Developer: Codemasters

Publisher: Codemasters

Release Date: May 30, 2008

Systems: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC

ESRB Rating: E

Official Web site

0:00 I've heard this game compared favorably to MotorStorm and Dirt, two other driving games I enjoyed quite a bit.

0:01 "CODEMASTERS PRESENTS" some generic shots of European cities and tracks. Extremely shiny car porn commences, complete with extreme camera shaking during some spectacular crashes. Nice shots from inside the cockpit and wheel well. My wife Michelle watches from the couch: "I'm not the demographic, but it doesn't even seem like good car porn to me."

0:02 "Please Press Start," the screen says. So polite! Most games would just order me to press start. "Welcome. Please fill out your driver profile," says a semi-robotic female voice. I enter Drivey McDriverson, causing Michelle to say, I'm "very predictable." What can I say?

0:03 I can choose from a list of "audio names" for the voice actors to call me during play, I guess. I choose Spanky, because it's just so ridiculous. I mean, come on, Spanky?

0:04 "Hello, Spanky. You're now ready to race," says the semi-robotic voice. I nearly fall out of my chair with laughter. SPANKY!

0:05 Looks like there's a 900 number I can call to unlock "Bonus codes." I wasn't even aware 900 numbers still existed in our internet age.

0:06 On to "GRID WORLD" mode, which sounds like a bit like a sci-fi movie. After some quick loading, a zoomed-out satellite shot of the globe appears and quickly zooms down to track level. Revving engines and the title appears again. Before I know it, the race has started. "OK, kid, San Francisco is a tough track to start your career on, but if you want your rookie license you're going to have to finish this race," a male voice says over a radio.

0:08 I don't even make it through the first turn before crumpling my car violently into a wall. At least I took a couple of cars with me. The voice in my ear explains I can restart the race or just "rewind" the last few seconds of replay, and choose a pre-crash point to restart from. I like the backwards video effect. I choose a safe point and with a few camera flashes I'm taking the turn again -- safely this time.

0:10 A few bad crashes have crumbled the front end of my car. The suspension is drifting the right something awful -- I have to correct by steering left constantly. I can't do the "rewind" replay thing unless the car is totaled, it seems.

0:11 Apparently I can only do the "rewind" thing once per race, as I find out when I crumple into a wall again and I'm forced to restart. So far, I'm a big fan of the camera, which swoops around as I turn instead of just being anchored behind me. It's amazing how this changes the feel of the racing. I also like the controls, which feel realistic without being overwhelmingly technical (I'm looking at you, Gran Turismo).

0:14 I race more carefully this time, using some love taps to get out into first quickly on turn one. I'm lonely for much of the rest of the race, including some hilly sections. The voice in my ear says "Don't do anything stupid" just before I do something incredibly stupid -- turning too sharply right into a wall. A bunch of cars pile up behind my prostrate vehicle and I get the "Road Block" achievement for 10 Gamerscore points. Amazingly, the car isn't totaled, and I drive off to a 7th place finish.

0:16 I got my rookie license, but I'm told higher licenses are based on reputation and won't be so easy to obtain.

0:17 Spanky alert: "Hello, Spanky, I'm your new business manager. I'll take care of the money, you take care of the driving." It's that same semi-robotic voice. I have to start off driving for others teams. I pick AutoOrlando Sport for my first "job," because it has "Orland" in the name. They give middling reputation numbers but decent money, and even more money if I finish in the top three. Plus, I get to drive a Porsche. Boss!

0:19 I can set the difficulty for each event: Basic, Normal, Serious, Savage or Extreme. As the difficulty goes up, the amount of earnable "rep" also rises and the number of "flashbacks" go down. Seems like a good way of rewarding better drivers. I start with middle of the road "Serious" difficulty.

0:23 I only have to worry about beating the cars in my class, apparently. This is a moot point, as a few bumps on the first turn put me back in 13th place. A couple more sandy spin-outs later in the course put me way back in 16th. Seems Porches are not good off-road vehicles. I restart the race.

0:26 I start off better the second time around, jumping into 11th place, but a few false moves send me into the wall. I'm not used to driving a car with this much power. I'll have to keep it very slow on turns.

