First look at Grid 2 gameplay

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Ok, so California was previously governed by an Austrian man who acted as the world's most terrifying robot assassin, but it's a serious place: if independent from the USA, it would rank among the world's foremost economies.

And it's got some serious roads too; proper twisty, challenging, sun-kissed prime coastal highway begging for a decent car and a good driver. Step forward Grid 2, the upcoming game from Codemasters that can provide the ‘good car' and ‘good roads' bit. The rest is up to you.

The game's developers have revealed two new videos showing proper gameplay footage: not some overly-rendered trailer, but work-in-progress stuff you'll actually be able to replicate. The first of which takes place along the California coast, where a new Boss Mustang - a car we actually admire - takes on a classic Mustang Mach 1.

The second video stages a muscle car race along the skyscraper-lined streets of Chicago - the film locations for, don't forget, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight - following such US luminaries as a Chevrolet Camaro SS and Z06 Corvette.

The game's slated for a summer 2013 release, and promises a new ‘TrueFeel' handling system that uses actual physics. This is frightening, but if the result is anything as good as Grid 1 - which won a BAFTA - good times are ahead. You'll race across three continents using cars spanning four decades, so there'll be at least one car you can guarantee to like, and will be released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.

Have a gander at the videos below and let us know if you're interested...