PS3 5024866336221 RACEDRIVER GRID

 “It’s all about the race” says Codemasters about Race Driver: GRID, its big summer blockbuster, out on 360, PS3, PC and DS. From the same team that brought you 2007’s highly regarded Colin McRae: DIRT, GRID aims to capture “every moment from the adrenalin rush at the start lights to the elation at the chequered flag - the tension, pressure, noise and action”.

This stunning looking title focuses on only the most powerful race cars, both past and present, and covering both circuit and drift. Players will get to compete in a contrasting selection of events, from official race tracks and championships, before going on to take part in intense city-based competitions, road events and even urban street racing. Like the three TOCA Race Driver titles before it, variety is high on the agenda, making the game feel like several top-class racing games in one.

Focusing on Europe, the U.S. and the Far East, there are familiar cars and tracks to suit every petrol-head fetish imaginable. In Europe, for example, players can compete on the best-loved official tracks in prestige Marques including Aston Martin, Koenigsegg and Pagani.

Elsewhere, in the U.S. gamers can race around San Francisco, Washington D.C and Detroit in street racing events that feature V8 Muscle Cars, while the Far East plays host to night races in neon-drenched cities and mountain roads,  through back streets and the industrial areas of Yokohama “on the fringes of legality”.

Meanwhile the specifically tailored DS version not only promises stunning visuals, but “the most complete pick-up-and-play pocket racing package”.  As well as boasting extensive multiplayer options that let players compete in four-player online races, the DS version also features an evolution of the exclusive track editor first seen in Race Driver: Create and Race last year. With over 60 pieces to choose from, gamers have near-limitless options to design a track of their choice.

But whichever format gamers go for, Race Driver: GRID sets a new high water mark for racing game excitement, with incredible graphics, deep career mode, incredible variety and top-notch online play.

PS3 5024866336221 RACEDRIVER GRID