GRID 2 PlayStation 3

Released on 31-May-2013

• Codemasters racer Grid 2 revs up for 2013

  Groundbreaking driving game Race Driver: Grid is to get a sequel, five years after it debuted. British publisher Codemasters unveiled the game today, and promised to deliver something racing fans have never seen before.

  "Grid's back and we're going to make street, track and road racing exciting again," says executive producer Clive Moody. "The core design philosophy for Grid 2 is that we treat the race as a character, not a consequence of simply putting cars on tracks. Everything that goes into the game impacts on that second-to-second, in the moment, blockbuster drama - the feel and personality of the race."

  Grid 2 will use Codemasters' own Ego Game Technology Platform to handle the graphics, AI and handling in pursuit of what they're calling Total Race Day Immersion. In a break from racing game tradition, the game will have no difficulty settings and no automated assists for inexperienced players. Instead, Codemasters promises the game will be perfectly tuned to deliver arcade thrills and simulation accuracy without the need for any helping hands.

  Car manufacturers and models confirmed for the game include BMW, Mustang, Mercedes, McLaren, Pagani and Koenigsegg.

  Grid 2 burns rubber next year for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

  Published: 08/08/2012

• Grid 2 - Preview

  
  

  

  The race for survival

  Codemasters has just announced that it's making a sequel to its well-regarded driving game, Race Driver: Grid. Called simply Grid 2, it's due out in the summer of 2013 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

  It's been a long time coming. By the time it arrives we'll have had three Forza Motorsports, a Gran Turismo, three Dirt Games, God knows how many Need for Speeds and three F1 games from Codemasters themselves. We've seen the traditionally strong industry for racing games in the UK start to fail, with Bizarre Creations (Blur, Project Gotham) and Black Rock (Pure, Split/Second) both closing their doors. With Codemasters recently choosing to focus its efforts entirely on racing games, it's clearly got everything to play for with this sequel.

  Streets ahead

  On the surface, Grid 2 is pretty similar to its predecessor, and that's no bad thing. It's got the great Ego Engine graphics with their moody lighting, dramatic effects and aggressive-looking car models - all considerably improved in the last four years. If you're playing on PC in particular, Grid 2 looks absolutely spectacular. (A warning for fans of the in-car view, though - it's been removed, after Codemasters discovered that only 5% of players used it.)

  

  It's got a similar line-up of exotic road cars past and present, all done up in racing trim and ready to do battle on the track. It's got the same focus on dramatic, intense racing action, rather than grinding out hundreds of laps and customizing your cars. It's got the same innovative rewind feature - since copied by many other games - that offers you a second stab when you mess up a corner.

  Once again you'll be racing on city streets - including Paris, with its cobbled alleys and wide boulevards, and Chicago, with its L train tracks winding between skyscrapers - and racing tracks, like the new Yas Marina F1 circuit. But Grid 2 also adds point-to-point road races, like the winding cliff-top California Coast stage, which takes the speeds and the danger to new heights.

  Codemasters hasn't talked about the structure of the single-player game in detail yet, but you can expect something quite similar to the first game's excellent campaign mode, which emphasized variety and a sense of progression through the ranks of the racing world. As you move through the game, the locations will transform and the races will turn into bigger events; you'll go from participating in street races with hardly any spectators, to lavish race days with packed grandstands, fireworks and fly-pasts.

  

  Wheel to wheel

  You'll also progress through four tiers of cars. The first tier will have classics like the 1970s Ford Mustang and 1980s BMW M3; tier two will have the Nissan Skyline GT-R, as well as more modern muscle cars like the Chevrolet Camaro SS; tier three introduces some seriously quick machinery like the McLaren MP4/12C and the BAC Mono; and tier four features truly mental hyper-cars like the Pagani Huayra and Koenigsegg Agrea R.

  The handling of all these beasts has been revamped with a new system called TrueFeel, which Codemasters says allows it to capture the feel and character of the real things. Although based on the cars' real data running through a powerful physics simulator, cars in Grid 2 should be easier to drive than in more hardcore racing simulation games - so much so that Codemasters has taken all the driving assists options out. They're aiming for pick-up-and-play handling that still has real depth when you spend time with it - and having tried two separate cars and events in the game, we're happy to report that the developer's on the money so far.

  When it comes to playing online, once again Codemasters isn't going into great detail at this stage - but they have one important thing to reveal. Grid 2's online mode will be entirely separate from the single-player, with its own progression system and unlocks - a mode more influenced by Call of Duty than any other racing games out there. There'll also be a service called RaceNet, available over the web and on smartphones and tablets, that allows you to track your progress as well as what's going on in the game generally.

