GRID is certainly the first “serious” racing game I’ve ever played for the DS (and I suspect that will go for many players), and as such, it doesn’t disappoint. For a genre as graphics-and-physics-obsessed as a racer – at least a racer that aspires to realism more than any game with the word “kart” in the title – this DS entry is admirable. It plays as a decent mix of simulation and arcade racing (always a delicate balance to maintain) with fairly detailed graphics, good variety, and enough options to keep players interested.

The game follows a fairly standard set-up: players are given the opportunity to race in three different areas: the USA, Europe, and Japan. Each region has a number of races and challenges, and players earn medals and reputation points on each course. Winning races also unlocks new courses, new challenges, new cars, new modifications for existing cars, and parts for the very cool track editor. Of course, the overall goal is to earn enough reputation points to be the best driver in the world – a feat that carries enough challenge for hardcore racers to sink their teeth into.

Races themselves come in traditional “beat everyone in X laps around the twisty track” and other, more interesting flavors, like the drift challenges and brake tests. Whilst racing, the player needs to be aware of the damage the car takes – icons on the side of the screen represent the various systems that will break down given too much abuse, putting a kibosh on your hopes for a victory. The cars break down more or less realistically – crapping out your steering means the car with drift to the side; while destroying the engine means that smoke will come pouring out of the car and your speed will top out around 40 mph. That sums up the “simulation” aspect of the game. Otherwise, it’s generally balls-out racing in hot, souped-up rides, each of which is customizable in your “home base.”

It’s all fun, if relatively standard. What makes it all special is the fact that Codemasters was able to get it all to work so well on the fiddly DS hardware. The game looks nice – perhaps PS1 era, but good nonetheless, and the physics are decent (if floaty) and consistent. The biggest problems are the controls and the overall difficulty of doing serious racing on a handheld. The tiny D-pad just doesn’t allow the kind of precision gamers weaned on console racers are used to, and one does question the need for this type of game on the DS. Aren’t most gearheads graphics whores? And aren’t most DS players more interested in Mario Kart?

It’s very similar to the problem many FPS titles encounter on the system – gorgeous 3D visuals and advanced physics engines are just nearly impossible to implement on the DS. It’s also the same issue many gamers had with Guitar Hero: On Tour – the game is competent and fully channels the spirit of its console big brothers, but something is just lost in the translation to a tiny screen with lesser audio. GRID suffers similarly, but it seems unfair to punish a good game for appearing on a less-than-ideal platform.

The coolest aspect of the game – and the part that really makes GRID rise over its limitations is the track editor. Players can get right into the user-friendly interface and make some fairly intricate courses within moments of starting up the game. You can do everything from the basic layout and design to tweaking the finer points of the color scheme and lighting; and it’s enormously satisfying to rustle up a new track and take a test drive, especially if you’ve based it on some real-life locale in your hometown.

As a racing game, it’s fairly hardcore - rewarding careful, precise driving over kamikaze speed; so players won’t just breeze through it in one sitting. And while the controls and graphics won’t win any awards, they do get the job done. GRID is absolutely your best bet if you’ve got a craving for racing on your DS (sans turtle shells and banana peels), and it’ll keep you busy for quite some time.

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