GRID’s slogan, and perhaps its promise, are clearly stated on the box: “Racing just got exciting again.” But does Codemaster’s latest racing endeavor in the Race Driver series fulfill that promise or crash and burn?

The answer may depend on how strict of a simulation racer you are. Those who will accept nothing but realism in their racing may come away satisfied and somewhat impressed, but not blown away. For everyone else, though, GRID is an action-packed thrill ride that will satisfy your need for speed.

Built from the same game engine that powered the critically-acclaimed DiRT in 2007, GRID throws the world of racing at your fingertips. It tends to dabble in both the arcade and simulation styles of the racing genre, never quite crossing into one specific style.

Upon opening the game, you will be prompted to create a profile for your racer, listing your first and last names, nationality, and picking what you want the game to call you. But once you do that, the game takes you by the throat and throws you into a Dodge Viper at a race in San Francisco. No tutorials, no help, no nothing; just you and 11 other cars. For me, it was a new and exciting experience trying to figure things out on the fly and learning how the game itself worked.

Codemaster’s latest racing title isn’t exactly heavy on cars (there are only about 50 to pick from overall), but it does offer the widest variety of race disciplines I’ve ever seen. Grip races cover more traditional forms of racing, including GT races, open wheel racing, touring cars and pro stock racing. Drift races also show up in several flavors, including drift GP tournaments, drift battles featuring multiple cars on the track at the same time, and downhill and freestyle drifting. Japanese touge racing shows up in two forms: closed-road pro style and midnight touge featuring traffic. Endurance races, including the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, also show up here, as do the incredibly fun demolition derby races. I feel that I can confidently say GRID has something for every racer.

GRID has one new difference that no other racing game can claim hold to: the flashback. Instead of having to restart because you wrecked your car, GRID will take you to an instant replay screen, where you’ll be able to rewind the action and make sure that you don’t make the same mistake again. You can also do this at any time during the race by accessing the instant replay screen, even if you don’t crash. The end result is that you’ll find yourself pushing as hard as you can go and learning the right places to brake and accelerate on the course, all without having to go back to restart the race every time. The number of flashbacks you get depends on the difficulty, and for those who don’t like the idea, the Pro mode option removes flashbacks all together.