Game Review: GRID 2

The original GRID game invented the 'rewind' feature, a nifty tool that allowed drivers to turn back the clock a few seconds and then have a second crack at a particular corner, for instance. It was a brilliant racing game mechanism, and has been cloned and copied ever since.

So does GRID 2 improve the idea?

It doesn't really improve it, but rather massages the 'rewind' function in a way that encourages risk and challenges gamers to really push their cars to the limit. It works well because you don't get unlimited rewinds and must consider when to take said risks.

That GRID 2 is a fun game to play makes it easier to get absorbed in the action, action that straddles a satisfying line between simulation and arcade. I like to call it 'realistic fun'.

"We’re determined to make GRID 2 the sequel the original game deserves," says Clive Moody, senior executive producer at CodeMasters, and I reckon they've done it.

Moody reckons the new game "sets new standards" and though I don't agree with that assertion, GRID 2 is certainly a great game to play, but isn't without a few -- how do you say? -- nuances.

Firstly, there's no car modding, no way to tinker with the vehicles. However GRID 2 features various handling characteristics along the lines of drift, balanced and RWD along with power and acceleration characteristics as the differentiators on track.

The result in multiplayer is close in pack racing where aggression, driving line and/or luck are the keys to success.

Furthermore, there are no driving assists in this game – a conscious decision on behalf of the designers. Instead practice and possibly a preference for specific car types will get the player past particularly difficult events.

As mentioned the game is fun to play, with a good physics engine and semi-realistic car control. Gameplay is easy to get into but takes a while to master, and unlike the Gran Turismo franchise, UK-based developer CodeMasters has the talent to add fun and personality into its driving games. It does this primarily through the artificial intelligence of the computer controlled competitors.

In my opinion the underrated Race Driver V8 Supercars, circa 2004, was a fantastic example of making your computer opponents feel human, as they diced with each other for space on track.

The damage system looks cool and has an effect on car performance, so it pays to race clean (most of the time). The game is luscious to look at in general, with a good frame rate and details car 3D models and track environments. Disappointingly there is no cockpit view in game as the developers reckon that not many people actually use it. The across-the-bonnet view will have to do.

The game does not feature weather, but there are night, day and reverse track events across five distinct world-encompassing locales.

But the first decision you make after booting up the game is simple: single player (with some split screen fun if need be) or online multiplayer mayhem.

The online multiplayer modes are of the traditional style of video game racing. Essentially up to 12 players can compete with cars provided or bought with in-game money as befits the event.

You can race against friends or randoms and some modes are more fun than others, but can be vetoed in the lobby before the race commences, which is a nice touch. Democracy at work! Apart from events such as Drift, Touge, Checkpoint and some Face Off challenges, there are good old-fashioned race events.

I'd like to mention the game also has an 'anti-griefing' system that will match up players wanting to trade paint and dents, and vice versa for racers want for a clean-passing opportunity to appear.

But Racing in GRID 2 has a twist, whether online or single player, with some Race events featuring the Live Routes feature. Here the track is not a circuit. No Sir... Bustling through the streets of Paris for example, what was once a sweeping right is blocked off next time around with only a tight left available to the racers.

Indeed, the 'track' can turn in on itself illogically, and presents an event that relies more on twitch-reflexes than your typical racing game. Normally the more you drive a track, the better you can set up the corners to come, picking a line through a previous bend that gives the greatest attack angle for the next, but the Live Routes help make multiplayer matches great fun. That said, race against computer controlled opponents and you can't but help feel they know what is coming.

In the single player side of things gamers are asked to generate fans or followers for the fledgling (and fictional) World Series Racing or WSR, the brainchild – so the story goes – of one Patrick Callahan. Perhaps not exactly a Kerry Packer-style figure, he is nonetheless a visionary business mogul keen to crack the closed-shop of the professional motorsport marketplace with a new product.

Your task is be the star of the show, take part in invitational and promo events, win new cars and garner PR to build the prestige of the WSR. Working through four tiers of car types you will compete in differing event types and need to hit a podium position in each to rake in those fans.

Gathering sponsors and appeasing their in-game objectives injects a good dose of variety to the racing, and will also turn more fan focus your way.
From the car garage perspective GRID 2 is unusual, as players do not get to select or buy vehicles as such. Instead, appropriate cars can be won in events.

These cars however are exciting from the start, with Mustangs, Subaru BRZs, Nissan Silvias and a nicely specced Alfa Giulletta all on offer in Tier One, and you will be driving a McLaren F1 GT or Pagani Huayra by game's end.

GRID 2 is something different in the racing genre, it will not satisfy simulation aficionados, but it is – more importantly – fun yet challenging. The rewind feature is perfectly implemented and the eye candy on offer is top notch.

If you are a little sick of sterile, monotone attempts at realistic racing but at the same time don't want another Sonic/Mario/Kute Kuddly Koala Kart style racer (or yet another Need For Speed branded release, yawn!) maybe it is time to return to the GRID.