Still a challenge and, with the 16 player online play and hidden bonuses, well worth the money.
The first thing you will notice about the game is the new 'My Page', but this is just a way to disguise the smaller layout and content of the game. As in all GT games, you have the garage, the dealerships and the events. New icons include GT News, GT TV and, of course, online play.
The garage does not even go to another screen anymore, you just choose which car you want to drive in a small box and switch to it. One stupid loss is that there are no records of your progress on a status or awards page, and if it wasn't for the online play, you would feel as if you are doing everything for nothing. The car dealerships obviously have a lot less cars, but you will find something new in the form of a Ferrari logo staring at you when you click on the icon. This is a massive deal for GT (I hope they get Lamborghinis as well in time for GT5), and Ferrari has the biggest non-modified range of cars in the game (5 cars). You can also buy modified cars by GT, which are souped-up existing cars such as the Chevvy Corvette. There are three classes of events to complete (or are there?) as well as events for a lot of specific cars. To 'complete the game' and make it to intermediate online class, you must complete all three classes. This is medium difficulty and it must have taken me about 5-6 hours to complete. It does get a bit frustrating when you have to make the money to buy one specific car for one race, but it's all part of the game. The events for the manufacturers are extremely hard, and only hardcore fans could probably complete them. You have to be the same car as everyone else and, as if it's not hard enough overtaking the cars, you have around 4 second penalties for either taking a short cut, bumping into the walls or colliding with another car. This really takes the fun out of these races; who honestly can say that they have completed every race without breaking one of these rules?
GT news just updates you on various things happening to or around the world of Gran Turismo and sometimes updates the game for you (which takes ages). GT TV just gives you some videos of the actual game, trailers and beginning movies. The online play is the thing that will keep you playing for hours. This is what makes it the most addictive Gran Turismo game ever made. 16 players! But before you can race those numbers, you have to complete the three classes to make it onto intermediate and expert play. I think this is a good idea - you have to complete the game to get the best out of it. Online, there are penalties and it does get annoying, but this makes sure that the best player wins - player names are above their cars and are listed after the race in the positions that they came in. People driving are usually well behaved, but you will get the ocassional shunt that knocks you off the track. If you are penalised or spinning/skidding off the track, you will turn transparent for a few seconds so that other cars can pass you. The online play is very good, much better than Need For Speed: Prostreet, but I wish there was more of a way to interact with other players.
There is something like 55 cars that you can buy or win, which is not bad for a nowhere near full game - that is almost as much as in the full game of NFS: Prostreet. The cars, though, are somewhat unimpressive apart from a fair few - but you wouldn't really want to give too much away, even if the full game will have near to 1000 cars available. The real sucky thing about the whole game is the tracks and the amount of tracks. I think there are only seven, and the only challenging one is Suzuka. The three new tracks are okay, nothing special and then all that's left is the High Speed Ring, Fuji Speedway (which is alright) and the Superspeedway (too easy).
The graphics are even better than before - more flawless than perfect. This has always been a big part of the Gran Turismo series. The gameplay is improved, still. Each car is meant to have their own unique abilities, and you can really feel this in the handling of the car. After you complete Class A, you have a quicktune option available to you, and a new performance points system which determines whether you can enter a race, which adds to the experience, although I am a little annoyed that you can't add parts such as turbo chargers to your cars (to get that massive advantage!). All the car sounds are unique and there is a new view from inside the car that will please a lot of fans. There is no music when you are driving, which is a letdown, but there might be a setting to change this.
Overall, I think this is the best Gran Turismo game to date in terms of graphics and gameplay. It does not bore me at all and it is well worth the price tag. I would have given this a higher score if it had a little more content, but it is a very solid attempt.
Add me as a friend on the PS3 if you liked this review! My PS3 ID is supersonikk, and I will kick your ass =)