GRID 2: One day to go

GRID 2: Time for a bit of clarification

With the release of the new Grid game just a few days away, I thought it was a good idea to give you my opinion on some of the game's major talking points.

Firstly, the cockpit camera. Codemasters say that, as they found out by surveying hundreds of people that play their games, only 5% of gamers actually use the cockpit view, so they would like to use their time, money and resources on something that everyone will actually use, such as a better physics model. However, it appears that this 5% of gamers is the section that LIKE TO TYPE I CAPITAL LETTERS ALL OF THE TIME and bombard every single Grid 2 video on YouTube and the Codemasters forums (I even saw ranting in the Dirt 3 section of the forum) with millions of pointless comments about how they are not going to buy the game simply because it doesn't have a feature that they are probably not going to use anyway. Yeah, right. I reckon that most of these people are going to buy the game anyway, they just want to jump onto the bandwagon to make it look like they are in the majority, when in fact most people who view the video probably think that they are a) an attention whore or b) a tit. Another problem that I have with this group of whiners is their reason for not buying it. "NO COCKPIT NO BUY" scream thousands of YouTube comments. Hmm, that's like saying you won't buy the new Call Of Duty game because a pistol that you think is terrible has been removed. Logical? No, captain. So, if you are one of these people that think that posting the same four words onto every one of the 50 or so Grid 2 videos on YouTube, you are a sad individual. I like the cockpit camera in Grid 1, don't get me wrong, but I would rather have an amazing physics engine and sweet graphics than a cockpit view.

Next up is the selection of cars. Codemasters have released details of the cars in the game, and I must say that it feels extremely average. For a game like this, there are no single seater cars at all, with the Arial Atom, the KTM X-Bow and the BAC Mono (a car I detest at the best of times) being the closest you'll get to Grid 1's F1000 and F3. However, I do like the inclusion of the touring cars in the game, which put the car selection in this miles clear of the dismal Need For Speed Most Wanted from last year.

Another area that has drawn much criticism is the choice of tracks. Many YouTube moaners (I bet the same ones that put the stupid cockpit comment on the videos) have also attacked the game's number of fictional street circuits. Me? I don't really give a damn. There are enough real circuits t keep me interested (Brands Hatch, Dubai Autodrome, etc) but I like fictional tracks. Look at PGR4 where a grand total of 2 track were actually genuine (The Nurburgring and the Michelin Speedway thing). Everybody thought that that was excellent, so why is Grid 2 suddenly a terrible game for doing something similar? I just don't get it. These YouTubers confuse me.

So, despite all of the whining going on in the world of YouTube, I am still looking forward to this game's release. In fact, I have pre-ordered it (my very first pre-order!) and I will upload a review on release day.