One crazy special edition, loads of silly pre-order bonuses
Grid 2
Releases this week on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360
Has four different pre-order packs full of content
Tracks from across America, Europe and Asia
‘Live Routes’ means that the courses can change constantly
Disregard the PR piece that is the £125,000 Mono edition, nobody’s interested in that beyond its use as a reminder the game is out. Did it work? Probably.
No, the real story here is that the game launches with several bits missing, an incomplete sticker pack that’ll only be populated piecemeal via pre-order bonuses and unlikely to be completed unless the individual buying the game grabs some of the day-one DLC that’s apparently going to be provided to help fill in the gaps. By our reckoning, nine tracks (or, rather, variations) are pre-order bonuses.
The issue isn’t so much that you need to pre-order to get the tracks, it’s that the tracks are split over several retailers, as seems to be the norm these days. So if you bought the game in advance at GAME you get the Brands Hatch edition with two DLC packs, and if you bought it from Amazon you get another two DLC packs. The irony is, of course, is that the Mono edition, the one that costs more than a house, probably won’t have all the DLC either.
Re-re-wind. Yes, you can spin back the hands of time.
Is it an issue that a computer game lets you cheat a little bit? No, of course not. We all make mistakes, and when the AI is as brutally ruthless as the one in Grid 2 is, you need every little bit of help you can get. The problem here is that Grid 2 limits the amount of times you can press the triangle button, and hides the remaining uses away in a little bit of the UI normally reserved for where the game puts all the grit and noise and drifting cars. Hit a wall a minute or two into a race and you’re probably OK to give the button a push. Any later, and you’re most likely out of them.
So, cue a frustrating (and deeply embarrassing) few seconds of you reversing your £100,000 super car backwards and forwards a little like Austin Powers until you’re facing the right way, rather than the subtle, smooth way the game normally lets you fix your little oversteering issue. You can’t blame the game for your bad driving, but it’s a game, so why not let us rewind when we want to, like Forza, if you’re going to do it at all?
It’s all about the challenge, of course, and Grid 2 has plenty of that, from what I’ve seen. The game’s not bad – it does feel like it’s hovering between current and next gen visually (it probably looks great on a PC) and some of the user interface mechanics need refreshing (or throwing out) – but as an arcade racer it’s got a fair amount going for it. I get the impression that there might not be quite enough of the DNA of Grid left in it for the hardcore, but this is still a drift-happy middle-ground that ticks mostly the right boxes.
Grid 2 is out this week on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 (version tested).
Forrest_01
I should hopefully be getting this for my birthday – Love me a good arcadey racer & generally get on quite well with codies racers.
Plus as R1M rightly pointed out, it isn’t like there are a lot of racing games scheduled for this year!
suicidalllama
I’d really love to get this, been really wanting a decent racer for a while now.
When it comes to the rewinds being limited I’d prefer that to it being infinite which would remove a lot of the challenge. Things need to have consequences for them to matter.
Forrest_01
The limited reinds thing isn’t really an issue for me either – If you have played any Dirt game after Dirt 2, they all have a limited number of rewinds (maybe not showdown, can’t remember).
Wardy-77-
Codemasters do make exceedingly good cakes.
Forrest_01
Lol! Does that mean that Mr Kipling makes exceedingly good racing games? :D
Wardy-77-
Oh he quite possibly makes the best racing games,Oh hang on that could be Codemasters ;)
gazzagb
I enjoyed the first one, but it’s gone too arcadey for me. Having rewinds takes the pressure off, and the handling appears to be focusing too much on drifting, but it’s the lack of cockpit view which is the biggest deal breaker for me.
I’ll keep my eye on the PC version though, maybe someone somewhere down the line will create a cockpit mod for the more popular cars, and mods to change the handling.
Youles
Not had a chance to read the article, but seriously, no cock pit view? Huge deal breaker for me too, and possibly people who enjoy playing with a proper wheel and pedals.
gazzagb
I know it’s a lot of extra work to model car interiors, but without it I’m simply not going to buy the game.
Youles
It does seem a bit lazy to me, but then this is Codies who re-used most of the tracks and locations for DiRT 3 in DiRT Showdown. I understand that it might be a lot of work, but they’ve had them in GRID, DiRT, DiRT 2, DiRT 3 and DiRT Showdown, so I just see it as a step backwards. To be fair, it’s not the only reason I’m not buying it, I don’t like that Codies are also pretty DLC heavy and with GT6 being announced, and DriveClub on PS4, I can live without this.
Eldave0
Wow, that preview made the game sound pretty average. Bet those who purchased the £125,000 special edition are pissed ;)
SpikeyMikey23
Just waiting for it to arrive through the post. Can’t wait.
