GRID 2 then, the sequel to Race Driver: GRID – holy cow, that was released in 2008… It doesn’t seem that long ago. Maybe I’ve been used to seeing so many DIRT games also released by Codemasters that they’re mentally blurring into one in my mind.

That said, GRID 2 is a pretty decent racing game that represents an enjoyable third way, between hardcore simulations such as Gran Turismo 5 and pure arcade racers such as the Burnout series. This middle ground isn’t a new phenomenon. Late last year we had the excellent Forza Horizon that attempted to meld open-world road racing, with the authentic sim heart of Forza 4.

GRID 2 is all about racing in a wide variety of disciplines, from Race to Drift, through many others – but its focus is on circuit racing. These can vary from famous circuits such as Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi, to Indianapolis’ famous speedway. Then there are the street circuits – fictional tracks in great cities such as Chicago, Dubai and Paris.

And, my favourite of all, Brands Hatch is included! Having lived in and around London for so long, Brands was always my local track and I spent many happy hours lapping the Indy Circuit layout in various cars I used to own. The Indy layout is included in the game, but the Grand Prix layout is paid DLC. That’s ok – I always used to drive the cheaper and more readily available Indy layout anyway.

It’s very faithfully recreated too – the downhill right hand drop though Paddock Hill Bend, leading into the big stop for Druids Hairpin, leading to Graham Hill Bend… I always had a problem with Graham Hill Bend. It was one of those bends, where in a real car, you never knew whether to be in second or third gear. Each felt wrong in different ways. It’s a simple-looking left-hander, but damned difficult to nail.

There is a point here – after just a few laps of Brands in GRID 2, I had found an entirely different line that never occurred to me when driving in a real car. Keep left exiting Druids, then aim straight for the right edge of the track for Graham Hill, but later than I thought. That solved it. I want to try driving it again in a real car now…

But – as stated – the track is very faithfully recreated, down to the pits, the office buildings around the track – everything looks correct. This impressive realism continues throughout – the Chicago and Dubai skylines are glorious to behold, with sharp, beautiful detail that stretches right to the horizon with no pop-up or lazy textures. Each car looks completely correct – there is no in-car view in GRID 2, which has upset some fans – I personally use the bonnet cam view, but the light reflection simulation is deeply impressive. The way the light reflects and flows along your car’s bonnet looks utterly convincing.

Your Local Guardian: Review: GRID 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

I also like the way that some features have been deliberately left out, in the name of good gameplay. There are no driving aids at all – no traction control or stability control. Therefore there’s no fretting about whether to be a sell-out and leave them switched on in the name of achieving ultimate pace, or to tackle the real challenge of handling a car as it should be, au naturel. Also there is no racing line assist around the track – you just have to dive in and learn your way around. Another good call – I’m actually learning the track, rather than following a green and red line and missing out on all the detail around me.

Beyond this, the game is split into two separate halves, the single-player and multiplayer campaigns. The single player mode has a story, about your character being recruited as a popular up-and-comer to help launch a new international race series, blah blah blah. There are a lot of cut scenes of spectators texting each other about your character’s exploits in the last race, uploading clips to YouTube etc. So that’s the yoof extreme sports marketing angle covered.

That aside, the single-player campaign is very good – a long and varied campaign of events. These can range from the extremes of driving twisty, narrow Californian trails in recalcitrant muscle cars, to drift events on city circuits in Japanese sports cars, to dedicated circuit races in countries such as Abu Dhabi – perhaps in tiny hot hatches such as Alfa-Romeo Mitos.

Your Local Guardian: Review: GRID 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

Progression here allows the purchase and winning of other cars, to fill out your garage and compete in more events. The usual array of upgrades and cosmetic customisation is present too – not as comprehensive as games such as Forza – but the game really isn’t trying to be that.

Note that I used the phrase “multiplayer campaign” earlier – that’s exactly what it is. Multiplayer is an entirely separate more, freed from back stories and cut-scenes, that nevertheless encourages progression and commitment. It’s possible to play by event, quick or custom, or by playlist – everything, pure racing only, or alternative disciplines (drift etc).

Your winnings from this mode too can be used to unlock and uprate cars – vital to remain competitive with some of the great players out there. Online racing is such a strange beast – a split mix of utter sim-heads, with incredible skill – or dirty cheating no-gooders, who delight in using you as their braking force for the first corner. It’s easy to sink at first amongst all this, but power through the first few hours and you can build up enough upgrades, cars and experience to swim with the big fish.

Multiplayer has one thing I’ve never seen before – a rewind function. This is pretty standard fare for many racing games in single-player – if you crash, press a button and rewind time for a few seconds, so you can undo your mistake and drive on. But use this wisely as you only have a few per race. In GRID 2, this has been integrated into multiplayer very well. Assuming you have been punted off and spun in the first corner, from the lead (heart-breaking!) – just press a button and you are placed back on the track, pointing in the right direction and at race speed, but a couple of hundred metres back from where you were. This allows the surreal effect of driving past the smoke and debris of your own accident.

Anyway, it is possible to filter races by such advanced choices as Collisions On / Off – I use that a lot. The replays also look great – the game encourages you to sign up to Racenet – Codemasters’ online service for the game. Enter your YouTube account details on the web portal and you can upload replays to YouTube with a push of a button.

All said, I like GRID 2 a lot. I think this may have just the right balance of depth – but not too much – that I’m looking for in a racing game. I’ve certainly enjoyed it more than the more sim-heavy games such as GT5 and Forza 4 – I like it just as much as Forza Horizon, which is to say a lot.

Well done, then, Codemasters. Hopefully they can get GRID 3 out before 2018!

8.5/10

GRID 2 is out now for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Xbox 360 version tested.