By Kieron Gillen on May 30th, 2008 at 4:25 pm.
Since I’m now in That There London I decided I should grab the opportunity to pop along to one of these PR-events which I hear are corrupting our journalists. I joined a small group of men taking a photo of a small group of men in jump-suits and helmets, buying console versions of Race Driver: GRID and the consoles to go with them.
It’s on the PC too, you heartless bastards.
The men were professional race drivers, apparently, but I was distracted by seeing how much Season 4 of the Wire cost on DVD to work out if I knew any of them. I probably wouldn’t have recognised any of them, even if I did. They actually turned up in Sports cars outside, which I missed, because I went into the wrong side of the shop and got distracted by House DVDs for fifteen quid.
But they did seem rather impressive, if you’re into the horseless carriages.The most impressive thing was that they managed to get away with it without getting ticketed, which was something clearly everyone was petrified of.
Actually, there were five of them, but by the time I walked to the end of the row, my batteries died, meaning I missed the grand aray of ‘em. Then I wandered off to have a few cracks at the game – inevitably losing due to a combination of my controller keep on disconnecting from my XBox and the guys from Gaming Verdict being much better than me – which leads me to agree with comrade Rossignol. It’s Quite Good.
I then wandered off, as I had to meet a friend to wander around London and gawk like simpletons.
Race Driver: GRID is currently available in the shops. I saw it and everything. This is what people want when they demand more investagative journalism, I suspect.
30/05/2008 at 16:37 The_B says:
And you didn’t even attempt to go on a Rock Band demo setup? Fail Gillen. FAIL.
(Well, ‘investigative journalism’ was my excuse in the Zavvi in Nottingham last week ¬_¬)
30/05/2008 at 16:44 Nick says:
“House DVDs for fifteen quid”
Damn good price, I can see why you were distracted.
30/05/2008 at 16:56 James G says:
Ahh, racing games. They really shouldn’t work with a keyboard, but given my approach to them (Push every stick as far as it will go and then wonder why I crash on corners) it doesn’t make a blind bit of difference. This hamfisted approach is probably why I’ve never really enjoyed racing games (Except for Porshe challenge on the original Playstation, and Star Wars Racer, which was surprisingly fun for what was ultimately a game of a scene in a movie written specifically to be later adapted into a game.)
30/05/2008 at 17:04 Mike says:
@James
It’s actually reasonably playable on the keyboard. I’m aware that defies all logic.
30/05/2008 at 17:18 Apollo Belvidere says:
I downloaded the Grid demo for PC. It’s awesome, I’m definitely going to pick it up. But I’m buying a PC gamepad instead of a 360 controller to spite them.
30/05/2008 at 17:25 Cigol says:
Wish I could sit down those who don’t like racing games and force them to endure the learning curve of something like Richard Burns Rally, GTR or rFactor.
Regarding the arcade racer GRID; surprisingly good fun – and cheap.
30/05/2008 at 17:27 spd from Russia says:
Last time I tried the demo it didnt run at all :(
Seems there are some cpu-related bugs, so try before buy
30/05/2008 at 17:31 macc says:
The Wire is about the best series ever made, much more interesting than these guys with helmets.:)
They probably got a discount and won’t even touch the console they just bought.
30/05/2008 at 18:10 ysbreker says:
For shame! you didn’t even recognized the Stig?! I thought that watching top gear was mandatory for everyone from England?
30/05/2008 at 18:39 Ryan says:
@macc agredd, Thw Wire is legit.
Ryan
lessons in brevity: http://www.mofata.com
30/05/2008 at 18:51 VFIG says:
That’s not the Stig! That’s a Stig-wannabe. He’s got a completely different model helmet.
30/05/2008 at 19:00 Pavel says:
The Wire is great. My three favourite “realworld” tv shows – The Wire, The Sopranos and The Shield (which I am watching right now, being in fifth season so far and loving it).
As for GRID, I play PC version and its GREAT! The demo itself was pure joy, but full version with those 43 cars and 90 tracks and millions of races and awesome multiplayer all make this the best racing game I have ever played (and no, I dont like simulations like rFactor or RBR, and yes, I like arcades like NFS 1 – NFS:MW).
30/05/2008 at 19:02 Zac North says:
The Wire Season 4…are you by any chance a Squidi fan? :)
30/05/2008 at 19:46 Jam_sponge says:
Was a pleasure to meet you today Kieron, I notice you’ve put up that Muckyfoot stuff you mentioned, looks good.
Take Care!
Matt Lees
30/05/2008 at 20:27 Noc says:
So it turns out that that second picture is actually an in-game screengrab.
For real.
30/05/2008 at 21:17 Snarf says:
Since I work for a major games retailer (not GAME), this kind of publicity is the norm. As an avid PC Gamer, and one that doesnt own any consoles, I do weep a little everytime a decent PC game gets overlooked for Generic Console Game 3. Our PC sextion is tiny compared to the other formats. With the increase of digital downloads, this is only going to get smaller.
UK retailer have pretty much given up on PC gaming, it just doesn’t make the same amout of profit as all the other formats
30/05/2008 at 21:26 Al3xand3r says:
Retail sucks anyway. Publishers paying for shelf space and exposure? Whatever happened to providing choices to the customer, instead of just falling to the feet of whoever gives more cash, or worse yet, have the publishers and developers fall to the feet of retail… They’re not shops that offer products I want anymore, they’re just a part of a most flawed system. Valve sure has to keep them happy for now, or watch a dramatic decrease in profit, but I sure like the way things are going for digital distribution.
30/05/2008 at 21:27 Chris Evans says:
Ah GRID…tis awesome :D
30/05/2008 at 23:05 Jigglybean says:
I was there and you didnt even say hello! I think I am one of the only die hard PC gamers at codies – I will fight the corner, don’t worry! GRID is fantastic on the PC and with my 360 controller, I will never need a console!
30/05/2008 at 23:13 Snarf says:
Al3xand3r – I agree entirely. Pretty much all of out new release area is paid for by the publishers. Hency why Guitar Hero 3 was all over it when Rock Band came out, even though GH3 has been out for months. It was Activision trying to steal sales from EA. Games that deserve shelf space dont get it, games that really dont get two all to themselves.
Luckily they cant buy our opinions, and if a customer asks if a crap game is crap, I let them know that.
31/05/2008 at 17:39 Pavel says:
2 Jigglybean : GRID is fantastic on the PC even with keyboard! : ) btw, stay loyal to PC, someone at Codies has to defend the platform of PC Gaming Master Race from those console peasants!
31/05/2008 at 18:16 Wildbluesun says:
And the prize for the most unenthusiastic article on RPS goes to…
31/05/2008 at 20:27 Incognito says:
Playing this game with keyboard seems a bit stupid/lazy. Why not just buy PS2/XBOX360-pad for your PC? If you can buy a PC with specs good enough for this game, then you should be able to afford a joypad or steering wheel for it also. And if you are genuinelly interested in this game, its a must.
31/05/2008 at 22:49 nakke says:
Incognito: if you are geniuinely interested in this game you’d probably be better off playing GTR2 or some other real driving game ;)
01/06/2008 at 02:38 Skotavus says:
It’s the Stig in the middle!
01/06/2008 at 09:27 Kieron Gillen says:
Jigglybean: Sorry, man. You should have grabbed me!
KG
02/06/2008 at 08:42 parm says:
It might be out on the PC, but when I went to try and buy it on Friday, not a single games shop in Manchester city centre had it. Plenty of X360 and PS3 copies, but no PC versions anywhere. Bastards.
07/06/2008 at 16:41 frasen says:
Love the game, but why doesnt it recognize my logitecg joypad? windows does
08/06/2008 at 01:16 Meridian says:
The STIG’s got a 360 Elite
He knows what performs.
25/08/2010 at 03:29 wholesale new era hats says:
Fantastic Read! Looking forward to more! Bookmarked the site and will be back again!