New racing game announced from creators of DiRT
If current driving games have left your pulse cruising in the slow lane, then Codemasters, the company behind the well-received DiRT rally game, believes it has the racing game for you: Grid. Using an evolution of the engine from DiRT, Grid is all about racing. And if you think "racing game" means spending hours adjusting damper settings and orange-peel-metallic-fade-to-lilac paint jobs, then prepare to be shocked. Says Chief Game Designer Ralph Fulton, "This is not a game about collecting cars or spending all of your time in the front-end tuning suspension settings or designing liveries. We want to make racing exciting again." Well, for some, adjusting dampers is exciting, but we digress.
Grid says it will be a "step-change" in the racing game world, offering tracks in Japan, Europe, and America that highlight local racing flavors: drifting and underground in Japan, classic race tracks in Europe, and street venues in America that include Detroit. Cars will run from Koenigseggs and Astons in Europe to Camaros and Challengers in the US. We aren't sure how much more focused you could be on racing than in the driving games currently offered, but we're always up for a new player. Grid arrives in the middle of next year.
[Source: Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
VP 7:27PM (12/03/2007)
GT just doesn't entice me anymore, the Need for Speed franchise (my favorite) has been ruined with the new release, Project Gotham is not an option since i am Playstation guy. Yes i am ready for a good new racing game.
Can somebody just please update NFS Hot Pursuit 2, with todays graphics & cars?? I will take that in a minute.
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clevershark 7:48PM (12/03/2007)
True, NFS HP2 hit just the right note back in the day, and it's still fun to play now every once in a while. You could try Test Drive Unlimited, which isn't bad driving-wise.
madgamer 8:03PM (12/03/2007)
I found need for speed most wanted to be very reminiscent of NFS hot pursuit 2. you might check it or NFS carbon, as both feature running from the cops and stuff, the 1st far more than the second one.
JD 8:01PM (12/03/2007)
Man, HP2 for me marks the beginning of the end of the NFS series. I'll admit Underground 2 and Most Wanted were pretty good, but HP2 just makes my head hurt. Prostreet has some good stuff, but mostly is lame. The product placement and sponsorship is painful. The game should be free if there's that much frickin advertising! But I do hear what you're saying. I have a 360, so I have PGR4, which is much better than 3, and Forza 2. Between PGR4, Forza 2, and dirt, I'm pretty well covered in racing games.
But as I said, I hear ya. I started thinking of alternatives on other platforms, and am honestly drawing a blank. My advice: if you're not drawn to GT anymore, get a 360 (despite your allegiance to PS1/2/3/whatever) for $350, and those 3 games. You're set for life, man. Forza is huge. PGR4 has cool weather and slick cars (Tesla, Caparro? good stuff here), and Dirt is a great rally game. But if they apply the same quality and are as thorough with grid as they are with dirt, it looks pretty solid, as much of a PGR clone it looks like from that screenshot they have.
why not the LS2/LS7? 8:54PM (12/03/2007)
If GT doesn't do it for you anymore, I don't recommend Forza. Not at all. It's the same game, but with even less variety (no special conditions, no rally, no dirt). Also, you have no good racing wheels to choose from on 360.
TOCA 2 is great. It's available for PS2, get it. TOCA 3 is good too.
I don't really recommend PGR4 much either. It's clear MS abandoned this game halfway through. It has car classes, but you can't even tell what class a car is in before you buy it! I guess that's better than PGR3, which had no classes at all.
PGR2 was fantastic, but it doesn't work correctly on 360. It had classes and such, and the right combination of difficulty. I despite the kudos races, making you do burnouts and skids, but the rest is dynamite.
Rallisport Challenge 2 is fantastic, it's the most fun (no very technical) rally game ever made on any platform. It's all about speed, what a blast. Sadly, it doesn't run at all on 360, only original Xbox.
If you like really really real, GTR2 is great on PC. But most people find it boring as hell. It's a real sim, like flight simulators are for planes.
Galley 10:33PM (12/03/2007)
I agree 100%. I have yet to find a racing game that I have enjoyed more than Hot Pursuit 2!
