Graphics still look outstanding... even for today.
So I have this flashback... and it's not so difficult to actually compile this review, since the experience with this game is as clear as Darth Vader telling Anakin Skywalker that he is his father (LOL). And so I stop and marvel at this game as I remember how spectecular it was (and still is in some departments).
First thing I got to say is that for a game that was released in 1999 to have graphics that still look so great 9 years later the visuals team for this game were just pure visionary. So one would ask, "if I'm so impressed with the visuals 9 years later, how impressed was I when I got this game?" Well I guess a smart individual can see that that's one of the reasons I played the game for 100 or more hours.
Asides from the environments and the visuals of an endless rooster of cars, I was hooked on the playability. I think this game was one of the first few games that started to give players the ability to modify their car's perfomence in detail. I remember tuning my cars damper, camber, gear ratio, spring/coil absorbability, def slip ratio and stuff I wasn't even familiar with when I was a kid. I think to a certain extent it's one of the main reason I wanted to become an engineer just to understand what all of that stuff meant. Games like these are rare and are only abundant to the GT series. Not only does a player enjoy games like these... but they experience things that not everyone can, and might become influenced to do great things.
The realism didn't end there though. Not only could players tune their cars like real engineers... but you could also race like a true racer. I remember my parents starting to take interest as to why I would engage in 1 hour long and sometimes 2 hour long races (LOL). One could enjoy different kinds of races, from Rally to the typical course races, with some races involving cars with certain class, vehicle type, tuned/untuned and even power. I heard from another mate of mine that the racing locations are also all real. The most difficult track for me of cause being The Laguna Seca.
One could also choose from an endless number of car manufacturers from around the globe. I learned of so many car manufacturer names, that I was like an encyclopedia of car manufacturers in my group of young car enthusiasts at that time. From the known names like Mercedes-Benz to the more unknown names like RUF, Tommy-Kaira and other alternative names of manufacturers, like how sometimes the car brand Opel is also referred to as Vauxhal. From ordinary vehicles already known to the mass to more unfamiliar concept cars, a player can choose from an endless array of vehicles to buy, mod and compete in. Too bad some cars, which most people wanted to possess in the game, could only be acquired by winning special races.
One of the offsets the game has is that it doesn't have any car damage and the player often felt like racing in a sterile environment but eirther than that, the game is worth a spin for anyone who enjoys circuit racing or just wants a 'ride down memory lane' .