Grid 2

[I Rosputnik]

The latest descendant of the Toca touring car series!

The car looks like a Wiesmann.

[chunder]

Lol, perhaps the most utterly pointless trailer ever, shows you absolutely nothing aprt from a piece of graphics that you might see in Moulin Rouge!

[skells22]

was expecting a thread as soon as the tease came. i wonder how many players for online?

[rich07]

Originally Posted by I Rosputnik

The latest descendant of the Toca touring car series!

The car looks like a Wiesmann.

I'd say there's two cars, the Wiesmann and Im seeing the back end of a Pagani Huayra.

Loved the first GRID. Hoping they return with Spa, Bathurst, more sportscar racing and the whole sponsor part of the game which was interesting in itself.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by chunder

Lol, perhaps the most utterly pointless trailer ever,

Agreed. Uttery useless. Tells you nothing.

[The Original Instag8or]

As the TOCA series of games has strayed from Touring Car, so has my interest in the game. That being said, while I do own GRID and an XBox 360. I'd rather play PRD on the PS2 in V8 Supercars.

[IceMan_PJN]

Originally Posted by rich07

Loved the first GRID. Hoping they return with Spa, Bathurst, more sportscar racing and the whole sponsor part of the game which was interesting in itself.

I enjoyed the first GRID. It wasn't one of my favorite games from Codemasters, but I still liked it. It didn't deserve most of the negativity it received on message boards. I liked some of the stuff it did; so much so that I've wanted to see some other series borrow some ideas from GRID. A couple things that come to mind are 1) earning and selecting sponsors, who have different expectations and pay out different amounts, and 2) hiring a team mate and pocketing a percentage of his winnings.

[brands hatch]

Really am hoping for more "real" series and tracks than the trailer implies. I know its early stages but...

[safc_fan89]

I liked the format of GRID, but the handling was so bad that I ditched it in the end. Something I did with the TOCA games on the PS2 as well, for the same reason.

[nickyf1]

If GRID 2 has a more 'solid' arcade feel (like the last two Dirt games), then I'll definitely be up for it.

GRID was fun for what it was though, and that was causing massive accidents.

Online Demo Derby = Greatest thing ever.

[The Original Instag8or]

Originally Posted by safc_fan89

I liked the format of GRID, but the handling was so bad that I ditched it in the end. Something I did with the TOCA games on the PS2 as well, for the same reason.

I found TOCA/PRD to be among the better feeling PS2 games. The other day, I took a break from FM4 on the 360, and popped first GT4 in. Tried it in a few cars/tracks, then popped in PRD3, and in comparison, GT4 sux big time.

[Knowlesy]

I wish they'd just release ToCA 2 again. Really, has there ever been a more perfectly optimised gaming experience?

[adam46]

The Demolition Derby was good fun! I want that back!

[nickyf1]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

I wish they'd just release ToCA 2 again. Really, has there ever been a more perfectly optimised gaming experience?

It was the simplicity, wasn't it.

It was the little things: Whether it was being radio'd to come in for wets at Brands, or finally getting that first win and being greeted by the applauding pit crew. That game really captured what the BTCC was at that time. It captured it perfectly.

And now these little things are often too much to ask for games developers, who are more interested in releasing about 300000000000000 cars that nobody will actually use for the game every month in order to make mega profits..

[Knowlesy]

Indeed nicky. There were so many beautiful touches here and there. It was a game made by people who care about these things, for the fans.

But neither were Codies hellbent on stifling, dull, staid realism either. Did you know, for example, that they brought grandstands and advertising hoardings closer to the track to generate a greater sense of speed and atmosphere? Imagine that being suggested today, everyone would be raging about it because it wasn't realistic, but it worked wonderfully well and only added to the experience.

I felt the content within the game was just right too. Content, content, content. That is the byword of all modern driving games, but we get so much that the experience becomes diluted. Not only that, but it leaves following games absolutely nowhere to go. But the idea of including support series was a superb one and really clever. It was the kind of idea you'd dream about (or I did as a BTCC obsessed teenager) but never expect to happen. Well, Codies only went and put it in.

