Gran Turismo has established itself is the definitive simulation racer. Each installment of the series brings more cars and tracks, prettier graphics, improved gameplay, and the closest experience to racing from the comfort of one's home. Gran Turismo 3 was near perfect and really left little room for improvement. Fortunately for fans though, Polyphony thought otherwise.
GT4, like its predecessors, is split up into two gameplay modes: arcade and simulation. The arcade mode is just as it was in past installments, except with more tracks and cars. It is not meant to be deep or last for very long, but it is nice for short bursts of play. The simulation mode is what the GT series is built upon. Buy cars, race, receive prizes, and upgrade your ride- or something along that line. As always, the player starts with a measly 10,000 credits and is required to go through many grueling license tests in order to race. You start out slow with a cheap car, win some races, upgrade your car, win some more races, upgrade, and so no. The first few hours of the simulation mode are a real drag, as it has been in previous installments. But those who kept their Gran Turismo 3 saves on a memory card will be granted two nice benefits: automatic completion of all 'class A' and all 'class B' license tests and a 100K bonus (in addition to the 10K you start out with). These two benefits allow the player to quickly pass the slow stuff and move on to the more challenging races. As you progress, you will unlock more tracks, cars, and basically, more opportunities. There are a wide variety of cars including consumer vehicles, trucks, exotics, classics, race cars, concepts, muscle cars, some oddball cars, and the return of used cars (which were absent from GT3). More tune-ups and customization options have been added, allowing players to fine tune their car anyway they please. The tracks can be dry or wet and at different times of the day; dirt tracks show up again and snow tracks have been added. In total, GT4 has somewhere around 700 cars and 50 tracks… unbelievable, but true. Outside of the newly added cars and tracks, Polyphony refined everything. From the handling to the physics, each car now feels more realistic and is meant to be closer to their real life counterparts. Some old races return and there are many new ones as well. The races are wonderful, of course, requiring skill and dedication to win. Some of the early races are nothing more than a yawn and some of the endurance racers are tiring, but most of the other races are great. The new mission based races, in which you have to accomplish a certain goal with some limitations, are pretty neat. Two new modes within the simulation mode are the B-spec and photo mode. In B-spec, you are the manager of the team while the computer does the work. You tell the driver how to drive (from slow and steady to fast and irresponsible), when to overtake, when to pit, and what is done to the car. Photo mode is amusing because it basically lets you photograph a car in a track of your choosing. After taking pictures, you can use a USB compatible storage device that the PS2 can recognize (i.e., USB pen drives, a newer model iPod, etc.) to transfer high resolution photos to a computer and do as you like with it.
Sadly, a couple of problems still remain. The AI is somewhat smarter but still follows a line and rarely makes mistakes. Cars still receive no damage; bumping around the track and into other cars is still one of the best strategies to win. There are a respectable number of cars from each continent, but the number of Asian cars completely overshadows the number of European and North American cars. While lingering flaws since the very first game, it is not all that surprising to see them return. Perhaps the folks at Polyphony believe there are more important factors that require their time.
GT4 will last a long time. It is hard to say how long as it really depends on what one wants to accomplish. To get 100% completion, it will take a very long time… maybe until the next GT game comes. This game just has a lot to it and if you enjoy it, it is will worth spending time on.
Visually, GT4 is the most accomplished game on the PS2. Outside of the minor instances of clipping and some other hiccups, there is little to complain about. The near-photorealistic cars fit well with the near-photorealistic backgrounds. Using actual photos for some of the backgrounds of some tracks was a rather cheap move but it's forgivable. The real life tracks that have been recreated in the game are done in terrific detail. The crowds and the (newly added) are full 3D models. The lighting and reflection look superb. The images captured in the photo mode could easily fool many people.
Each car carries with it a unique melody that roars from the surround sound speakers and especially the subwoofer. The sound is well done and flows without any issues. The music is another story though, but that is more preference based and can be turned down or off.
All in all, GT4 has had many upgrades and additions. But it really does not feel that much more different than GT3 nor does it play that much better. Instead, GT4 is more varied and tweaked closer to perfect. Is that a bad thing? By all means no! There was little to perfect upon and most GT fans could not ask for more. The once promised online feature would have been nice but has been excluded. But any and all problems aside, GT4 belongs in every racing simulation fan's library.
(Note: If you consider yourself an automotive and Gran Turismo enthusiast, it is a must for you to buy the Logitech Driving Force Pro wheel. The wheel is expensive but it provides an almost lifelike gameplay experience and feedback.)
Final words: Take Gran Turismo 3 and make it better in nearly everyway and you get Gran Turismo 4- a worthy purchase.
Create an Account
Member Login
