Gran Turismo 4

"Simulation Racing at it's finest"

For many, myself included, the glory that was Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec was what we thought was the pinnacle of simulation racing.

Hundreds of cars, ridiculous graphics, and a career mode that if you did beat, you were bound to pour over one hundred hours into.

But there were problems too. In my opinion, as you progressed, the cars got insanely fast, but the races themselves got ridiculously longer. The F1 Championship at the end alone would take anywhere from 10-15 hours to beat. It was tedious.

But now, Polyphony digital has bestowed upon us what I believe the best driving simulator on the market, and just reeks with the smell of the perfection. A few minor quibbles aside, Polyphony has a gift, that is for sure.

Gameplay

Gran Turismo 4 is a racing game. You press the throttle button, the brake button, and you steer the vehicle you are driving. This is the core of racing gameplay. However, Polyphony has once again given that gameplay an even bigger boost with the amazing attention to the physical aspect of driving. Each car has it's own feel to it. Driving a Dodge Ram 1500 vs. a Dodge Viper GTS:R Concept makes for a whole lot of difference, and it's not something you necessarily get with other simulation games.

The tracks are varied, ranging from intricate street tracks with hairpin turns, to large oval tracks where drafting becomes your most relied upon strategy.

The cars, and wow, there are a lot of them, are varied as well. You can drive anything from a Dodge Neon to a McClaren F1, but getting to that level will take some time.

B:Spec mode, in which you basically act as a coach, is now included in the game and allows you to basically speed up races that would otherwise take you a day to complete. (Yes, there is a 24 hour endurance, and unless you're insane, you'll need B:Spec mode to complete it) I really love B:Spec mode because you still have to pay attention to your car, but you're not directly racing. It's nice to just take a break while still making progress.

Photo mode is another new addition that I adore. You can take any car you own to any track you want, and simply take pictures using a variety of photographic effects. You can shoot the shot from 64 (yes, count them, 64!) angles, and then you can save the photo to your memory card, or what I would recommend: a USB flash drive and then you can put them on the internet for others to see. It's a fantastic mode, and it adds hours to an already beefy game.

Gran Turismo 4 improves on what was already a perfect gameplay formula with the inclusion of Photo Mode and B:Spec mode.

Sound

Turn up your stereo and feel the rumble of each engine. Polyphony went out of their way to capture each indivdual engine sound from each car, and it shows. From a pure racing aspect, you don't get much better than this.

Sadly, the soundtrack leaves a lot to be desired.

Graphics

Realtime lighting. Thousands of polygons per car, and some of the most beautiful race scenery ever. Don't believe me? Go play the Grand Canyon rally. You'll miss turns because you'll be too busy looking at the beautiful backgrounds.

Gran Turismo 3 was a game that graphically, I couldn't fathom Polyphony being able to improve upon. The cars were just gorgeous. Well, they did, and while not a significant improvement, it's the subtle things such as there are now drivers in your car, men at your pit, and some of the best lighting effects I've ever seen.

Gran Turismo 4 is arguably the best looking game on the Playstation 2, and it pushes the console to it's limits.

Replay value

Gran Turismo 3 offered gamers over 100 hours of career mode. Gran Turismo 4 gives you roughly that. My formula is simple: for every percent you complete, it will mean you spent an hour playing. With the inclusion of B:Spec mode, the replayability isn't as large as 3, but still, the game is going to get you over 100 hours in career mode alone. Now if you really get into photo mode you could drop another 25-50, and right there it makes it worth a purchase.

Qualms

Yes, this game is *almost* perfect, but not quite. First, there is still A.I. that follows a line. I want aggressive A.I.!

Still, no damage. This isn't polyphony's fault per se, but other racing games are doing it with licenesed cars, can't polyphony do the same? If I hit a wall going 200 (I have done this, oops...), I want to be out of the race for good. You still just stop.

Online? Please?

My biggest gripe is the car roster. Ok, there are over 700 cars, but, only about 200 are real race cars that are insanely fun to drive. Again, you will drive a Neon, a Ram, an Impreza, heck, even some vans. Let's not forget the PT Cruiser. While having a large car roster is nice, some of the cars just aren't worth your time. A lot of racing sims keep their rosters below 200, but have nothing but incredible cars. Gran Turismo is balancing quantity with quality, for now. But in the future, if you're going to give me 700 cars, give me some sweet vintage cars as well. Yes, there are some included, but I want more. I will gladly trade the Mini's, the PT Cruisers, the trucks, and whatnot for more sleek racing cars.

Overall

The problems that have plagued the series are still here, but that doesn't mean it's not worth your dollars. Now that Gran Turismo 4 is a greatest hit you'd be a fool not to by it now. Unless you're not a fan of the racing genre at all, go out and buy this. You will not regret it.

Graphics-Best looking game on the PS2? Only MGS3 could argue with that.
10/10
Gameplay-Same perfect formula with two big time additions.
10/10
Sound-Perfect Engine sounds, horrendous soundtrack.
9.0/10
Replay Value-Not as tedious as 3 because of B:Spec mode. Will give you over 100 hours easily.
10/10
Overall-Nearly a perfect game, but suffers from the qualms I mention above. As a greatest hits, you are almost obligated to put this into your library if you haven't already.
9.5/10

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