The handling was as crisp as anything, the best handling in any game. Just straddled the line of realism and accessibility perfectly. You couldn't pick up and play, but neither was it hard as nails. But there was enough substance that you could improve every time you played the game over many, many years.

The sounds have never really been bettered either. Add in the variable weather, awesome graphics and one of the greatest BTCC season lineups ever and you had one hell of a game.

ToCA World Touring Cars was ace too, but the games after that have been dire. I still wake up in the night, sweating, with visions of this guy:

[NaBUru38]

Amazing! The teaser is obviously not game footage and physics aren't from the game, it's a mockup. The point is to show the cars and tracks. I'm waiting for it!

I just hope that I can play it with the keyboard. Dirt 3 was impossible in rally and trailblazer modes. Grid 1 was perfect, like NFS MW and Carbon. Not a sim, definitely, just some arcade fun, but way more serious than Blur.

[luke g28]

Completed dirt 3 on hardest with a keyboard grid comes alive with a wheel and pedals can't wait for the sequal

Would be nice if the Drift mode didn't have completely different handling to grip driving.

[nickyf1]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

The sounds have never really been bettered either. Add in the variable weather, awesome graphics and one of the greatest BTCC season lineups ever and you had one hell of a game.

The greatness of the game matches the greatness of the BTCC at that time.

And oh, the sounds! My personal favourite was the Vectra (external view). The sounds were done very well, especially in-car, and particularly when you would skip over the gravel. Sounded exactly like it did on the telly (with those wonderful mid-cockpit shots and internal mics)..

And those little things like your driver shaking his fist, or what I believe was the first use of a dynamic cockpit view, complete with functioning mirrors and a swiveling drivers 'head cam' perspective. Codies really were ahead of their time. And I'm very glad to see that the same ToCA mentality can be found in their F1 games.

The only thing missing from the game was the smells you'd experience at a BTCC meeting!

[Knowlesy]

The Volvo was the best noise.

Also loved how all the cars handled differently. Peugeot was dog slow, Mondeo lacked rear grip etc... To reflect real life.

God I can't believe this was 1998. I actually got to play the demo, with steering wheel, at the Birmingham Motor Show that year.

[nickyf1]

I got to drive it from inside a supertourer Vectra in 2001! They had Knockhill on the screen.

Fantastic fun.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by luke g28

Would be nice if the Drift mode didn't have completely different handling to grip driving.

That's true. Like some NFS games, making drifting with a completely different physics engine is ridiculous.

[NaBUru38]

I've finished the game after less than two weeks. It's one of the best racing games ever. It's thilling, fast and fun.

Here's my Time Attack lap records with the Audi R8 LMS GT3 with no damage and no flashbacks:

o- Barcelona - Memorial Run: 1'24,021
o- Barcelona - Marine Gate: 1'09,812
o- Chicago - The Loop: 1'40,092
o- Miami - Collins Park Ring: 1'16,313
o- Miami - Downtown: 1'07,333
o- Paris - Avenue de New York: 1'39,090
o- Paris - Arc de Triomphe: 1'38,090
o- Paris - Champs Elysees: 1'09,666
o- Paris - Circuit de la Seine: 1'09,090

o- Brands Hatch - GP: 1'04.799
o- Brands Hatch - Indy: 34.95
o- Algarve - Sport: 1'24.548
o- Algarve - GP: 1'17.362
o- Indianapolis - Sport: 1'18.215
o- Indianapolis - GP: 1'07.250
o- Indianapolis - Óvalo: 42.55
o- Yas Marina - GP: 1'44.039
o- Yas Marina - Championship: 1'32.388
o- Red Bull Ring - GP: 1'12.198

[Knowlesy]

Did you genuinely think it was one of the best racing games ever? I was hugely disappointed with it, in fact I am now done with Codemasters completely as a result.

[NaBUru38]

I drive with a keyboard, so the ultra realistic simulators are impossible to drive to me.

[Knowlesy]

I love arcadey racers though. It was neither. Just boring tracks and boring cars.

Really, it is hard to link the current Codies ethos with the one that produced ToCA 2, ToCA WTC and the early Colin McRae games. And this despite the company focussing solely on racing games nowadays.