me wrong though, I don't just like sims, in fact I don't much go for outright sims but I do like my track racers to be a little more serious. I am just as happy though in the hands of Ridge Racer, Burnout and the like.
I wont be looking at Shift 2 until it is patched, and cheaper!

[Joey]

Hated Dirt 1 and 2. Dirt 3 though, is looking very tasty. A return to proper rallying.

Ah no Dirt 2 was a great game The handling was supurb, especially the couple of Group B cars that were in it. The Battersea tracks were great fun too, im glad they are returning in 3.

Dirt 1 looks dated now but still plays as well as 2.

[Space_turnip]

Yeah I thought Dirt 2 was a great game as well . Again....exciting racing! It was awfully 'Americanised' though, and what I wouldn't of given for a wet, dark, gloomy drive through a Welsh mud bath instead of yet another race around a very dry, glossy circuit. I thought it was a better game than Dirt, but that the first had better content - my hopes for Dirt 3 are very high. (although I've been purposely staying away from any previews so that I have something to look forward too)
I can honestly say that every Codies racing game from MM onwards (actually, even some of the old 'simulator' games on the Speccy too) has been loads of fun, some of the few games that I've ever fully got. For some reason though, on recently going back to the Mcrae rallies on Xbox, I found them an absolute bugger to control.

I have to say I would put Rallisport Challenge 2 above the Dirt games though for pure fun and great handling. The way the cars drive on that is just perfect, I could play it for many hours quite happily and content. Lovely. The Xbox really has a long list of superb driving games.

[nakamura]

To be fair to DIrt 2 I really couldn't get past the overuse of bloom lighting and nasty american stylings. I don't know the quality of the handling model on it. Dirt 1 did little for me though, again found the handling a little too basic. Used to love the PS1 Colin games but went on to enjoy the WRC games on the PS2 a lot more after that.

Overall Codies have always made solid racers. Loved a lot of the sim on the C64. The move to PS1 gave us Toca and Colin, top games again. Toca on PS2/Xbox are still among the most enjoyable racers, the Colin games were also good, I just prefered WRC.

Rallisport Challenge though, loved the original in its day, completed it 100%. But again I find RSC2 to be woefully simplistic to play now. Also it has pretty dull location design.

I really like the first Need for Speed Underground for arcade fun. Despite the low frame rate and nasty bodykits, the racing is a lot of fun.

[markopoloman]

Just out of interest, what systems are we talking about with GRID and SHIFT? I'm using a PC - and ummm Keyboard! Although I am seriously thinking about digging out my wheel to see if that makes the car turn into corners on SHift2!

Still trying to to like it..................BUT...............

[nakamura]

A racing game with a keyboard? So you have no analogue control at all?

[markopoloman]

A gamepad just feels SO wrong for racing games - almost as bad as they feel for FPS's!!

Got so used to keys over the years that I could win lots in Grid. (and the Toca series in the past). Will get the wheel out later though.

[nakamura]

I don't understand how you can play a racing game with digital controls. As wrong as a pad may feel, a keyboard is far worse. You will not be able to control throttle, the weight shifting of the car, the force of the braking.

Man!

[Space_turnip]

Used Keyboard for Grid on the PC (I think keyboard controlled PC games get a bad rep, played through loads of PC racing games using a keyboard with no problems - from Screamer, to Ultimate Race pro, Rally Championship and Dirt/Grid), and a 360 pad occasionaly - Shift though always used a pad.

Surprised you think pads are wrong for racing games though MPM. DC/Xbox/360 controller seems perfectly suited to racing games to me, loads of control and no strain. But then i've also become a convert to pad-controlled FPS's as well. Dual shock controllers are awful for racing though, just doesn't have the right feel at all.