Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 2

Genre: Racing Simulation

Number of Players: 1 - 2 or 6 with LAN

It's a good game . . . . but it's no Gran Turismo.

Oh, how many times I've written that statement with other racing titles. If you've played the game, then there should be no question as to why I'd make such a bold statement. We've all been waiting for what has been almost too long for the next installment of the series to be released. We've seen the videos, we've drooled over images, I even have an import version of the game that taunted me for months (but never played it as I didn't want to modify my PS2) and we've suffered disappointments when the games release date was changed. It's been a long time coming indeed, but finally Gran Turismo 4 is available, and it's been well worth the wait.

As you should know by now, the GT series isn't one that relies on any sort of storyline, and hopefully the developers, Polyphony Digital, will never decide to take the game in that direction, but if you're up for driving in different locations across the world and up for driving real cars, this is the real deal. GT3 showed off the power of the PS2 and although it's been many years since its release, GT4 pushes the envelope of what the PlayStation 2 is capable of and gives us one of the most beautiful racing games you could ever hope to play on the system, or any other for that matter.

Some things remain the same with the series. You have your options of Arcade Mode or Simulation. Arcade Mode will allow you to show off the game to friends or serves as an introduction to those uninitiated with the series. You can select from most of the cars in the game, most of the tracks, and even be a part of a two-player race, or even link together with up to six different players via a LAN connection. With arcade mode you can even import your garage from Simulation Mode, and as most GT fans know, playing in sim-mode is the real power behind the game.

There have been some changes here however, and that's not necessarily something that you should look at as being a bad thing. For those that have GT3 and still have their save file, you can actually import that file over, but it's not the garage that you will be getting but instead the licenses. That saves a little time, and as far as the garage itself goes, you will be able to gain up to 100K for your troubles. I did however spend some time working through the licenses and in comparison to the last game, they are much easier to obtain. I can't count the times in GT3 that I was so close to getting one of the licensing phases passed only to miss it by a few seconds or barely hit the grass and have to start over. The only thing about importing your save file though is that you won't get the benefit of winning cars from completing the different license phases.

You won't necessarily need to get the privilege to enter some races right off though, and GT4 features a Beginner's Circuit where a license isn't an issue, though the type of car may be. The map features many different styles of races, and this includes races that are country or region specific, such as the American Circuit or the Japan Circuit to rally style races that have dirt and even snow. You can even enter sections that are set up by track type. There are the original tracks for GT, city tracks, and so forth. Here, you can either simply go into the face to check out the tracks, a good way to practice, or you can enter into cup races where you can adjust the difficulty. It's actually a good way to earn a little extra money during the game. If you explore a little more, you will find that some brands of cars even have races that are set up just for them. Winng races will of course earn you money, or credits in this case, as well as cars when you complete a series.

GT has always been a series that proves that having more is better, and this fourth version of the popular series features a few hundred different types of cars, over 600 actually. This will include everything from cars that you'd see out and about to high-end racers that you're not going to be buying in any store. You can find just about everything from autos from Mazda to Ford's and even the expensive, but great looking Lotus. There are cars I had never even heard of featured in the game. If you want to look tacky, you can purchase a box on wheels, like the Element (I hate those things) and GT4 features not only new cars but also show rooms that feature used cars. You can find classic cars in the game as well, such as the 1966 Spider 1600 Duetto or the 1962 Mazda Carol 360 Deluxe. There are also cars that will only be available if certain conditions are met. As usual though, buying a new car will give you the option to pick the color you want it in, and things go far beyond that.

If Gran Turismo didn't feature the ability to buy new parts and do upgrades, it wouldn't be the same game, and that's where the tagline, "The Real Driving Simulator" comes into play. You can buy a huge amount of parts for your car, from the dealer and from different vendors. You can buy new tires, tweak the engine with a few upgrade, and virtually anything else you could possibly ever want to do. You can even go for a more visual approach and buy new rims or foils from the back. This doesn't do much for your performance of course, but if it makes you fell better when you get onto the track, that's really the most important thing.

If you don't feel like the pressure of driving however, you can enter into B-Spec mode. This puts you in charge of a race team, or your car rather, and you can instruct your driver on how to perform and even change the view while doing it. It's a little like being able to completely control the replay mode and is an interesting aspect to the game. If you feel like doing a like photography though, there is another option that will put you in various parts of the world from everywhere from Vegas to numerous locations across Japan, that will allow you to photograph different cars. You can even print these if you want by using a USB printer (the manual recommends Epson, but I'm going to assume any USB ready printer will work.) I played with the mode a bit, but I don't have (and refuse to own) any USB ready printer.

GT4 looks even better than what GT3 did. There are plenty of element effects like rain and snow or even beams of light shinning through areas with heavy tree cover. A quick glance at the game screen actually might make some do a double take as the cars combined with the scenery looks very realistic. The only thing I don't like is that much like the last game, the people in the stands or off to the side of the road are flat and look like cutouts. But, they tend to go buy too fast to even notice much of the time. Aside from graphics, the soundtrack has always been something of note for fans, and although we never get to experience the real Japanese version, GT4 features tracks from artists such as Judas Priest, Van Halen, Papa Roach, and even Bach. There's a little something on here for everyone.

Most should know by now that originally the plan for GT4 was to have an option to play online which was later replaced with the idea of it only being an online title. In the end though, there is no online play at all, and I can't say that I'm disappointed by this, though some are. There also isn't any body damage, which means that with most races you can still drive like a madman and use your fellow racers as leverage to make it around tight corners to slam into walls without much worry. The only difference though is that the rally races will cause to you lose time by doing this. Also note that this will be the last GT on the PS2 as well as the final version that will not feature damage. Polyphony has already stated that GT5 will appear on the PS3 and WILL feature damage. I guess that means I'm going to need to change the way I drive in the future, but for now, running people off the road for the sake of the win is still working.

Has it been worth the wait? It most certainly has, and GT3 may have been an impressive title, and still is, but it's nothing in comparison to Polyphony's latest achievement with Gran Turismo 4. More companies should actually take note here, not necessarily just for racing titles, but you don't necessarily have to release a game each year to appease the gaming public. There has been a great deal of care and effort taken to make this the best GT of the series, and it shows. Other companies can claim to have their "Gran Turismo killer," but talk is cheap and the GT series is hands down the champion of racing simulation games, no doubt about it.

-mike-