Grid based only really works with an aggressively small and finite inventory.
The real issue with grids are that the only information you get is an icon and maybe a name until you select said item. That's why they only work with very small inventories. If you have 100 items in your inventory and all you have to differentiate between them is an icon, you're going to get really fed up scrolling through every item trying to find the one you want. This problem gets exponentially worse if multiple items share the same icon.
You forget that a game can have hover-over tooltip overlays, at least on PC (with mouse). Still, I agree that it's more ideal within smaller numerical ranges, though a proper weight/carrying capacity system can cover usually cover that almost on its own.
Also, some items don't really need a lot of extra details when it's plainly obvious what they are. IE, medkits and bandages, ammunition with icons that make it fairly clear what kind of ammunition it is, etc.
Sort of depends on the situation and context I guess.
For me, if I'm diving in and out of the menu a lot I'd rather not fill up more screen space with an entire section just for item details that I may or may not need to check on a frequent basis.
I'd also rather not have to actively select each item in a grid (or list for that matter) to glance at the item details.
But that really does depend on the kind of game in question. For a strategy game with a lot of listed stats, I probably would prefer a dedicated section of UI for a unit's details.
Item comparison's another UI feature to consider as well, although I've rarely been a fan of how most games implement that.
The real issue with grids are that the only information you get is an icon and maybe a name until you select said item. That's why they only work with very small inventories. If you have 100 items in your inventory and all you have to differentiate between them is an icon, you're going to get really fed up scrolling through every item trying to find the one you want. This problem gets exponentially worse if multiple items share the same icon.
You forget that a game can have hover-over tooltip overlays, at least on PC (with mouse). Still, I agree that it's more ideal within smaller numerical ranges, though a proper weight/carrying capacity system can cover usually cover that almost on its own.
Also, some items don't really need a lot of extra details when it's plainly obvious what they are. IE, medkits and bandages, ammunition with icons that make it fairly clear what kind of ammunition it is, etc.
Hover over is also inferior to having the grid be on one side and the item details on the other.
Sort of depends on the situation and context I guess.
For me, if I'm diving in and out of the menu a lot I'd rather not fill up more screen space with an entire section just for item details that I may or may not need to check on a frequent basis.
I'd also rather not have to actively select each item in a grid (or list for that matter) to glance at the item details.
But that really does depend on the kind of game in question. For a strategy game with a lot of listed stats, I probably would prefer a dedicated section of UI for a unit's details.
Item comparison's another UI feature to consider as well, although I've rarely been a fan of how most games implement that.