#Grid 2 race types driver#
#Grid 2 race types series#

Speaking of rivals, Grid 2019’s nemesis system has returned and has been honed to make your on-track rivalries last longer than the remaining duration of a single race. The new urban tracks are filled with the same fancy firework effects and thick crowds as Grid 2019, but the layouts are a little vanilla, lacking standout corners or sectors that would have me remembering the name of one course over another. That said, there has been a significant increase in the amount of tracks on offer in Grid Legends relative to the limited set in 2019, with high-profile circuits like Suzuka and Mount Panorama rejoining the roster alongside a host of new urban street courses from London, Moscow, Paris, and more. On track, Grid Legends also struggles sometimes to fully distinguish itself from Grid 2019 – something at its most noticeable when I was running the same races in the same cars on the same set of track ribbons that were arguably overused in the previous game. Unlocking new pictures for my team logo or pre-made livery designs simply isn’t exciting when the creative tools in peers like Need for Speed, Forza, and even Hot Wheels are lightyears ahead. There’s a bit more to do off-track as well, with sponsorship objectives to select and achieve and boosts to buy for your teammate and mechanic, but Grid Legends is still spinning its wheels elsewhere. On the other hand, I did feel a bit more railroaded this time around, with some event types randomly locked behind the completion of unrelated others. Grid Legends breaks its career mode into chunks rather than displaying every available event on a single screen, like Grid 2019 does, which is a neater and more traditional approach to a racing game career. The curated set of 36 events in Driven to Glory took me roughly seven hours to work through and ultimately serves as a springboard for the broader main career mode.

They’re not the only characters dusted off for resurrection in Grid Legends, either, but I certainly won’t spoil the late, Cobra Kai-esque reveal here.

#Grid 2 race types series#

It’s also nice to finally put a face to his nephew Nathan – a long-time Grid series AI opponent who’s been terrorising us on the track since 2008.

#Grid 2 race types driver#

Nonetheless, the official re-introduction of the McKanes is a cute touch for me as a long-time fan it’s fun to see retired TOCA Race Driver hero-turned-heel Ryan again after two decades. The villainous McKane duo ham it up slightly as Driven to Glory’s token toolbags, although there’s admittedly nothing here quite as memorably cheesy as a Command & Conquer: Red Alert-era Tim Curry declaring his intent to flee to outer space. Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa is particularly entertaining as the playful Rwandan-Scottish racing driver Valentin Manzi, though his appearances are limited.

I’d also be lying if I said I buy all of these actors as credible racing drivers, but the cast’s performances are decent and broadly earnest.

It’s a simple story – unconventional upstart team Seneca Racing seeks to upset ruthless champions Ravenwest – but it’s effective enough, even if I find it a little incongruous to accept Seneca as penniless underdogs when their garage is stuffed with barely used racing machinery worth tens of millions. It’s certainly an old-school solution – and reminiscent of the so-called cutting edge FMV cutscenes the games industry excitedly filled CD-ROMs with back in the ’90s – but, despite being an uncommon approach, Driven to Glory is a slick and well-edited package that has been executed largely without hokeyness. The live-action presentation has been pieced together using a mixed-reality process that places real actors on entirely digital backdrops, similar to the much-discussed technique employed to shoot The Mandalorian, and has actually worked quite well.