It has almost been five years since the last Grid game came out. Grid was released to great reviews, eventually earning an 87% on metacritic.com. During the course of the last five years, developer Codemasters has released three Dirt games and a few F1 titles as well. This well established racing studio has been waiting for the chance to make Grid 2, and that time is finally upon us.
From our first look at Grid 2, it is easy to tell that the game is absolutely beautiful. With races taking place in some of the world’s most iconic cities, it is clear that the team at Codemasters has taken the time necessary to make sure that the tracks that they developed are not only beautify to drive in, but are great to look at.
This is however a racing game and the true stars are the cars. Looking at some of the models that have been shown, it is clear that Codemasters is on top of their game, making their cars look absolutely stunning. The engine that the game is running on is Codemasters's EGO Engine. This engine allows for some truly dazzling lighting, reflections, and damage for the player to marvel at while they are racing for first place. Not only is this engine allowing for visuals that are on par with the highest quality racing games today, but it allows the developer to walk the line between arcade and true simulated racer.
The new driving system within the EGO Engine is TrueFeel Handling, which is all about putting the player at the center of the race. It will allow each car to feel authentic and handle differently than the others that are available to the player throughout the game. It is this system that will allow the player to master the controls of a new car, without punishing them harshly for making a slight mistake. This allows the game to feel more realistic than Need for Speed, but not to the level of Forza or Gran Turismo.
The game itself will feature many of the classic race types including check point, elimination, standard, and open world racing. Check point races are a scramble against a short timer to reach the next checkpoint. Elimination races are constantly kicking out the driver in last place during the race, until the race is over. Open road races, and out course standard races. The new race type for this game is open road races. It is this new type of race for Grid 2 that challenges players to sprint from one location to another, in a direct one on one race with another driver.
There will be a narrative element to the game as well, but do not expect any major twists or betrayals. You play as Patrick Callahan, who is trying to set up his own global motorsport competition, calling for the best drivers around the world for the ultimate competition. This will allow the player to focus more on the racing, and less on a far-fetched story of betrayal and revenge.
Sadly, no information is yet available on the multiplayer aspect, as Codemasters is keeping them under wraps until we get closer to the release date on May 28th for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. Grid 2 is looking like an extremely promising game that fans can of both hardcore simulators and arcade racers can sink their teeth into in just a few months.
