If you must chose a DC racer, make sure it's not Sega GT.
Graphics: 7/10
Graphics are certainly pretty good. There are very good lighting and particle effects as well as rudimentary ''bump mapping'', if you can call it that. The AA is pretty well in place and helps the game get a more distinguished look... however the relatively bland use of colors and low resolutions hurt the graphics greatly.
Sound: 7/10
Your average set of techno and alternative rock tracks are sprinkled through the game. From the interface, to the races, to the garage expect to here ''classic'' video game music and lyricless J-Pop. The sound effects are very well done. Each car has a specific sound to it. Skids, the wind, and crashes produce a satisfying sound experience.
Gameplay: 5/10
Being a racing game Sega GT's actual gameplay is pretty self explanatory, so I'll get that out of the way first. The point of this game is to cross the finish line first, as in other racing games. You have a (small) variety of gameplay types with which you can satisfy your need for speed. The game offers some decent simulation, but it's nowhere near Gran Turismo or Gran Prix Legends. Usually, cars do skid and if you go in a turn at 90mph, chances are, you and the wall will become best buds in the following 5 seconds. The game offers the option to drive either manual or auto and several options of how realistic you want your experience to be. Sega GT is like a bridge between 2 borders, realism and arcade, your neither in arcade country, nor are you in realism country... your smack-dab in the middle.
Sega GT really tries to improve on some of the ''clichés'' of racing games. When it tries to improve, it succeeds, but it fails at anything else it didn't try to improve.
The biggest attraction to Sega GT is the ability to make your own “500 horse powered” beast of a car with the games car building tools. Pick a chassis, a transmission and everything else in between. This option sounds and works great... if you don't expect too much out of it. In truth, your pretty limited in what you can do, so you can forget about adding a hand made Ferrari Enzo to your car collection since the game only gives you a few bodies to work with. Other then that little issue, this mode is fairly decent if you can afford the cars that you make, since, yes, you do have to buy them.
Championship mode is the meat of Sega GT and it's at this point where the problems start. It seems Sega thought that just slapping a GT name on a game means the cars come running and program themselves into the game... well, it didn't happen. Sega GT has an absurdly low and limited collection of cars. On top of that, you can't even buy racecars. This may seem fun at first, but I'll get to why it's not in a few minutes. The biggest problem I have with the cars is the lack of any foreign (as in, non-Japanese cars). You have; at most, a grand total of 10 non-Japanese cars in Sega GT. That's pretty much an insult to carmakers and car lovers all across the globe. I have no problem with Japanese cars, but I do think that no matter what kind of tuning a Civic has, it won't ever pass a Lamborghini Diablo.
Have you recovered from the shock of having so few cars? Good, don't bother to get up; I have even more shocking news coming. GT's Championship mode may be the shortness in the history of any racing game, ever. I took me 2 days to COMPLETELY finish this game. Yes, 2 day to finish a racing game... there goes longevity. The game’s simplistic licensing process, which in itself is a great thing if the game wouldn't be so short, combined with the 20 or so races, most of which are in between 2 or 5 laps or are drag races, shorten this game drastically.
On the plus side however, the racetracks are pretty well made and offer nice variety and just seem more ''alive'' then GT2's or GT3's racetracks. The game also offers a more ''real'' experience of how one gets the money from racing. A normal race in the Championship mode offers a pretty decent prize and the ability to work for the company that sponsors the event. You have no choice in the matter, however, so using the word ''ability'' is a little much... more like being forced. But don't worry, this is the gaming world, being forced only makes things even easier then they already are. Why?? Well, for every company you have as your sponsor you get a monetary bonus added to your race wins. As if this game isn't easy and short enough already, after 5 races you can already buy a Mitsubishi 3000GT. Hurray!!
The game's AI isn't a mess, but it's far from good. The AI will, many a time, spin out or get involved in amazingly complex accidents. The AI also doesn't seem to understand that he's suppose to stay NEAR the curve when taking it, so he is too easily undertakeable at curves. More so, the AI is pretty pushy and can get annoying sometimes. The fact remains though that, even though its probably through cheating, the AI puts up a decent fight. You'll have to fight the AI till the bitter end, since there are no uber-overpowered cars ala GT3 (F1 anyone?).
All of these small quirks do add up, but they are NOTHING compared to this games biggest issue: controls. No, you don't understand me, you may think you can imagine how bad this game's controls are, but you wouldn't even come close to the truth. NOT EVEN CLOSE!! This game has such horrendous and arcade like controls that it renders all the $2 million dollar cars utterly useless. Even the AI is affected by these bad controls. Don't start laughing if you'll see a poor AI do a few 360 degree turns in the middle of the road, because it's not his fault, it's the controls. The controls in this game are so horrendously bad that the only time you can really use $2 million dollar cars is when your drag racing.
I've pondered as to why these controls are so bad, but I cannot find the answer. The analog stick is tight, but the D-Pad is over sensitive. To break and accelerate you use the shoulder buttons. Technically speaking it should all work great, but it doesn't. The controls destroy what could've been a decent or even good game.
To add insult to injury, when the game was translated from Japan to US, the producers removed the damage model that was available in the Japanese version making this game absolutely standard in the driving arena. Nothing new, but the controls are bad as hell.
Sega GT offers Single Races, Drag Races and Timed races among others, but they don't much change the overall picture of mediocrity. There isn't much to be said about this game... it's mediocre and it has some horrible controls.
Multiplayer: 4/10
A DC racing game with NO online support? Even worse, one that's made by Sega and marketed as a GT killer? That's a real shame. This game could've saved itself a great deal of criticism if it had anything but split screen multiplayer. Especially since people expected a lot more from Sega.
Overall: 5/10
Sega GT reeks of mediocrity. It's a game that, much like it's concept of ''driving'', is on a bridge. To one side stands GT, untouched master of God-like console racing and multiplatinum holder, on the other side stands Speed 1932 the sheer terror and horror of a game that isn't even half done. Sega GT aspires to go next to GT, yet it walks towards Speed.