A free spirit circuit racer with smooth controls and great graphics to make it hard to put down.
(-) After playing the game for literally hours, it MIGHT get repetitive
Gran Turismo 3 is a solid circuit racer. It has a lengthy gran prix mode that offers various circuits and challenges, where you can earn money and save for a hefty variety of other cars. I order to do this, you need to complete in different circuits of races on real-world tracks from all the way across the board, and frequently buy a more powerful car or tune up or upgrade the ride you already have. This mode has the substance to keep you busy for months or maybe even years to come. There is so much lasting value that you'll without a doubt be engrossed for hours each day, the chance of it being repetitive is killed by the beautiful and diverse tracks and the generous sense of speed. And the entire experience is at the right difficulty level as well. Before my GT3 save was destroyed when I accidental transferred it to a bad memory card, the only trouble I recall having was at the Test Course track, where your AI opponents seemed to gain momentum at a faster rate than you, and the track is a much, much bigger from of the basic Speed Raceway, which means there are no curves or turns so if they pass you then it's all she wrote, time to head back to the garage.
The Arcade mode is great if you just want to get into a quick race. You have a decent variety of tracks to choose from, I found more than enough tracks to play around with for hours at a time, my favorites being the Deep Forest Raceway, and I also enjoyed the night time levels with their bright lights and rainy textures were a pleasant addition to the experience as well. And you also have three different difficulties so you can find your particular skill level, so no matter if you are a casual or hardcore gamer or somewhere in between, you can also find a difficulty level that fits your taste. In Arcade mode you'll can choose between the 150 different licensed cars saved in the game's default system, or any which you have saved in your garage but any upgrades you performed on your car won't be applicable here.
The graphics in Gran Turismo 3 are stunning. The environments are full of generous glitter and texture as well as the highly detailed car models. The sun is very vibrant and the rays that it produces can actually been seen on the road, the grass in the background is even detailed so the back of the box's claim of photo realistic graphics is without a doubt a promise well kept. The frame rate stays smooth throughout, you have separate car views to choose from depending on your personal taste, and the game just delivers in every way possible to present a well constructed product and experience for anyone who plays and even those who just sit and watch.
The controls are also smooth and easy to navigate. Just hold the X button to accelerate and the analog stick or control pad to move. This control set up may seem simple but somehow there is still plenty of dept and the game is easy to play, but hard to master, therefore this can warrant hours of hours of play without seeing every single dime or nickel the game has to offer. The game is very inviting to pick up and easy to enjoy at any moment. But not so easy that you can master it in as little as a few months. Because the AI controlled racers do behave with an emotional basis, cruising when they're far ahead, speeding up when you approach them, and kicking it into high gear when they're far behind. This allows some pretty heated competition is what seems like an easy game, and sometimes the race is just unpredictable because the computer controlled opponents can get back at you.
Gran Turismo is a welcome addition in almost anyone's PS2 library and excels in a genre that other have a very hard time pulling off. Just the simplicity of racing other licensed cars on a fixed track; no weapons, no ramps; no attacks; just racing. And that's the way it should be. The controls are slick and easy to use, the graphics are nothing short of cutting edge for this console generation, there is more than plenty of content in the simulation mode to be busy for years, and just the right careful balance between easy and hard difficulty, makes it difficult to imagine the Playstation 2's library without this game.