Shifting Gears For "GRID 2"
Probably one of my top of the top games to always go back to play on my Xbox has to be Codemasters' GRID. Out of all the racing games I've played this is my favorite one, and now the long wait for its sequel GRID 2 is almost over. While I haven't gotten my hands on it I have been drooling over the new videos they have been showing, especially with the graphics as sexy as they are.
Honestly I don't think this trailer does complete justice. (It's lacking in the kick-ass music like the first one's intro, what with the UNKLE remix Queens of the Stone Age's "No One Knows.") Since 2008 GRID has been my baseline game for racing, and nothing has really been able to equal the racing quality of it. The other race games that Codemasters have produced in-between such as the brilliant Dirt series and F1 racing have been the cookie cutter off-grid from the format and design of the game. It got to the point of frustration of when they were going to come out with the sequel, but happily I can look forward to when May 28th hits.
For GRID 2 they are using the new EGO 3.0 engine, which from what I've seen so far looks awesome for the racing games. As you can see the picture above the graphics on the car are smooth, even while the car is caught in this power slide movement. The reflection of the clear coat is gorgeous, and not only that you can see the reflections of the buildings and sky going up through the cars window. This is what I'm looking for in racing graphics, especially when I get into the tunnel vision while racing. With everything that I have loved with this series, from just the run around the tracks and drifting to the drag racing, I hope that they are able to build off from the first one with some multiple racing classes and very awesome vehicles.
The gameplay I'm hoping they keep from the first GRID consists of the three countries (US, Europe, and Japan) having their own championships between them. US dealt with mainly muscle cars that reigned true, Europe had more of the top-of-the-line super sports cars, and then Japan mainly focused on the drifting (with each having bits of one another at each championship, of course). Now I'm hoping they open up more to some of the other countries, giveing you more options to move around just like Dirt 2 did. On GRID they had GT (Grand Turismo) Championships, Drift, Touge, Open Wheel, and Demolition Derby. They can all keep these in GRID 2, of course, as I can't really say that there was one of these that I didn't like. The actual controls of the first GRID were very simple and easy to work with, along with the multiple views they had in or around the car. (I swear if I had the money, I would get the special racing chair with a racing wheel, strap myself in put it on manual, and start shifting and drifting away!)
There is one thing that I hope they include just a tad: rally cross and some more of the extreme style racing, as we've seen in Codemasters' Dirt series. Those have been some of my favorite things from that series, and it would be interesting to showcase these styles in the GRID realm. Until the end of May comes, though, the first one will keep me at bay.
If you get a chance to go to your local game store, go and grab the first GRID. Hopefully you'll see what I've been talking about here and on the Podcast show regarding just how awesome Codemasters made it. If you wind up enjoying it, you'll be treated even more because you wouldn't have had to wait that long to play GRID 2. Now that I've finished talking about the sequel, I'm going to head down to my Bomb Shelter and play the first one again to prepare. Trust me: the racing here is that addictive!
For more information on GRID 2 visit their official website!
Check out the intro of the first GRID below. It is simply amazing: