GRID 2 on 360/PS3 'not that far behind PC version' says Codemasters. And as for which console version is best...

GRID 2 is looking unbelievable as our hands-on preview and first trailer will attest. But Codemasters' racing games, F1 2011 in particular, have often looked noticeably superior on Xbox 360 compared to PS3. GRID 2 is heading to both current-gen consoles for a 2013 release, so I asked Clive Moody, Executive Producer on GRID 2: "Do you think the PS3 and 360 versions will be identical?" This is what he told me:

"Yeah, absolutely - I mean, I think we're pretty much there or thereabouts. There's very little to pick and choose between the two. And obviously they each have their nuances in terms of what they're strong at and less strong at. But in terms of the overall experience visually you really won't notice any difference.

"If we can get that bit right, then obviously everything else that's under the hood, if you like, the emotional experience is clearly not going to be affected, so we're really confident."

Above: 360 and PS3 are "not lagging that far behind what you see on the PC demo"

Iain Smith, Associate Producer added: "That's the big benefit of having this relationship with the Birmingham studios. You're getting a whole different group of people who are approaching things from a different way. And then there's a knowledge share and everybody gains benefits from it."

So there you have it. Parity, or at least as-near-as-dammit. But how close are the PS3 and 360 versions to the PC demo we played (which looks absolutely spectacular). Clive told me:

"Yeah, you know what? Surprisingly, something that happens at the end of every single game we make is we get the game finished and we kind of take stock at that point. We look at it and go: Yeah, you know what? We've absolutely squeezed every ounce that we can out of that console - there's nothing else to be had, we can't do it (laughs).

"And er, you know, we have a holiday, come back a couple of weeks later and start thinking about what the next game is and there's actually loads we could do. There's still stuff to be had out there.

"Our technology is really, really flexible and scaleable. And 360/PS3, visually, in terms of what you're seeing, they're not lagging that far behind what you see on the PC demo."