Since the release of the first Grid I haven’t really found a substitute for that gap between racing sim and arcade thrills. I was a huge fan of the first Grid and have been eagerly awaiting the latest instalment from Codemasters.

Career

Starting your career is painless and quick. The basis of Grid 2 is that you and your pal are trying to get a new racing league started called World Racing Series (WRS). So you start racing against other clubs and performing promo events to build up a fan base. Once you have enough fans you will be able to participate in a season of the WRS.

The fan count increases satisfyingly after each successful event lending a real sense of progression to your career. Occasionally you also get a nifty video of your increasing popularity showing YouTube hits and later clips from ESPN. The entire idea of building up your own racing league from the ground up until you conquer the world gives a very structured career experience; difficult to achieve in a racing game.

Progression

After the genius addition of the fictional WRS and the progression and structure it adds to Grid 2, Codemasters seem to have set to work removing any other sense of progression that may have been found. For a start you cannot purchase any cars or any upgrades at all.

After a certain amount of progression you will get a choice of one of two cars. Pick one and then do a few races and you can go and win the other one by beating a single lap time in it. It makes it too easy to acquire vehicles and gives you nothing to strive for. There are no dreams or hopes of getting that car you like. You get what you’re given.

Customization

Further compounding this problem is the complete lack of any customization outside of the aesthetics of your vehicles. You can’t even perform basic upgrades like better tires or improved suspension. I don’t expect simulator style enhancements, in fact I don’t want them here in Grid world. Just upgrade level I, II and III for power and handling would have added a more personal feel to the cars you have earned.

Liveries are easy to select and choose between. You can even load and save livery options and apply them to all your cars at once, making the whole experience very slick. You can’t customize every aspect of a car by adding small vinyl’s and building them up but rather the overall look of the car. With the livery and colour options available there should be enough choice but some may want more.

Racing & Cars

Handling mechanics slide and skid excitedly to create a very drift like experience most of the time. It’s very satisfying flicking a muscle car round a corner at 100mph and I’m glad to say the racing is where Grid 2 shines.

Whilst there are a nice variety of cars on offer, there are basically 3; drift, grip and balanced. The only real difference I can tell between vehicles is entirely dependant on what class it’s in. The more I progressed the more I just found myself using the same cars over and over again because they were clearly better than the others. So much so in fact that some of the cars I have earned still haven’t even been used!

More trade-offs between power and grip would have done Grid 2 the world of good and rewarded different play styles whilst encouraging the use of different cars. Unfortunately because you get given cars for free, and often you don’t really want them, gaining new vehicles is quite disappointing.

Race Modes

Rather than just driving to win first position in a classic race every time Grid 2 has a few tricks to break the potential monotony. “Endurance” sets a time limit and whoever covers more distance by the end wins. “Elimination” events will eliminate the car at the back every so often so you have to stay at the front. Hang on. I don’t actually know why this is any different from a normal race, it certainly plays the same, you just get a time limit instead of a lap count. I got Grid 2 to race so just call it a race! It’s almost like Codemasters are trying to hide the racing!

Touge and Drift events also return alongside a Checkpoint mode and some time trial challenges. The best new addition is a mode that sees you overtaking as many trucks as possible without crashing or cutting corners. The more you overtake quickly the higher your multiplier goes. It’s a nice change of pace and a great addition to Grid.

Also you will periodically play with “Live Routes” enabled. Live Routes changes the layout of the track during a race. Whilst very technically impressive the only effective difference is that you get no mini-map and occasionally a nasty hairpin bend will be thrown at you. Most of the time the track remains the same.

Tracks

Very few of the tracks in Grid 2 stem from real motorsport and soon you will have seen, driven and won on them all and be hoping for a bit of a change of scenery. Luckily the tracks are well designed and good looking.

Track design complements the handling mechanics really well ensuring you never feel limited. The little effects such as dirt and leaves are impressively subtle on top of well textured road surfaces. Sun glare and other effects in the sky are equally impressive giving the environments a nice full feel.

Online

For some reason online you do buy your cars and you can upgrade them. You earn money for winning races and Grid 2 has a much more traditional feel online. The game works fine online but there simply isn’t enough to do to hold your attention for too long. There is certainly some entertainment to be had, but it’s not indefinite with the tracks and vehicles on offer.

Audio

Grid 2’s sound effects are punchy and effective. From different tire noises on different road surfaces to the rumble of the engines Grid 2 excites throughout. The music is a little generic but it is what it is, and it complements the game well.

Visuals

Car models look good, but not outstanding. The complete lack of an interior view because (Codemasters say) almost nobody uses it seems a bit like a copout. It’s not a huge problem but I think it should be present.

The tracks and environments are definitely were Grid 2 excels. They look rich and detailed and are a pleasure to watch as you progress through the game. If only there were more.

Conclusion

Fantastic arcade(ish) racing entertainment that is what is is. If you just want to get in a car and race Grid 2 is for you. If you want loads of customization, cars, tracks and Forza 4 good looks then Grid 2 will disappoint.

It seems counterproductive to allow some features online and leave them off in the career mode. I miss the teammate system from the first Grid and the replays are a real let-down from their notoriously over-the-top predecessors. The focused, almost narrative like, career instead of the original Grid’s huge amount of options can be either a positive or a negative depending on what you want. But I don’t see the problem in letting me decide what I want to do.

Taking off solid core features like these whilst adding others that are just innovation for the sake of it ultimately hinders Grid 2. There’s a lot of Grid 2 that just feels like a step in the wrong direction. I wonder what I did with my copy of the first Grid…

Grid 2 is available now for PS3, XBOX 360 and PC

Reviewed on PS3