That would make GRID the defiant racer. You race on closed courses but crash as often as a driver in Burnout. When a crash occurs that’s just too severe to bear, players can hit the replay button, rewind the tape, and re-start before the accident even happened. Now you can take that corner less sharply, slow down before that wall thrashed your engine, and be prepared for opponents looking to push you out of the way.

This amazing play mechanic is big enough to lure racing fans, just as those intense collisions lured us to Burnout. But as you’ll soon discover, it is merely icing on a game that’s layered with depth and excitement.

The New Arcade

Designed with every racing fan in mind, GRID is an arcade racer, partial simulator, destruction derby and drift expedition all rolled into one. What you see is not what you get. The screens – which show off the gorgeous gameplay as well as the cinematic replay camera – are barely representative of the entire experience.

Concept and muscle cars, customized sports cars and super-fast racecars are just a few of the vehicle types GRID offers. Each has a specific purpose: formula 1 racers are used for the open, sound-barrier-breaking challenges. Roadsters are driven through the corner-heavy city courses. The concept vehicles (such as the new Dodge Challenger, which only recently made it to showrooms) are raced alongside other classics, primarily from the more revered generations of automobiles and the era when muscle cars ruled the day.

GRID isn’t brilliant for its inclusion of multiple vehicle types. It isn’t fun because you get to drive one of the Mustang concepts – a beautiful vehicle, to be certain. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s just another vehicle. GRID makes their inclusion relevant by following in the tire tracks of its off-road predecessor: DiRT. That game worked on two principles: keep the player hooked with great racing mechanics and reduce repetition through variety. GRID has those same principles, plus another you might not expect – it provides a new definition for quality racing physics.

From the moment you begin playing, the controls are noticeably tight yet dangerously unstable. One wrong turn can lead to total disaster. Push the analog stick too harshly or even too lightly and your vehicle could spin out. While turning, there are dozens of ways to screw up. Almost all of them have to do with the walls, tires and other road barriers. If you tap them from the wrong angle, even at slow speeds, it’s race over. Your vehicle is likely to latch on, crash into something sturdy and become another heap for the junkyard.

But that’s only part of the equation. In spite of their ability to crash easily and ruin your day (after playing for a while, my TV interrupted my screaming to inform me that its name is not “No!” or” Oh, crap!”), these vehicles have a lighter feel than most racers. It’s distinctly different from Burnout, Ridge Racer, Daytona USA, Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto, or any other racing/driving game you could name.

When they crash or spinout, you’ll notice a difference in the way the vehicles move compared with a straight simulator like NASCAR 09. In trying to recover from these mistakes, the player must learn a new set of subtle reactions. This isn’t the anti-racer by any means. But it’s a different take on a gameplay style that’s typically bombarded with more of the same.

Burn Baby Burn

Paying homage to the Burnout series, GRID unofficially encourages the destruction of your opponents. Don’t expect a cash prize or speed boost for your trouble. But you will have the benefit of watching your opponent spinout, hit a wall, or crash into other vehicles. Once out of commission, that’s one less driver fighting for the top spot.

Much like the driving physics, the crash physics are also unique to GRID. Body damage is extreme and a little over-the-top. Taillights break and bumpers fall off as expected. Paint is torn off whenever the car rubs up against something, leaving scrapes and scratches that would be emotionally damaging to any car guy if these automobiles were real. The body crumpling, however, is a bit fictitious – you’ll see metal bend, dent and twist in ways that don’t quite register as being real. They still look good but may surprise gamers who are blown away by every other visual aspect.

GRID is not as fast as Burnout 3: Takedown. Its course designs are far too narrow for the game to reach that level of speed (as a sensation, not necessarily the mile per hour rating) for the player to keep up. Regardless, you will be on the edge of your seat for every second of every race. The frame rate is top-notch – no matter how many cars pile up in a crash, the game stays silky smooth.

As you are well aware, GRID allows you to erase a bad move with its wonderful replay system. The difficulty setting determines the number of times this can be done per race, and just like DiRT, you can change the setting before every competition. But before resetting a devastating spinout, take a moment to look around. Replays can be played at slow, normal, or double the speed. If you’ve just had a major crash (with a flip in the air or two), switch to the in-the-car view, resume playback and double the speed. The experience is over in a couple of seconds but will leave you breathless.

The only area where GRID falters has already been touched on, albeit very briefly. The challenge is excessive and somewhat unique. Nine times out of 10, you’ll feel like you’re racing against the course and not the 10+ other drivers flooding the track. It’s a strange way to design a game, and if it weren’t for everything else, it couldn’t have worked. But Codemasters has a knack for unearthing enjoyment in places you least expected, especially in the racing genre. Though you will scream, pound on things and wonder why this game is so excruciating, there’s no question that the developers got it right. Because it doesn’t really matter how many times you lose – at the end of the day, you’ll be back for another race.