Gran Turismo for the PSP is a must have for anyone who loves simulation racing games, and is a car collecting nut.
It's been a long time coming for Gran Turismo to come to the PSP. The game was announced in late 2004, and it's been 5 years since the game was mentioned. Finally the game is here, and it shows what it does best, albeit a few drawbacks.
The whole premise of GT lies in the Arcade and Driving Challenge mode, (which really is the license test mode you go through in every GT game.) You have an arcade mode that gives a single race, time trial, and drift game, and all the tracks are available from the get go. You'll be happy to know that your fan favorite tracks from previous games are here, so there's a lot of racing and rally racing that can be done. In single race, you'll go against 3 CPU opponents and try to place the top spot to earn money to purchase more vehicles, which there are more than 800 available for you to buy in this game. Such companies as Subaru, Nissan, Mazda, and various popular and lesser known companies are here, with their prize possession, so winning and earning more money is key if you want the cars you want.
The AI unfortunately is the same same AI you've grown familiar with in previous GT games, as they usually follow the best path to gain top speed, break at the right times, and try to place first. However the difficulty will increase slightly from D rank to S rank depending on how many races you can finish on one track.
Purchasing the cars also can be a tad difficult too. As the game is set on days you've raced, only four dealerships will become available to you with their cars. After that day or two ends, another set of four dealerships will open up to you. It could take awhile to find the manufacturer you want so you can purchase the car you desire, but it keeps you occupied getting the money you need to purchase higher quality material.
To earn more money you use the driving challenge mode. Basically you can earn the trophies from bronze to gold and the money that goes with it. However, if you do finish with gold, the money you would get with silver and bronze will add on to your gold and you can rack up a lot in a short time. As always the difficulty for getting gold is up there so if you're patient you can get what you want but only if you can drive very well.
The handling for the game isn't bad. The game feels extremely realistic with it's handling and the screen looks like a beauty when playing. Although the graphics are tone down form GT4, the presentation is still breathtaking, and the cockpit view albeit black on the inside provides a good view of what you would be seeing if you were inside the car you're driving.
The only setback to this game is the lack of career mode. Like most GT games that particular mode gave you hours of entering and winning races and championships just to purchase more vehicles and try to finish with a 100% completion. It's the one thing that should have been added to the game considering this game has been at works since 2004 supposedly.
The lack of online is also a problem, though a patch is supposed to be release to have online play for the PSP. The game comes in UMD and as a digital download. If you buy the UMD you can install the game onto your memory stick for roughly 900 MBs, but you'll still need the UMD to run it.
All in all Gran Turismo is setting up to be an interesting game to play. It will keep people occupied until Gran Turismo 5 hits the PS3 next year, but if you're looking for an intriguing Simulated racing game, get this one. You won't be disappointed.