I'm not a huge gear-head or car person. I enjoy looking and playing racing games, but I've never been the most knowledgeable when it comes to cars and the lingo. But when it came to Top Gear and now The Grand Tour, I've enjoyed it. It's not hard to see why. It's fun. There's a ridiculous premise and the challenges always have character. That's been the hook really for those shows. Make sure the chemistry between the hosts work and what they do will be enjoyable for the viewers.
So that brings us to The Grand Tour Game. The idea is simple. Take the show and replace the driving segments of the show (and others) with gaming. This usually takes the form of racing, but surprisingly they do this for many you wouldn't have expected. Here's just some of what they do:
- Lap Times around the Eboladrome (their track for testing cars)
- Races from Point A to Point B among the hosts
- Drift Challenges
- Speed Camera Averages
- Drag Races
On the "odder" side of things, some non-driving segments:
- First Person Shooting at Targets
- Photography
This all might sound quite ridiculous, but it all fits the show. That's what makes this idea work. You can watch the show and then play the segments of the show at the same time. And if you don't want to watch it all or miss something, you have the option to fast forward or rewind through these sections as you wish. I've actually been skipping most of the show portions as I'm watching the episodes before playing now.
The racing of The Grand Tour Game is not a realistic one. This isn't a bad thing though. I think this fits the hosts better really. A realistic simulation just wouldn't be them. The arcade style just fits them better and the power-ups in the races are fun.
With all of this basic outline out of the way, I want to actually discuss some of the good and bad aspects of the game.
Positives- It is the show!: While I will say this arcade racer is extremely basic, it has their brand of humor and style all over it. The quips and power-ups are unmistakably theirs. The segments (at least those included) are the show and it's always fun to watch them do their thing that got them to where they are today.
- Varied Gameplay: While the races might get a little old (for reasons I detail later), there is a lot of different game styles throughout. This variety can be odd at times, but it's actually pretty fun. This helps ensure it's not just races or laps all the time. All the different goals really change how you play and that's fun.
Negatives- Cut show segments: While I watched the episodes in their entirety on Amazon, many of the more "questionable" segments are cut from the show. This isn't the worst thing and I understand how those segments could affect their ESRB rating, but for those who view this as a way to see the show without having Amazon Prime, you'll be missing some of the more raunchy jokes you'd come to expect from Jeremy, James, and Richard.
- Repetitive: While the game really mixes things up with different objectives and locations, it can get really repetitive sadly. As an example, during the Episode 2/3 portion of Season 3, you will race the same Point A to Point B section at least 4 times with little to no difference. Unfortunately, even using each car of the different hosts doesn't add much. So when you do the same stretch of road 3 consecutive times, it can get old pretty quick.
In terms of achievements, the game does a decent job of pushing you to do different things. A lot of it is just completing the different challenges with gold medals, but there is some other stuff out there. There is a lot of grinding in there though. Using each of the power-ups enough times and winning a lot of races with each of the hosts will take the bulk of your time. This leads to something that doesn't bother me a ton, but will bother many others:
Unfortunately, there is no online gameplay for this game. so all of those races either need to have a couch co-op partner to make it slightly enjoyable, or you'll just be playing the races solo with another controller over and over until you knock all of them out.
Overall, this game is fun. I enjoy my time with it. It probably has more to do with my enjoyment of the show than the actual gameplay, but for a $15 racing game, I've played a lot worse. The racing is basic, but the constant switching between the show and different gameplay helps to try and keep the overall feel of the game fresh. If you're a Top Gear/Grand Tour fan, you will likely enjoy this more than if you're just an average racing game fan.
3.0