Race Driver brings the complete removal of any setup, modification or tuning from the game. RDG is straight to the point and is all about getting into a car and starting to earn money - fast.
The career mode is based around racing in three regions - America, Europe and Asia (Japan) - through three tiers of competition, and across a number of different disciplines: stock muscle cars, GTs, touring cars, Le Mans series sports cars, open-wheel racing and, intriguingly, the Japanese drift scene. You begin as a driver for hire, but you'll eventually be spending your winnings on setting up your own team - buying cars, establishing a racing livery, seeking sponsorship from real brands to stick on your car, and, most crucially, hiring an AI team mate. Progress is earned through a combination of money and reputation, with your sponsors setting specific goals for each race.
Alongside Milan and the stunningly-lit Shibuya - the Neon engine used in Colin McRae DiRT is really flexing its muscles now, and there's no doubt that GRID is a gorgeous game - Washington and San Francisco will appear in the US section. The Asian tracks include a fictional Grand Prix circuit, and a couple of locations that reflect the illegal street-racing scene - a drift track at the deserted Yokohama docks, and the famous Haruna mountain road.
Europe, Milan aside, is all about real race tracks: Castle Donington, the Istanbul Park, Jarama (a little-known but wonderfully fast and sweeping Spanish circuit), the F1 track at the Nurburgring and Belgium's mighty Spa-Francorchamps, which is the greatest race track in the world - fact. If that weren't enough, the terrifying Le Mans 24-hour race appears under official licence, as a special even at the end of each 'season' of your career. It takes 24 minutes in the game, and is a chance for Codemasters to show off their lovely dynamic time-of-day changes.