Codemasters original Race Driver: GRiD set the tongues of petrol heads and casual speedsters wagging when it shipped almost five years ago, so its quite surprising that its taken this long for the last bastion of home grown Brit developers to deliver a sequel. Packing punch both online and offline, GRiD 2 sports a series of lush environments, a thrilling roster of cars, and some of the best visuals this side of the impending next-gen launch.
Much like Project Gotham and Forza, Codies follow up straddles the line between arcade and sim-based racing, while encouraging you to lean heavily towards mastering the art of drifting. And like before the ingenious rewind mechanic makes a welcome return, allowing you to rectify a mid-race mishap that would normally cost you a place on the podium. Theres a plot at play here too, as GRID makes somewhat of an attempt to return to its TOCA Race Driver roots, thrusting you behind the wheel of a car and under the employment of one Patrick Callahan, in the fictional World Series Racing.
And thats about as much depth as the narrative is awarded because GRID 2 wants you to race, and race you will across a series of increasingly tougher tracks in the US, Europe and the Middle East, before daring you to dazzle competitors in its solid online mode. A master class in digital motor racing, GRID 2 is the perfect swansong before the series makes the inevitable leap to the new console kings.