  Above all, it's this online mode that could really set Grid 2 apart, and we can't wait to hear more about it. But for fans of the first game - and of racing that's more about exciting battles on the track than shaving seconds off a lap time - Grid 2 can't come soon enough.
  

• Codemasters explains three-year wait for GRID 2

  "That's probably the question I've been asked more than any during the last couple of years," GRID 2 executive producer Clive Moody has told VG247, when asked why it's taken three years to come up with a sequel for serious racing hit GRID, while sibling series DiRT has accrued two sequels in the same time. "There's been a very conscious effort to take our time over creating GRID 2," Moody explains, "More than anything because of the ambition we have for the game."

  It turns out that crafting the perfect driving sim takes a little longer than a more arcadey racing game. "The original GRID was 'all about the race' and this is a mantra which is absolutely driving the sequel," says associate producer Toby Evan-Jones. "Putting everything else aside for a moment, the single most important area within GRID 2 is the player's experience when on-track, driving some of the most iconic, aspirational vehicles that the world has to offer. Delivering a handling model to the player which feels authentic, exciting, occasionally scary and massively rewarding has been the goal."

  It's all built up to something Codemasters is calling TrueFeel, which aims to provide an authentic racing experience that is accessible to newcomers without the use of assists.

  GRID 2 is out next summer for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. If you can't wait that long to get behind the wheel, the more mainstream sibling sequel DiRT Showdown is out right now for the same formats.

  Published: 29/08/2012

• GRID 2 Achievements and Trophies to be designed by online critic

  For GRID 2, the next entry in the hugely popular racing series, Codemasters has decided to hand over the creation of the Xbox 360 Achievements and PlayStation 3 Trophies to someone who has spent years criticising developers efforts in this area.

  Dan Webb, the creator and editor of the Xbox360Achievements.org and PS3Trophies.org websites, has been tasked with drafting the challenges that players will have to meet in order to hear that reassuring bloop or ping.

  "For years we've been criticising lacklustre Achievement and Trophy lists, and now, we finally get the chance to put our money where our mouth is," said Webb. "Codemasters have put their faith in us to work with them on creating the ultimate list, and we're looking forward to repaying that trust to design Achievements and Trophies with unique objectives that will put a smile on players' faces with each and every unlock."

  "It's a new approach," admits GRID 2's executive producer Clive Moody, "but we think it will be a lot of fun and a great way to give player's an insight into this increasingly important element of game design."

  GRID 2 is set to hit the road next summer. Codemasters recently reinvented itself as a racing game specialist, with this year's Dirt: Showdown, F1 2012 and quirky karting romp F1 Race Stars its current releases.

  Published: 26/11/2012

• Grid 2 - Preview

  
  

  

  The Race For Survival

  Codemasters has just announced that it's making a sequel to its well-regarded driving game, Race Driver: Grid. Called simply Grid 2, it's due out in the summer of 2013 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

  It's been a long time coming. By the time it arrives we'll have had three Forza Motorsports, a Gran Turismo, three Dirt Games, God knows how many Need for Speeds and three F1 games from Codemasters themselves. We've seen the traditionally strong industry for racing games in the UK start to fail, with Bizarre Creations (Blur, Project Gotham) and Black Rock (Pure, Split/Second) both closing their doors. With Codemasters recently choosing to focus its efforts entirely on racing games, it's clearly got everything to play for with this sequel.

  Streets ahead

  On the surface, Grid 2 is pretty similar to its predecessor, and that's no bad thing. It's got the great Ego Engine graphics with their moody lighting, dramatic effects and aggressive-looking car models - all considerably improved in the last four years. If you're playing on PC in particular, Grid 2 looks absolutely spectacular. (A warning for fans of the in-car view, though - it's been removed, after Codemasters discovered that only 5% of players used it.)

  

  It's got a similar line-up of exotic road cars past and present, all done up in racing trim and ready to do battle on the track. It's got the same focus on dramatic, intense racing action, rather than grinding out hundreds of laps and customizing your cars. It's got the same innovative rewind feature - since copied by many other games - that offers you a second stab when you mess up a corner.

  Once again you'll be racing on city streets - including Paris, with its cobbled alleys and wide boulevards, and Chicago, with its L train tracks winding between skyscrapers - and racing tracks, like the new Yas Marina F1 circuit. But Grid 2 also adds point-to-point road races, like the winding cliff-top California Coast stage, which takes the speeds and the danger to new heights.