Willem B 7:13AM (12/04/2007)
Call me old school, but I've never liked a NFS better than Porsche 2000 / Porsche Unleashed. That is still the ultimate racing game.
naggs 7:45PM (12/03/2007)
sounds like need for speed and project gotham type "racing" game
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Mark 8:09PM (12/03/2007)
NFS: pro street is plenty of fun. The cars are realistic, geometries seem right, and I get to have a CTS-V, I'm sold. I think some people have a problem with track racing, but idk why?
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VP 8:56PM (12/03/2007)
Because track racing is not what made NFS the franchise that it is. What do you get in HP2: loud music, uber fast cars and awesome action. Titles like GT are for track racing. Thank god i only rented and didn't buy the new NSF.
dskinner 8:13PM (12/03/2007)
Hmmm...8000rpm redline for a Camaro...
Never saw that on any GT games.
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Mark 8:24PM (12/03/2007)
The new Camaro does red line at 7k, not too far off. Maybe its just me but the gt games blow ass. I can't seem to take a sharp turn over 60mph in a Porsche, but I can in my blazer in real life - there is a problem. GT isn't the bible of racing sims.
why not the LS2/LS7? 8:55PM (12/03/2007)
Wow. You should see a real sim. GT lets you get away with murder. If you can't take a corner fast in GT, you sure as heck can't do it in a real sim.
tankd0g 8:49PM (12/03/2007)
TOCA Race Driver 3 for me is the best racing game going right now. It's just not a waring game if oyu can't hop into several evolutions of Formula 1 car AND V8 Supercars. I hope Grid has the same variety.
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AlfaMike 9:13PM (12/03/2007)
Bring on this new racing game! It sounds great.
I was also disappointed with the latest Need for Speed ProStreets, wanted more real street races in cities with cops, more exciting action.
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Iridium 9:41PM (12/03/2007)
I think Dirt is a great game. The graphics are very good and it's a lot of fun. Some of the physics aren't exactly realistic and most of the cars handle the same, the only drawbacks.
I hope grid allows you to customize the look of your cars. That was really the only thing I liked about the last few NFS games.
I like to have a virtual version of the car I drive in real life that can be tuned to race with cars later in the game.
Also I hope that it uses the full range of my GT4 racing wheel. I don't like it when games only use the limited range.
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Pokey 9:42PM (12/03/2007)
With all the lackluster racing games that have come out lately, I eagerly await the new Midnight Club game that is to come out next spring!
Some of the cars and the premise of the last Midnight Club (DUB Edition) might not have been most peoples cup of tea, but there is no doubt that it was by far one of the most exciting racing games ever. The action and speed is just so intense, it reminds me of the Hot Pursuit days, only better (as long as you use your own music).
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Jim 10:12PM (12/03/2007)
"and street venues in America that include Detroit."
huh. better disable the controller's rumble feature, or stock up on AA batteries...
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tbirdkatz 11:13PM (12/03/2007)
I still play Vanishing Point on my Sega Dreamcast, which tells you how deep that game is. For $10 bucks at gamestop, I got well over 50-100 hours of gameplay and I still haven't achieved everything. Test Drive Unlimited is also pretty good. I can't believe y'all didn't like Gran Tourismo 2. That was good stuff.
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ermax18 11:42PM (12/03/2007)
Man you guy love your arcade games. GT is way more realistic then any other arcade like games. GT5 with a G25 was surprising to me. Still not a true sim but not bad. NFS is for children. The most realistic NFS was probably NFS PU which was probably the worst selling edition of them all.
Ditch all the arcade games and get rFactor, GTR2 and/or LFS. Oh and ditch the game pad to. Last time I checked they didn't have game pads in real cars/racecars. Also.. before you guys critique any racesims, step into a real racecar on a real track.
Also, someone said GTR2 is boring because it is a sim like flightsim. I would hardly compare the two. GTR2 may be boring to some of you because for the life of you, you can't do a complete lap without going off. But that is what makes it fun.. just like real driving. Well.. not in a blazer.. but a real sportscar. :)
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