I like a good driving game. On this site alone, I have spoken about The Crew 2, as well as giving a short list of racing games from the PlayStation 2 and PS3 era of racing games in this article on Humble Bundle giving away Grid 2. One of the few memories I have of playing games with my dad comes from Burnout 3 and Revenge, two of the greatest racing games of all time. I have a long-standing affinity for racing games, big and small. My dad loves racing games, my old babysitter loved them, her daughter loved them; everyone loves a shiny box on wheels going somewhere between 100-250mph.

With that said, Grid 2 takes inspiration from those before it in the form of Burnout, but with a less arcade-like feel around it. Official car brands, sponsorships, video packages with ESPN, and several other things are why Grid 2 is almost a late and serious PS3 release of Burnout Revenge. Several races including the eliminator rounds, which was key to the Burnout franchise as much as crash events, are at the center of Grid 2. However, crashing is a non-issue as you can flashback back, much like in the official F1 series.

This makes sense, as Grid 2 is made by Codemasters, developers of the Dirt Rally, F1, Micro Machines, and Toybox Turbos. Codemasters is a developer who has had practice in the genre and, in short, knows how to create a decent or even good racing game. Which they have done well with Grid 2, a semi-professional racer, with components of Burnout which came long before it.

While the handling requires more than throwing the car into a corner and hoping it will turn, you are expected to have some skill from the get-go. In itself that could be damaging to those who are used to arcade-like driving, though after a race or two, you’ll get a hold of it. After an hour or three, you’re spinning around corners like Sung Kang in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. However, you may assume from the screenshots on Steam that you’ll be driving the biggest and best cars of modern times. You do not.

From the outset and for several hours, you’ll drive classic American muscle cars, old 80s BMW and Mercedes models, followed with a few chances to drive a Ford Focus. Since you’ll not be driving million dollar supercars from the inception, the set piece value is lost. Nonetheless, if you are a classic car fan and more of a simulation enthusiast, you’ll enjoy Grid 2.

Though there is one thing that bogs this particular game down. At a very rough estimation, I have spent 30% of the nine-plus hours in Grid 2 inside loading screens for only a handful of tracks. As I’ve played this particular title on three different platforms (PS3, Xbox One though GamePass, and now PC,) I can say this is an issue is spread over all of them. A problem that may be fixed with the best possible PC on the market right now, though I’m sure many don’t have this at their disposal.

Let’s go back to comparisons for a moment as I mentioned The Crew 2 earlier. I think Grid 2 is the only game prior to said Ubisoft title to feature social followings. The nucleus of Grid 2 is your fans; from sponsorships, winning, and anything aside from painting your car, can result in more fans. Which isn’t much of an incentive to move forward, though more fans mean more cars to participate in races with.

In conclusion, Grid 2 is possibly the best example of classic racers from the PS3 era. While almost everything else was going off into open-world, including Burnout, Grid 2 is just a collection of tracks and events. If you are looking for a great simulation and a fun racer, I’d suggest Grid 2. However, there are much better racing games out there if you are looking for more of a balance between arcade and simulator.

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Grid 2

$29.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Fun Racer
• Nice Short Races

Cons

• Plentiful Loading Times
• Annoying Voice-over During Races