  Codemasters hasn't talked about the structure of the single-player game in detail yet, but you can expect something quite similar to the first game's excellent campaign mode, which emphasized variety and a sense of progression through the ranks of the racing world. As you move through the game, the locations will transform and the races will turn into bigger events; you'll go from participating in street races with hardly any spectators, to lavish race days with packed grandstands, fireworks and fly-pasts.

  

  Wheel to wheel

  You'll also progress through four tiers of cars. The first tier will have classics like the 1970s Ford Mustang and 1980s BMW M3; tier two will have the Nissan Skyline GT-R, as well as more modern muscle cars like the Chevrolet Camaro SS; tier three introduces some seriously quick machinery like the McLaren MP4/12C and the BAC Mono; and tier four features truly mental hyper-cars like the Pagani Huayra and Koenigsegg Agrea R.

  The handling of all these beasts has been revamped with a new system called TrueFeel, which Codemasters says allows it to capture the feel and character of the real things. Although based on the cars' real data running through a powerful physics simulator, cars in Grid 2 should be easier to drive than in more hardcore racing simulation games - so much so that Codemasters has taken all the driving assists options out. They're aiming for pick-up-and-play handling that still has real depth when you spend time with it - and having tried two separate cars and events in the game, we're happy to report that the developer's on the money so far.

  When it comes to playing online, once again Codemasters isn't going into great detail at this stage - but they have one important thing to reveal. Grid 2's online mode will be entirely separate from the single-player, with its own progression system and unlocks - a mode more influenced by Call of Duty than any other racing games out there. There'll also be a service called RaceNet, available over the web and on smartphones and tablets, that allows you to track your progress as well as what's going on in the game generally.

  Above all, it's this online mode that could really set Grid 2 apart, and we can't wait to hear more about it. But for fans of the first game - and of racing that's more about exciting battles on the track than shaving seconds off a lap time - Grid 2 can't come soon enough.
  

  Published: 16/08/2012

• GRID 2 dated and special editions revealed

  Hotly tipped racing sim GRID 2 will roar onto the track (aka shop shelves) on 31st May, publisher Codemasters has confirmed. That's the same date for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions of the game.

  Also announced was that GAME get the exclusive Brands Hatch Edition for Xbox 360 and PS3, which contains two additional DLC content packs.

  The McLaren Racing Pack offers the exclusive McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Special Edition car for normal play and in a special online event. It also unlocks two new routes around the Brands Hatch GP circuit, as part of the game's optional LiveRoutes system which alters the track layout for each lap, keeping experienced racers on their toes.

  You'll also get the Head Start Pack containing an exclusive Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 GT as well as discounts in the multiplayer Car Upgrades Store and a unique RaceNet bonus.

  "GRID 2 will challenge players to be fast, be first and be famous," boasts Codemasters. "Going behind the wheel of a handpicked selection of automotive icons spanning four decades, gamers will race their way to the top of a new, evolving world of motorsport. From Paris to Abu Dhabi, Chicago to the sun-kissed California coast and beyond, beautifully created city streets, licensed circuits and edge-of-control mountain roads will become home to the most visceral and exhilarating racing yet."

  Published: 01/02/2013

• GRID 2 offers at least 30 hours of single player content

  Codemasters has declared war on short games, announcing that completing the single player career mode of its upcoming racer GRID 2 is currently taking its game testers at least 30 hours.

  "It's massive," boasts senior executive producer Clive Moody. "Playthroughs at the moment - if you want to 100% the whole game - you're looking at 30-hours plus for the average gamer to get through that experience. That's doing everything we have to offer, all of the side events, promotional events and challenges as well. It's a large experience that will keep people busy, and once they've blitzed that then online multiplayer is there."

  "We've noticed a trend in recent years with some of the supposedly 'big' games that were actually six hours long, and we didn't feel that was sufficient value for money for our fans at all," adds senior designer Ross Gowing. "We wanted to make sure there was so much more for them to do."

  GRID 2 is already shaping up to be a beast of a game. As well as six multiplayer modes and weekly RaceNet challenges, the game will randomly match you with a similarly skilled rival from around the world every week, making leaderboard progression a distinctly personal battle. Play too rough, barge opponents off the track too often and you'll find yourself relegated to online matches with other unsporting racers to bash it out amongst yourselves.

  It certainly sounds like a game loaded with great ideas, and we'll get to find out on May 31st when GRID 2 roars into life for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

  Published: 12/04/2013

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