Publisher: Codemasters
Developer: Codemasters
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Racing
Release date: Available now
Review by: Andrew Clark

My appetency to win transfers just the right amount of strength to my leg to push the accelerator through the floorboards, stabbing the already red engine with white hot spurs. Two particularly troublesome rivals are crowding my rear, with the rest of the pack choking on the atomized pavement behind us. By my figuring almost a half a million dollars of fiberglass, steel and Italian leather churn recklessly underneath me. One more successful turn and I stand the tallest on the podium, one wrong move and I become the only man with a flying car in the vicinity.

Codemasters know their racing games, as made evident by their successful TOCA and Colin McRae (R.I.P.) series. DiRT, another CM racer was released last year to solid reviews; praising its great visuals, damage modeling and amazingly useable cockpit view. Now the 23 year old developer is looking to take the same tenacity (and engine) from DiRT and apply it to some asphalt with their latest: Grid.

Grid welcomes you to the starting line as an arcade racer with accoutrements aplenty; dropping a campaign, custom races and multiplayer modes in your lap, but also layering on options to dive into deeper waters and partake in a more robust role, rather than being just a wheelman. In the career mode, known as Grid World, the player takes on the role of a lowly driver, struggling to afford his first competition-worthy car, tackling sponsored races and getting to drive some cool machinery in the process. All this hard work eventually pays off when you are granted the option to start your own racing outfit and become team leader. This puts you in charge of recruiting drivers, branding and assigning important sponsorships which can rake in boatloads of money for the organization. It is at this point you realize that although gripping the wheel is the point of the game, a little simulation in the right dose can enhance without obscuring.

Three countries, three different license classes and the respective cars that go with them are available for purchase in Grid World. Although sometimes you are forced to use proprietary cars in some events, most race types offer more auto than can be decided upon. American muscle, European elegance, and Japanese tuned drifters are among those in the roster, as well as open wheel racers and race derby jalopies. Each car is rendered with love and care, and although there’s no option to switch out components or adjust things like braking or gear ratios, you can still personalize it with a color scheme, decals and number to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack.