Grid Legends (REVIEW PS4)
EA Sports
With the fifth installment in the Grid racing series, Legends brings new features and a story mode full of drama and glory. Featuring a ton of tacks real and fake, Grid Legends allows players different options and styles to play.
Gameplay
Grid Legends is your standard racing game. The controller setup is straightforward and allows for customization for each level of play. You can switch from automatic to manual and control your shifting. Many of these settings are automatically based on the level of difficulty you pick when setting up your profile.
The main draw to Grid Legends is the included story mode. The story is based on conflict generally found in the racing circuit between drivers and teams. Using real actors to portray the drivers gives the game another immersion into the story. Sadly as the story progresses, the acting and writing do more harm than good. It feels long and drawn out as a basic plot, especially with the long load times.
As with most racing games, each level has a load time. What hurts Grid is that during the load time for story mode, very little of the information displayed helps move the story or gives tips or tricks to players. The load screens would be great to add more to the story narrative or give players tips or tricks. Without any attention-grabbing display, players can lose interest or play something else.
What makes the game stand out is the visuals and cars. Many of the tracks are designed well, and having to race different types of cars on each one is a treat. As you progress in the story, you unlock more events and accessories. Many of the unlockables are cosmetic based which allows you to customize your vehicles.
Final Thoughts on Grid Legends
Grid Legends is a fun and standard racing game. The biggest issue I had with the game was the long load times between races with little to no distractions or entertainment. The story isn’t gripping or exciting as it feels like it was added later. Including live acting was a unique throwback that also like the load screens didn’t add much to the story’s narrative.
Another issue with the game was to use online play, you need to link an active EA account. Linking the EA account is very tedious as you need to input the information yourself and was more of an annoyance. Hopefully, this is something they can fix with an update to be able to link the account using a website or cellphone instead.
Overall, Grid Legends is a good game that allows hardcore racing fans to customize and tweak their vehicles to those who just want to hit the gas and brake buttons. The story mode isn’t entertaining at all but the races featured helps to balance it out. Even with the issues, Grid Legends is a solid entry into the franchise and one that can be played for hours on end.