0:29 My strategy of "stay on the track and bump guys off the track when I have the opportunity" keeps me in 13th place (4th in my class) for two whole laps. Then, on the first turn of third lap, I go too fast and spin out on the sand. Looks like I'll be restarting again.

0:30 I'm really impressed with the way my car gets lost in a sandy cloud when I spin out. The smoke effects from the tires in front of me are pretty nice, too.

0:31 Just noticed the subtle red light by my radar that tells me if I'm going too fast for a turn. Using this helps me get into 10th place in a very technical first lap. Spanky alert: "Well done, Spanky, you're leading your class."

0:34 Grah! I get distracted on a straightaway and slide into a wall, falling back into 15th place. A few more desperate turns and I'm way back in 16th. Screw it, I'm finishing this race no matter what place I get.

0:37 I finish 12 second back from 15th place! I still get $6,000 for my crappy performance and another $6,000 bonus for not using flashbacks. I'm almost ashamed to take it. I wish my real job gave $12,000 for five minutes of work, regardless of performance. What a gig!

0:38 Next up, BMW team Deutschland wants to pay me $8,000 to race on a test track, plus $2,000 more if I beat a set lap time. "Could this offer be any more German?" asks the crypto-racist voice in my ear.

0:39 The first turn on the test course is a narrow 180-degree hairpin. Who designs a test course like this? Grumble.

0:44 On the first two laps, I've missed the target by roughly 10 seconds. So far, this event has been kind of lonely, with no other cars to bump against. Plus, now I have no excuse when I barely touch the grass and spin out.

0:46 I'm doing great on the final lap, now that I know the course well enough. I go too fast on the last S-curve, though, plowing into some tire barriers and going airborne. I miss the target time by three seconds. Bleh. I still get 10 Gamerscore points for my "First Win!" Um, there were no opponents.


0:47 Team Hudson Tech wants me to race a Chevy Lachetti in Washington, D.C. If I'm in the top five, $2,000 extra. This doesn't seem like much incentive, seeing as I get paid $8,000 anyway.

0:49 The DC course couldn't be more different than the first two. It's a narrow set of streets with walls right against the edges. On the plus side, that means no spinning out on the sand/grass. On the minus side, I go flipping 720 degrees over a wall when I take a turn too fast. It's painful to watch, but I still land intact in last place. Restart.

0:51 I really like the crowd noise here. Wolf whistles when I'm doing well and cries of "aww" when I crash. The waving American flags in the stands are a nice touch.

0:52 Other cars actually seem afraid of crashing in to me -- if I cut them off during a turn, they slow down to let me by. I don't know why. Bumping other cars out of the way has been my best advancement strategy so far.

0:53 Spanky alert: "Well done, Spanky, nice driving." I get 20 Gamerscore points for a "Hot Lap," whatever that means. Almost immediately after that, I hit a stray tire on the course and go FLYING 10 feet into the air and plow into a wall. From second to 12th, just like that. The car wasn't totaled, though, so it looks like it's time for another restart.

0:56 Uh, wow. Playing around in the instant replay menu, I just realized I don't have to total the car to use the "flashback" ability. Apparently I can activate it at any time through the replay menu. This changes everything! All those annoying race restarts could have just been flashbacks! Glad I found this in time.

0:58 I use my new-found flashback-at-any-time ability to maintain a sixth-place position after a major screw-up. Before I know it, I've advanced to first when the lead car spins out and causes a pile up. Sa-weet!

0:59 I seem to have a psychological aversion to first place. Once I'm in it, I always do something to screw it up. A 360 flip sends me back to third. I save my flashback in case I need it later. I don't, though, and I finish up in third place. "You're on the podium! Well done!" My radio voice says this like he can't believe it. Voice acting has been uniformly excellent, actually.

1:00 I get 225 reputation points for completing the objective. About damn time! I really like having the flashback ability as a limited "get out of crash free" card. Mean I don't have to be absolutely perfect to do well.

Would I play this game for more than an hour? Yes.


Why? It's a near-perfect mix of accurate driving simulation and simple, arcade-style racing action. The impressive presentation doesn't hurt either.

This column is based on a retail copy of the game rented from GameFly.

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