Gran Turismo 4
Well, Lets just jump straight in. Gt4 is one of the definitive car racing games of the decade and sets the bench mark extremely high for those who wish to follow in its footsteps, Possibly only GT5 can top it. With such highs of course come a few lows. GT4 has everything to offer and yet in terms of evolving from gt1, 2 and 3 has moved forwards slowly with graphical improvements and a few other tweaks and modifications but still delivers a massively enjoyable experience and one that shouldn’t be missed. What does the game offer? Well you have over 50 courses to drive on, over 690 cars to drive , (most not available immediately) and over 80 car manufacturers to choose from. So choice is evidently there from the outset, as it was in 1, 2 and 3 of the series. Graphics are as up to date as you can get and push the boundaries for what is capable on the ps2. There’s no lagging when racing , everything is streamlined and smooth and when racing you feel very immersed into the immediate situation, able to respond on every corner. There’s the arcade and career mode in the game with arcade offering quick races and time trials and such while in career mode you can earn lots of credits to go and buy and sell cars, and of course, upgrade them – the bit we all love. The sound in game is pretty spot on with just the music a little of Centre. But the sound of each and engine captures the spirit of the true nature of each and every car. You can tell thorough research had taken place into engine sound of each and every make of car. There are many licenses to unlock and will keep you trying for a long duration. Some races are also huge, with 24 hour races. Fortunately there are settings in place (b spec mode) so that if you wish you can race these races at a faster pace and complete them within about a third of the time. This is a serious let off for those of us with little time and good thinking from the designers of granturismo4. All in all the game is the whole package. It offers everything. We expected a lot and gt4 delivers it all. The only thing is that after playing gt1, 2 and 3 you feel that some overwhelming change would come in gt4 but not so. A draw back? Possibly. But it begs the question… with that in mind what will gt5 deliver for the 3rd gen console ps3? Again with updated graphics, will we see just a further purification of the game or some real change? Time will tell. GibboViper.