Race Driver: Grid

Race Driver: Grid is the latest addition to the TOCA Touring Car series, published and developed by the Codemasters company. It was announced on April 19, 2007, and is available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and PC. The game was released on May 30, 2008, in Europe, on June 3, 2008, in North America, and on June 12, 2008, in Australia.^[1]

Race Driver: GRID
Developer(s)	Codemasters Firebrand Games (Nintendo DS)
Publisher(s)	Codemasters
Engine	Ego (Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) Octane Engine (Nintendo DS)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS
Release	PS3, X360, PC Nintendo DS
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

This game was made by Codemasters, the creators of the TOCA/Race Driver series. Race Driver: GRID is an arcade / tarmac racing simulator consisting of 43 cars. The game features an Instant Replay feature which allows the player to rewind time by up to 10 seconds as many times as the player wants to. There is also a Flashback feature, which can only be used for a limited number of times of which is determined by the difficulty setting.

There are several modes of competition using various cars, including: GT races, open wheel races, demolition derbies, etc. There are also several tracks derived from different countries, including Japan, United States and European tracks such as Le Mans and Spa Francorchamps. A track derived from the streets of Milan is also available.

Firebrand Games, the developers of Race Driver: Create and Race, developed the game for the Nintendo DS. The game has 20 circuits available, along with 25 cars. The game also included an updated version of the Track Designer from Race Driver: Create and Race, which allows players to create their own custom circuits and roadside billboards. The portable version was launched in early August of 2008.^[6]

On May 8, 2008, a demo was released on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace. The following day, a PC version was released.^[7] The demo lets players try two game modes: racing and drifting.

The Demo also featured a competition (challenge), with a BMW 3 series, as a prize, for European-based gamers^[8], and a Ford Mustang for U.S.-based players.^[9] The European competition ended on May 31 at midnight, BST, and on May 25, 2008 midnight, ET, for U.S. gamers.

The demo also has the two competition tracks available online. The demo allows up to 12 players to compete online. The demo has been downloaded by over one million people over three platforms.^[10][11]

On December 4 2008, the '8-Ball Pack' was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Network for 800 points and £6.79, respectively. The pack contains 8 new cars: Car classes in brackets^{[citation needed]}

Future content

Another pack - the V8 Car Pack - is set to be released in 2009. It is reported^[who?] to include muscle cars such as the Holden VE Commodore and a new track, Bathurst.^{[citation needed]}

Game engine

Race Driver: GRID uses Codemasters' own Ego engine, an updated version of the Neon engine already being used in their previous release Colin McRae: DiRT. The damage code has been completely rewritten to allow for environments with the potential for persistent damage.^[14]

The game has received almost universally positive praise from critics.

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 negative point being its relatively meager online offering.^[31]

X-Play has given Grid a 5 out of 5, stating, "the Flashback feature is superb" and claiming "the damage is excellent".^[32]

Game Revolution gave Race Driver: Grid a B, calling the damage "fantastic" and calling the Flashback feature "a lifesaver".^[33]

IGN.com gave the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 versions of the game 8.7/10.^[23][24][25] A score of 8.3/10 was awarded to the Nintendo DS release.^[26]

Official UK PlayStation Magazine, VideoGamer.com, Edge and Eurogamer all gave Grid a score of 9/10.^{[34][35][17][36]}

N-Europe gave the DS version an 8/10.^[37]

PC Format gave Race Driver: Grid a score of 90%.^[38]

GameSpot gave the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game 8/10,^[18][19] and the DS version 8.5/10.^[20]

Game Informer gave Race Driver: Grid a score of 9/10, with a second opinion score of 9.25/10.^[39]

PC Gamer UK gave Race Driver: Grid a score of 88%, saying that the racer was made of style and substance.^[40]

North American publication Nintendo Power gave the Nintendo DS version a score of 8.5 out of 10. Praise was heaped on the game's robust car and course customization features, superb graphics (by DS standards), and multiplayer modes. ^[41]

Awards

• IGN Best of 2008:
  • IGN Editors' Choice Award (2008)
  • Best Xbox 360 Racing/Driving Game
  • Best Nintendo DS Racing/Driving Game^[42]
• Best in 2008 by Sports British Academy Video Games Awards ^[43]

• Ambisonics, the audio technology used in the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions
• TOCA Touring Car series

• Race Driver: GRID official site
• Race Driver: GRID community site
• Blog with Simon Goodwin, who developed the audio engine