GRID Returns This June In Autosport

GRID Returns This June In Autosport

There are many exciting racers in varying stages of development at the moment, be they Project CARS or Assetto Corsa. These crowd-funded racers that are still being developed are going to face some serious competition soon when Codemasters throw their hat in the ring once again as GRID is set to return this June.

The new game is titled GRID Autosport in a hook-up with the esteemed racing magazine and will be landing on PC, 360 and PS3 this June, but it won’t be landing on next-gen machines as Codies are still developing a game engine to make best use of the new machines. It is a game that will attempt to get back to Codemasters roots of the TOCA series as James Nicholls, Chief Games Designer describes in the press release:

“The design philosophy behind GRID Autosport was to create a really focussed racing game. We’ve jettisoned anything that doesn’t support the on-track competition and we’ve chosen a selection of cars and tracks that will give players a range of different racing experiences. That variety is crucial. There are five very distinct ways to race – this isn’t a game where basically every race is the same and the cars and tracks change. You need to adjust your tactics and learn different techniques to succeed in each racing discipline and each car has its own character too. Our AI will act and react in different ways depending not just on how you race, but the style of racing you are competing in and that’s vital in authentically capturing the feel of say, Touring Cars compared to Open-Wheel Racing.”

The career mode will feature five racing disciplines, Touring, Endurance, Open Wheel, Tuner and Street and you will be able to race on over 100 tracks at 22 different locations, they will primarily be circuit-based events, though obviously there will be some street races. A big point that I noticed from the press release was the promise of the return of an in-car view which apparently had gone missing in GRID 2. There are references to the game being more focused on providing an authentic racing experience, more simulation than arcade which can only be a positive for the hardcore racers.

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out, it has been a while since Codemasters focused on creating a simulation racer outside of the F1 games. While I enjoyed the first GRID, it says something when I still feel that Need for Speed: Shift 2 provided a better simulation-style experience. There looks set to be some of the same sponsorship management as in previous GRID titles if the close moments of the above trailer are anything to go by.

If you want to find out more, check out the official site or gaze at the gallery below.

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