Race Driver: GRID this summer

By Robert Purchese Published 19 February, 2008

Realism through a Hollywood lens.

Codemasters has said it aims to release Race Driver: GRID on PS3, 360 and PC this summer.

It was also keen to point out that this should not be considered a TOCA game, but rather an exciting experience somewhere between realism and arcade.

"Put simply, GRID is all about making racing cars exciting again. We got tired of playing games that are more about collecting or tuning or decorating cars than they are about actually racing them," game designer Ralph Fulton told videogaming247.

"It's also key that this isn’t another TOCA game. The name change is important in that it signifies a change of direction away from our simulation roots.

"We’re still serious about building a realistically-simulated world, but we want it to be a world seen through the lens of a Hollywood director. That means ensuring that the game is fast-paced and rich with incident."

GRID is powered by a new and improved version of the Colin McRae: DiRT engine, which is now called EGO. This means it looks better and can handle more cars and spectators on the screen at once.

It's also been designed with an American audience in mind: gamers who didn't 'get' TOCA, according to recent comments by Fulton.

We got our hands on it just the other day and were suitably impressed: it's well-polished, entertaining, and has some interesting ideas.

Pop over to our first impressions of Race Driver: GRID to find out more.

Alternatively, head over to Eurogamer TV to see what Race Driver: GRID looks like in motion. Media Dan says it looks lovely. Do you believe/trust him?

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (11) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • neilka #1 4 years ago

    Last one to the finish line has GRID!

  • SteveB #2 4 years ago

    I don't think any console game has really nailed the feel of racing so if they can do that this could be good.

  • Jonesie2k #3 4 years ago

    i still love pgr4. its so adrenaline filled when ya in a room of good, fair racers. bring on GRID though, hopefully will be the perfect mix of realism and simulation. not a big fan of forza due to it focussing too much on customization, i just want good racin!!!

  • GamerAddict #4 4 years ago

    Are EG now a part of Codies marketing department?? We've had numerous separate stories about the same game within a week! Could you not squeeze it all into one? Or do EG and Codies feel that this game needs lots of exposure??

  • peterfll #5 4 years ago

    The footage link is pure FMV, so what value does it have in the context of telling you anything about the actual game?

    I might as well watch Tron.

  • riz23 #6 4 years ago

    No more TOCA game? *sniff* I always thought the TOCA games were about bumper to bumper racing and not collecting, tuning and decorating. It is painful to watch Codies toadying up to the yanks. First we get Travis Pastrana in DIRT and now we get this. I don't doubt that it will be of high quality, it's just a shame it will become so homogenous (sp?). Just another racing game. Whatever. Dude.

  • ozallez #7 4 years ago

    wow, how umm... exciting?
    Disappointing i'd say. Shouldn't EG's editorial be reflecting the views of Toca fans a little more rather than just regurgitating press releases?
    Is this still EUROgamer
    Edited by 2 at 19/02/08 @ 18:34

  • BooMMooB #8 4 years ago

    this summer? Nice, then I'll have a few months left with PGR4 (which I just got and haven't had in my xbox yet) and forza2 which still impresses me much. I really, really hope that Codies hit the nail with Grid. I think the outlook of it shows much potential. I so want it to be good.

  • FooAtari #9 4 years ago

    Codies you can take your racing games and shove them right up your rectum.

    The McRae and Toca games used to be really good. We don't need another PGR 4/NFS thanks.

  • SomaticSense #10 4 years ago

    One part of me is saying "EGers, pissing and moaning yet again". But the other is in total agreement. In this case I think the comments are fully justified.

    What made the CMR and TOCA games so great was that they were undeniably 'european' and clearly developed by British devs who loved racing and rallying. They were some of the very few games out there that had a 'flavour' unique to us. Codies were one of the few game developers/publishers I respected because they targeted the game towards us and our culture. Doing what they are doing is like a well-respected Japanese dev with a rep for developing purely Japanese flavoured games for the Japanese market saying "we are now making games to please the American and European market. We are no longer interested in creating games for the Japanese audience that have made us". Imagine the uproar that would cause over in the Far East. And rightfully so.

    It's been apparent for a while now that gaming is becoming more and more targeted towards the casual gamer in the obsessive pursuit of money. Codies are now becoming probably the most blatantly obvious example of this, and are genuinly risking shooting themselves in the foot for it by alienating their original core audience. It wouldn't be so bad if they were also interested in making their more traditional games, but the fact they seem to be completely ceasing all development of those type of titles.

    I fully understand they are a business, and as such need to think about their long term future, which obviously involves trying to gain as much revenue as possible to keep the company afloat. But I disagree with their tactic of turning established 'european' targeted franchises into Yank friendly derivative toss. They could quite easily create new, totally unrelated franchises for the US market, while still making games for us.

    Because of this, I'm no longer buying Codemasters games.
    Edited by 1 at 20/02/08 @ 14:06

  • Triggerhappytel #11 4 years ago

    "It is painful to watch Codies toadying up to the yanks."

    I totally agree. I'd rather this were just classic TOCA-esque bumper-to-bumper racing, with or without the licence.