Gran Turismo 4

""Finally a game in which to learn to drive""

Introduction: Gran Turismo is a series of racing simulator games available for Sony systems only. The series is known for its realism, as in ever car in the game would control the same as it would in real life. But I'm no motorhead, so I wouldn't know that. And yes all the cars included in their games are licensed, all 750 of them. Some of those cars are several variations on a distinct model. There are roughly 20 different Subaru Impreza's, 25 Mitsubishi Lancer's, and 50 Nissan Skyline's. But it seems that they cannot manage to get a Lamborghini, Ferrari, or Porsche. The series was developed by Polyphony Digital, a video game developing company of Sony Computer Entertainment. Gran Turismo 4 was still one of the most anticipated console games of ‘05 and sold one million copies in the first week of release in Japan, according to sales.

Gameplay: New modes are available in GT4, which include Driving Missions, Photo Mode, and for the lazy racers, B-Spec mode. Driving Missions, as the name clearly states, is a mode in which you have to go through missions to earn some credits, which is the currency used in this game. And the more you progress in the missions, the harder it gets, this Mode can be found in career mode's map. Photo Mode: First of all, in order to access this game mode, you must've at least gotten a prize track, which you'll probably unlock after your first race. Then follow the roads in the Map (main menu of Career Mode), and look for sections that say City Circuits, Original Circuits etc. Then from there you can enter that mode and go through a run, skim through the replay to see which shots you like and save them to a Memory Card or to a FlashDrive. B-Spec Mode One for the lazy man. The new B-Spec mode puts you in the place of a racing instructor: telling the driver how to drive. The speed of the time in the race can be increased up to 3 times the speed of regular races, allowing for those long races to be completed in lesser time. At every corner of a track, expect to spin out of control if you do not apply the breaks at the apex of the turn. And don't suppose this game to be as easy as other racing games. This is as close as you can to real life racing. Need for Speed is just an arcade racer meant for entertainment. You cannot go over 200 miles per hour and complete a very sharp turn without crashing. And there is no customization here, as in neon lights and hoods. Only spoilers, rims, and tuning under-the-hood parts. Gran Turismo was meant for something other than entertainment. This game, whilst practicing about 4 hours a day for 5 weeks with a steering wheel, gave me the experience I needed to get my driver's license. No kidding.

Graphics: In the beginning of the game, an introductory video pops up. That is what I was hoping the game's visuals to be presented. Gran Turismo was done on a DVD-9 format, similar to Xbox 360 DVD format, meaning that all this time, Playstation 2 was capable of producing such fantastic graphics, but were too lazy. Each vehicle model has over 5000 polygons. Anyway, the graphics in the game, they will get a little hard to adapt to, so just set the brightness and contrast to 5. The car's details are very well done. Expect them to look way better than any Need for Speed and Midnight Club cars. The shadows are done greatly. And if I recall, I read that this game's graphics engine produces real-time shadow and reflection on the car's body, which would be a killer combo if presented on an HD-TV. I haven't played this game on an HD-TV, so I wouldn't know what it looks like in High-Def.

Sound: Typical stuff you would expect at a race is presented in Gran Turismo: Tires screeching to a stop, those screw guns used in tires, engines revving up, and a very messed soundtrack. Wait. What? Yes, Gran Turismo's soundtrack is not remarkable at all. The soundtrack is consists of classical music, techno, rock, and hip-hop. But where is the love? Seriously, you cannot call this a soundtrack. It has no soul. In other words, no good artists are incorporated, and most of the songs are Disc Jockeys remixes. Carry an MP3 player before playing this game.

Replay Value: You will spend AT LEAST 200 hours trying to complete this game and collecting all gold medals in every single race. And to keep the Replay Value high, try to get all 750 cars in the game, and all licenses in gold. That took me about 300 hours to do. I'm telling you this game is complicated.

Final Recommendation: If you like driving cars or dreamed of being a car collector, buy this game. It also includes classic cars from the 1890 right up to the racing ages of the late 1930s. But if you are so into good looking cars and customization, then rent it first, because this game doesn't have stuff included in NFS and MNC.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/07, Updated 06/06/07