We used to have a regular meet with Touring Cars. Manor, Moakasice, Ash, rob, enemy and a few others Anyone interested in reviving it?
Ro6afc11
I had just assumed it was a given that something will be happening at some point.
I have my copy ordered and hoping for Friday delivery from Amazon.
G_The_Enemy14
You referring to me mikey? :) The Grid meets are the only ones I ever joined in with! They were so good, always competitive but nothing too aggressive or serious, which was handy because I was naff most of the time ha
Manorhowze
Oh yes, once everyone gets up n running with the game there will be more touring car meets going on. Just got to decide on a day to do it.
Adam Garrett
We will definitely help you promote the meets. Feel free to make a forum thread about it. Maybe the winner could be noted from each week to keep a tally going and we could see about getting a prize to add a little more competitiveness to it while keeping it more casual than a fully fledged tournament.
Just let us know what you would like :).
Manorhowze
Cheers AG, the first meet or two will just be learning how it works online, after that I wanted to do some more mini tourneys. I’ve setup a thread and hopefully will get a response as to when is a good day for everyone.
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/forum/tsa-meets/tsa-meets-grid-2/#p240335
Wardy-77-
Looking forward to this really enjoyed the original Grid, As for no cockpit view im not fussed as i don’t usually play that view anyway i like to see my car most of the time or play bonnet/bumper cam in most driving games,Apart from F1 where my view of choice was the slightly raised behind drivers helmet view.
Death_In_Flamez
Can’t believe people still refuse to buy the game because of no cockpit view. In my eyes it’s beyond silly as fundamentally it’s a fun racer. Not supposed to be like a sim anymore.
Eldave0
It’s a difficult one but, in a way, I understand where people are coming from. I stopped buying Red Faction games when they moved from FPS to TPS, as I knew I wouldn’t want to play the game from that camera perspective. It’s all down to personal tastes I guess.
Forrest_01
Aw, you missed a bit of a gem in Guerrilla then – Stupid amounts of fun had in that game. Armageddon, not so much.
Youles
Pretty sure that’s up to them.
Blayney
Seriously considering cancelling my preorder. Why couldn’t they have made grid 1 with more cars, more real world tracks, more real racing series and a proper livery editor.
The racing game I want sadly doesn’t exist. It’s a mix of Forza, Gran Turismo and ToCa Race Driver 3.
Forrest_01
Because it isn’t intended as a sim perhaps? I would say that if you want the things you describe above, you would be best sticking with GT.
Forrest_01
Sorry, forgot to add the smiley at the end.
Here you go… :)
Oh, sod it, have another for god measure! :)
Blayney
Yet I adored GRID. :(
Forrest_01
Doh! Not sure what ‘god measure’ is, but i think that’s a sign to stop posting! :D
Blayney
Take a deep breath fella.
Feel better? :p
Forrest_01
Indeed i do! ;)
Also, i should just point out that i wasn’t trying to be antagonistic with what i was saying, as i actaully get the same feeling when i realise that a racing game that appeared to be very arcadey is actually more akin to a sim (ferrari race challenge, supercar challenge etc), so i do know where you are coming from.
That said, there are only a few racing games being released this year (this & GT6 are all that comes to mind), so my point was simply that with GT6 coming, if this was a sim too then i would personally have no racers to play this year.
That said though, if you enjoyed the first grid, are you not more inclined to give this one a chance before writing it off as a loss?
TSBonyman
It doesn’t sound as gripping as the original ..
ron_mcphatty
I’m not sold yet, I was going to preorder this as a birthday present to myself, same as Forrest, but to say in the summary ‘The games not bad’ doesn’t fill me with confidence. Ill wait, keep my fingers crossed for a demo, and if all else fails treat myself to Far Cry 3 :)
Forrest, two weeks today! Got anything exciting planned?
Forrest_01
Less than one week for me now! :)
But no, i have nothing planned really as i am a boring old fart! I believe that there will be a visit from my parents on the day (although as i say that, not sure if they are coming to me, or if i am moseying down to theirs) & i have planned to hopefully have a burn around on this in the evening with those that may be getting it (R1M, Wardy etc) providing santa got my letter (what do you mean he only does xmas??), but other than that, not much.
The wife has been summoned to go work in another country for a little bit & has to leave on my birthday & i actually start my new job the following day, so i think my birthday itself will be somewhat of a subdued one.
Still, I have the possibility of a birthday Grid 2 meet, a belated birthday Burnout meet & starting a new job, so i am not completely bereft of excitement! ;)
Forrest_01
Oh & i also meant to say that you should definitely treat yourself to a copy of FC3 for your birthday regardless of Grid 2 – Absolutely marvellous game.