However, if you miss the days of Burnout Paradise or the original Need for Speed: Most Wanted , and you want something with a bit more weight and respect for racing lines—

The game takes you across the globe—from the neon streets of Chicago and the tight alleys of Paris to the treacherous pass of Okutama in Japan. The career mode respects your time. You pick your rival, you sign your sponsors, and you move up. There are no tedious fetch quests; just racing. One thing Codemasters has always nailed is the sense of impact. In Grid 2 , you feel every scrape. Doors fly off, bumpers drag on the tarmac, and windows shatter. Unlike sims where a small tap might ruin your aero, Grid 2 encourages a bit of rubbing. The "LiveRoutes" system also means the track changes every lap—sometimes a corner is a hairpin, sometimes it’s a high-speed sweeper. You have to react, not just memorize. Is it worth playing in 2024/25? Yes, but with a caveat.

It is the game you play with a controller on your couch after a long day at work. You don't want to tweak tire pressures; you want to slide a Ford Mustang through a hairpin at 90mph while trading paint with a BMW.