Grand Auto Adventure

There was a time when the Need for Speed franchise was the epicenter of racing games, back when they still tried to push original concepts on the market. NFS: Underground was a revolution at its time, and NFS: Most Wanted enjoyed huge popularity levels, even if it had its flaws. However, it would seem like EA is redoing the same game for quite a few years now, which means that gamers have to find other racing games instead.

An open world racing experience with a dose of nostalgia

Grand Auto Adventure is a casual racing game with an open world and many of its ideas taken from games like Grand Theft Auto and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Hence, your goal is to explore the map and find races to participate in, as well as avoid the cops and build a reputation as a driver. On the other hand, all of these concepts are stripped to their most basic form, so don’t expect anything too glorious.
You start with a basic car that needs some heavy repairs, which leaves you with almost no cash at all. In order to participate in a race you have to follow the minimap and find special checkpoints that allow you to put your skills to the test. Whether it’s a circuit or a time trial, every race is more or less the same, which is kind of a bummer, at least if you are expecting more from a racing game.

Simple physics engine and basic simulation

When it comes to how the actual driving feels, the game is almost entirely arcade in this regard, since there is barely any simulation here whatsoever. The only slightly realistic thing about the cars is that they cannot take sharp turns at high speeds. However, they can flip if you turn the steering wheel too fast, which is actually not the case for such low vehicles that are theoretically built for speed.
The controls are not bad either, although you’re much better using a controller than the keyboard. Only a couple of buttons are needed to make the most out of any car, since the arcade gameplay mechanics make any attempt to employ actual driving techniques futile. On top of that, the graphics are very basic, probably because they are designed to run on mobile devices as well.

A basic racing game for casual gamers

All things considered, Grand Auto Adventure is clearly not designed to be enjoyed by the hardcore racing fans, but it can provide many other people with a few hours of fun. However, it could have used better handling and slightly nicer graphics.