Grid 2 - To buy or not to buy?!

OK, I'll start this article by saying if you hated the first game, leave now, there's nothing to see here folks. However if you are the type who enjoys the 'Codemaster' driving games and are unsure about whether to purchase their newest title, here are a few reasons to sway your decision.

The game is very similar to its predecessor, easy to pick up and play, fast and fun with several different modes and a career mode which poses some challenge while remaining fun to play through. The graphics are nice in parts, though perhaps lacking in places where other driving games are beginning to focus on. The cars and lighting effects look crisp, but crowds and some scenery are not complimentary at all. For instance while you slam into the barrier at 150mph the crowd standing just feet away would rather cheer and clap for you with blurred faces, rather than caring for there own welfare or for that of the driver of the car. I understand they would rather focus on performance in collisions than the reaction of a crowd, but i really feel Codemasters let themselves down with the smaller details. The game is tailored towards a more arcadey style of driver so perhaps i shouldn't grumble.

So what content does the game provides; 53 cars, which doesn't compete with other driving titles out, but is still plenty to keep you excited, 83 track configurations, with the added bonus of randomly generated maps for there new game type. It also offers plenty of different modes to keep you entertained including the classic grid 1 modes, plus some added ones, all of which I'd say are really enjoyable. The customisation has not advanced much, changing the colours of the car and the style of the wheels are about as far as you can go, with nothing being focused on the performance of the car. Sponsors also are shown on the cars, and act as secondary objectives during the races. The story focuses on you gaining fans from winning races and completing secondary objectives in order to earn your promotion races and advance with the story. This replaces the previous money earned, which would buy you cars, and is somewhat less satisfying. The story however progress's fast and is fun, constantly throwing new cars to drive around in and fun objectives to complete.

So that's enough about the story, what about the online? Multiplayer on Grid 1 was great fun in my opinion and allowed friends which weren't to into driving games to have a chance and just enjoy it. The multiplayer in Grid 2 certainly seems to have progressed but for the better? I am unsure. Having only played the online a handful of times it is a possibility i am speaking to soon, however it seems to gain new cars you must play the online for some time, meaning you cant expect to win many of the races in the early stages due to being lumped with the slower car. This seems to be rather contradictory to the pick up and play nature of Grid, and has left me slightly confused. Putting this aside, Its still great fun, and is quite possibly 'Codemasters' attempt to draw a real following to the game rather than casual players playing it once in a while for a bit of fun.

So to buy or not to buy?

-The game is fun.
-The graphics let it down slightly in places, but the game plays well and performs well.
-The career mode will keep you entertained for many hours.
-The multiplayer is more tailored towards rewarding those who play the game a lot.

Perhaps the redeeming fact for this game is the price, being available between £15-20, it is worth a punt and while may not rival some more polished driving games it does offer great value for money!