Race Driver: GRID (known as GRID in North America) is the latest addition to the TOCA Touring Car series by Codemasters. It was announced on April 19 2007, and is available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, as well as Windows PCs (using Securom for DRM). The game was released on May 30, 2008 in Europe, June 3, 2008 in North America, and in Australia on June 12, 2008.
The Mac OS X version of the game, published by Feral Interactive, was released on March 28th, 2013.[1] It includes all DLC cars and tracks.
Gameplay
This game is made by Codemasters, the creators of the TOCA/Race Driver series. GRID is a hybrid between arcade and simulator of mainly tarmac racing that consists of 43 cars. The game features an instant replay feature called Flashback which allows the player to rewind time, you access this mode by pressing the back/select button to access instant replay, but you can only go back 10 seconds. While the instant replay can be used as many times as the player wants, the Flashback feature can only be used a limited number of times, the number being limited by the difficulty setting. There are several types of competitions for different cars: GT races, single-seated races, destruction derby, etc. There are also several tracks from different countries, including Japan, United States and European tracks such as Le Mans and Spa Francorchamps.
Technology
Race Driver: GRID uses Codemasters' own Ego engine, an evolved version of the Neon engine already used in their previously released DIRT (video game). The damage code has been completely rewritten to allow for persistent damage environments.[2]
Portable version
Firebrand Games, the developers of Race Driver: Create and Race, are developing the game for the Nintendo DS.
Demo
- Main article: Race Driver: GRID Demo Features
On May 8th, 2008, a demo was released on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace. The following day, a PC version was released. The demo lets players try two game modes: racing and drifting.
The Demo also features a competition (challenge) to win a BMW 3 series for European based gamers and a chance to win a Ford Mustang for U.S. based players. The competitions for Europeans ended on May 31 at midnight, BST, and for U.S. gamers on May 25, 2008 midnight, ET.
The demo also has the two competition tracks available for an online racing experience; it allows up to 12 players to compete online.
The demo has been downloaded by over one million people on the three consoles it is available for.
Reception
The game has received mainly positive reviews.
Official Xbox Magazine awarded Race Driver: Grid a 9.0 out of 10, proclaiming, "This game isn’t about simulating racing; it’s about creating fun out of it. And it succeeds beautifully, one thrilling white knuckle at a time," with the only caveat being its relatively meager online offering.
X-Play has given Grid a 5 out of 5, stating that the "Flashback feature is superb" and that the "Damage model is excellent".
Game Revolution gave Race Driver: Grid a B out of A+, citing "Fantastic damage modeling" and "Flashbacks are a lifesaver" ". . .or an annoying crutch".
IGN.com gave Race Driver: Grid an 8.7 out of 10. Playstation Official Magazine UK and VideoGamer.com both gave Grid a 9 out of 10, as did Edge and Eurogamer.
Pcformat gave Race Driver: Grid 90%.
The Game Informer official website gave Race Driver: Grid a 9.0 out of 10 for the main review and 9.25 as the second opinion.
North American publication Nintendo Power gave the Nintendo DS version a score of 8.5 out of 10. Praise was delivered to the game's robust car and course customization features, superb graphics by DS standards, and praised the multilayer modes. Some mild criticism was delivered towards the game's single player mode for having flimsy car upgrading and lack of knowing what rewards you get before entering a race, but said that the good aspects far outweigh the bad.
References
- ↑ Feral Interactive - GRID for Mac
- ↑ Template:Cite web