Reflecting the ethos, spirit and attitude of the offline game, Race Driver: GRID will bring a world of motorsport to life online as Codemasters today announced that the game's multiplayer content will feature 32 exhilarating online race events on 80 circuits at 15 intercontinental locations.
Featuring up to 12-player events with incredible full car damage, Race Driver: GRID's online multiplayer races will see gamers competing in aggressive races on iconic city streets and famous championship circuits across Europe, the U.S. and Japan.
"Race Driver: GRID online is the ultimate expression of what the game is all about – incident-packed, aggressive, wheel-to-wheel racing," said Ralph Fulton, Chief Game Designer, Race Driver: GRID. "Our wide range of motorsport disciplines, stunning locations and full damage 12-player races make for a uniquely spectacular race experience and our immersive new ranking system rewards player skill and deepens the challenge online."
Players will be able to take their custom livery online and make it feared and respected by competing in a huge range of racing disciplines; from drifting around Yokohama Docks, charging through the mean streets of Detroit, racing touring cars around Spa-Francorchamps to competing in chaotic demolition derbies.
The pure race experience is at the heart of Race Driver GRID's gameplay and, in online multiplayer, everything is geared towards maximising player time spent on track and minimising time spent in lobbies. Players can rapidly find the event they want and a slick voting system, matchmaking mechanism and seamless host migration means gamers find competitive races quickly and sessions stay together longer.
An innovative new online ranking system charts players' progress as they advance from Junior Rookie to Legend, with experience points being awarded based on a wide range of achievements, from events won to beating higher ranked opponents.
As players rise through the rankings, online leaderboards record the fastest laps for each track and gamers can download ghost cars to test out their skill against the best in the world in Test Drive mode or check out the competition in Spectator mode. Players can also fully customise their game including switching damage on or off, enabling catch-up mode, setting driver aids and allowing public and private games.
Race Driver: GRID is coming May 30th (Europe/PAL) for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Games For Windows®. A Nintendo DS edition will follow. Race Driver: GRID playable demos – featuring two online multiplayer events – are now available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, PLAYSTATION Network and, for the Games For Windows demo, please visit www.racedrivergrid.com