With the cost of gas going up, racing souped up and exotic cars across different locales in a video game might make a viable alternative to real-life driving. That is if you have the skills to compete in a game like GRID. One bump at high speeds or miscalculated turn can send your car spinning out of control. The computer controlled opponents race skillfully and rarely make mistakes, even on easy difficulty, so a single screw-up could potentially lose the whole race. Fortunately, GRID has a Flashback feature that lets you trade in tokens and rewind back a few seconds to replay critical moments before catastrophic accidents. Bigger bonuses come with cashing in fewer Flashback tokens, so it's worthwhile to use them judiciously. However, the replay function only goes back a few seconds, so it's very possible to not realize how bad an accident is until the Flashback feature is practically useless (or at least warrants two back-to-back uses). So it's very tempting to constantly be ready to hit the Flashback button and start rewinding the minute things start to go wrong.

Adding to GRID's challenge is the detailed damage system divided into five critical areas (gears, suspension, steering, engine and wheels). Cars begin to handle differently as they take damage, making cornering and acceleration more difficult. Damaging cars becomes especially useful in the Destruction Derby mode, where you do everything you can to knock out the other racers and get ahead. The race effectively ends once the steering completely goes out, since there's no way to finish of the car can only drive in circles. There's no way to repair any of the damage mid-race, so the only options you have are to restart or cash in a Flashback token.

Other race modes include the a Pro Touge, where two racers compete against each other down winding, narrow mountain roads and have to be mindful of not touching the car in front. In this case, blocking the car in the rear and keeping it from passing is more important than driving fast. Midnight Touge offers a variation on the 1-on-1 race by throwing touch rules out the window and removing track barriers, so racers will have to battle against regular traffic in addition to their opponents. The racing season ends with "24 Hours of Le Mans," where cars from four different classes come together in a single long race. You'll have to race continuously for twenty-four minutes, watching the sun go down and rise again, while keeping mistakes at a minimum to win out ahead of your class. Playing this challenge can be a grueling experience, especially when you're about ten minutes or more into the race and out of Flashback tokens. At that point, making a mistake means either restarting or suffering through to the end. There's an option to retire from the race, but it would mean a major hit to your reputation. Fortunately, the 24 minute endurance test can be skipped, but big money and reputation can be won if you've got the skills and will to compete. Players can watch a full replay of the race once they finish each challenge, but we wished there was a way to save these replays for sharing and later review.

Whether you're looking for the ultimate arcade racing challenge or looking forward to turning expensive sports cars into twisted wrecks, GRID is a great game to have. The difficulty can be a little daunting, especially for novice players, but winning never feels completely out-of-reach. Setting the race to higher difficulties result in bigger reputation bonuses, so there's incentive to push harder and become a better driver. With spectacular graphics, varied modes and challenging tracks through cities, it's hard to keep away from the high-speed world of GRID.