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Race driver grid steam3/5/2023 ![]() But I was there for GRID 2, to the point that I played it multiple times each day. Hell, the WiiU was there and the lines for that were horrific, all day, every single day of the show. Games like Halo 4, Gears of War: Judgement and Metal Gear Rising were there that year, alongside DmC, the Tomb Raider reboot, Dishonoured and Hitman: Absolution. Indeed, eventually GRID 2 was announced and I even paid to go to London for the Eurogamer Expo (before it was rebranded to EGX) in 2012 so I could play it. It took quite a while for a sequel to arrive, but I still remember tweeting about my disappointment and the GRID account replying with something along the lines of, “you never know what’s around the corner.” That tease had me grinning, as I had waited years for something, anything, that indicated a sequel was coming. Despite the game’s exaggerated physics, in many ways it was the most realistic representation of the world’s most famous endurance race. In reality, it was probably about 24 minutes, but the game would simulate the transition from day to night, back to daylight for the finish and it was legitimately terrifying at times. That was one of the coolest things in the career mode, as the end of each season would bring with it the chance to drive Le Mans 24 Hours. The biggest goal in Race Driver: GRID was to earn enough to get your team into Le Mans at the end of a season. ![]() Like the original Gran Turismo, the goal would be to earn enough to start buying new cars, sometimes dream cars. During races, icons in the bottom corner would indicate damage and sometimes a used car might wear out quicker than expected, but it was all you could afford early on. This came with its own set of challenges as you didn’t know how recklessly the car was driven before, only how many races it had competed in and how many times it had been wrecked, if any. Driving for other teams meant that a percentage of your payout would go to them, but you wouldn’t have to worry about the car too much, whereas driving your own car might give you bigger rewards, but at the cost of damaging your own car.Ĭars weren’t indestructible in Race Driver: GRID, and often you would have to buy used cars for your team. It wasn’t your typical mode either, as you were tasked with earning money by driving for other teams, so that you could eventually run your own team and buy your own cars. I played Race Driver: GRID for hours and hours, going through that excellent career mode. It wasn’t all about the online though, obviously. We all laughed when the “terminal damage” message came up on-screen, because we knew who it was without seeing the gamertag pop up. One friend even earned the nickname “Terminal Damage” as not an evening went by, without him writing off his car in at least one or two races. San Francisco destroyed our suspension and steering, Jarama had us laughing at the resident corner-cutter, and Washington provided one spectacular moment including one car flying through the air in a barrel roll, while another passed by underneath in an exquisite feat of daring. I had already played the game a lot, so I tended to win most races (not bragging, it’s simply due to me having the most experience with the game) but the laughs we had rendered the competition moot. However, once a few friends picked up the game during a particularly good Xbox digital sale, some incredible memories were made online. I rarely played online back then, indeed it wasn’t until probably a year later that I even began subscribing to Xbox Live. Whatever the reasons, I developed a real passion for Race Driver: GRID. Perhaps it was the ability to race in several different disciplines, effectively mashing together a bunch of different gameplay styles to make it feel like I was getting multiple games in one package. Perhaps it was the distinct art style, with that golden haze over everything. ![]() I don’t remember what initially drew me to the game, or why I even decided to spend my hard-earned money on it, but I’m so glad I did. The game that sparked this love of the race? Race Driver: GRID. Many of these series continued into the PS2 era, but it wasn’t until the Xbox 360 that my love of racing games truly began. When I hit my teens, it was all about the original Playstation’s Gran Turismo, Destruction Derby, Formula One (loved that Murray Walker commentary), Colin McRae Rally and 1997’s excellent TOCA Touring Car Championship, as well as more arcadey affairs like the criminally overlooked Rally Cross. I never owned a SNES, so can’t count Mario Kart as I didn’t play it until much later. When I was a kid, it was Micro Machines, Super Off Road and Road Rash. I’ve always enjoyed a good racing game, as you might expect of God is a Geek’s resident racing fan.
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