First look at Grid 2

After hosting such noted luminaries as Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Batman Begins and of course, The Dark Knight, it's no surprise Codemasters have turned to the city of Chicago to debut its upcoming Grid 2.

Rendered versions of the ‘Windy City', as it's known, along with that other sprawling metropolis of Paris, feature in the new trailer for the sequel to 2008's Grid.

Excited? You should be. Grid won a Bafta, and Grid 2 promises some tricks up its sleeves. It's been in pre-production for two years but is now on the development train, headed to a PS3, Xbox 360 and PC near you sometime next year.

See more pics from Grid 2

Exec producer Clive Moody tells us "the core design philosophy for Grid 2 is that we treat the race as a character, not a consequence of simply putting cars on tracks. Everything that goes into the game impacts on that second-to-second, in the moment, blockbuster drama."

The game features the next-generation of Codemasters' ‘EGO' tech platform that will offer advanced graphics, AI, handling and damage than previously. The career mode promises cinema-level immersion with a ‘TrueFeel' handling system that uses real physics too.

The cars are handpicked from the past four decades of automotive history, and you'll be able to race either on your own in the comfort of your underwear and dubious personal integrity - or with loads of other online combatants using ‘Racenet' - across licensed circuits, city streets and mountain roads spanning three continents.

Have a click through the preview stills gallery, and then watch the video below. It's set for a 2013 launch - you lot interested?