Genre: Racing
Mode: Single-player, Multiplayer
Rating: ESRB: E
Media: Blu-ray Disc, DVD, DS Game Card, Steam download
Input methods: Keyboard, Xbox 360 Controller, SIXAXIS/DualShock 3

System Requirements for demo
Race Driver: GRID System Requirements
Minimum Specifications

   * Windows XP/Vista. (If running Windows Vista, SP1 is recommended)
   * DirectX 9.0c
   * Pentium 4 @ 3.0GHz or Athlon 64 3000+
   * 1GB RAM.
   * Graphics Card: GeForce 6800 / Radeon X1300 or above
   * DirectX Compatible Sound Card
   * Dual Layer Compatible DVD-ROM Drive
   * 12.5 GB Hard Drive Space

Recommended Specifications

   * Windows XP/Vista. (If running Windows Vista, SP1 is recommended)
   * DirectX 9.0c
   * Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.66Ghz or Athlon X2 3800+
   * 2GB RAM.
   * Graphics Card: GeForce 8800 or Radeon X1950
   * Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Sound Card.
   * Dual Layer Compatible DVD-ROM Drive
   * 12.5 GB Hard Drive Space

Supported Graphics Cards

ATI Radeon X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950, HD2600, HD2900, HD3870

NVIDIA Geforce 6800, 7100, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950, 8600, 8800, 9800

Race Driver: GRID (known as GRID in North America) is the latest addition to the TOCA Touring Car series by Codemasters, published and developed by the same company. It was announced on April 19, 2007, and is available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, as well as Windows PCs (using Securom for DRM). The game was released on May 30, 2008 in Europe, June 3, 2008 in North America, and in Australia on June 12, 2008. Despite its release date, as of June 5, 2008, GRID is available in Australia on the Steam digital distribution service.

Gameplay

This game is made by Codemasters, the creators of the TOCA/Race Driver series. GRID is a hybrid between arcade and simulator of mainly tarmac racing that consists of 45 cars. The game features an instant replay feature (Called Flashback ingame) which allows the player to rewind time, you access this mode by pressing the back/select button to access instant replay, but you can only go back 10 seconds. While the instant replay can be used as many times as the player wants, the Flashback feature can only be used a limited number of times, the number being limited by the difficulty setting. There are several types of competitions for different cars: GT races, single-seated races, destruction derby, etc. There are also several tracks from different countries, included Japan, United States and European tracks such as Le Mans and Spa Francorchamps. Developers also had a very original idea devising a track inside the city of Milan, a track that has never existed and will never exist for cars: although the placing of some streets does not completely reflect the real placing, during the race we can admire the wonders of the centre of Milan, starting the race from the Parco Sempione, arriving to Piazzale Cadorna with the statue "Needle, threat and knot" on the right, going on to Largo Cairoli leaving the Garibaldi’s statue on the left and taking Via Dante, arriving to Piazza del Duomo with the Duomo in front, turning left entering the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II that leads to the Scala Theatre and finally going back to the Parco Sempione passing near the Castello Sforzesco.

Technology

Race Driver: GRID uses Codemasters’ own Ego engine, an evolved version of the Neon engine already used in their previous release Colin McRae DIRT. The damage code has been completely rewritten to allow for persistent damage environments.

Portable version

Firebrand Games, the developers of Race Driver: Create and Race, are developing the game for the Nintendo DS.

Demo

On May 8th, 2008, a demo was released on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace. The following day, a PC version was released (which uses Securom for DRM). The demo lets players try two game modes: racing and drifting.

The Demo also features a competition (challenge) to win a BMW 3 series for European based gamers and a chance to win a Ford Mustang for U.S. based players. The competitions for Europeans ended on May 31 at midnight, BST, and for U.S. gamers on May 25, 2008 midnight, ET.

The demo also has the two competition tracks available for an online racing experience; it allows up to 12 players to compete online.

The demo has been downloaded by over one million people on the three consoles it is available for.

Reception
The game has received mainly positive reviews.

Official Xbox Magazine awarded Race Driver: Grid a 9.0 out of 10, proclaiming, "This game isn’t about simulating racing; it’s about creating fun out of it. And it succeeds beautifully, one thrilling white knuckle at a time," with the only caveat being its relatively meager online offering.

X-Play has given Grid a 5 out of 5, stating that the "Flashback feature is superb" and that the "Damage model is excellent".

IGN.com gave Race Driver: Grid an 8.7 out of 10. Playstation Official Magazine UK and VideoGamer.com both gave Grid a 9 out of 10, as did Edge and Eurogamer.

Pcformat gave Race Driver: Grid 90%.

The Game Informer official website gave Race Driver: Grid a 9.0 out of 10 for the main review and 9.25 as the second opinion.

North American publication Nintendo Power gave the Nintendo DS version a score of 8.5 out of 10. Praise was delivered to the game’s robust car and course customization features, superb graphics by DS standards, and praised the multiplayer modes. Some mild criticism was delivered towards the game’s single player mode for having flimsy car upgrading and lack of knowing what rewards you get before entering a race, but said that the good aspects far outweigh the bad.