~Sony Playstation Reviews- Gran Turismo~

Gran Turismo

SYSTEM: Sony Playstation
DEVELOPER: SCEA
PRODUCER: SCEA
PRICE: $69 Canadian, $60 U.S.
RATED: Everyone

Let's start off with the facts: 166 cars, 11 tracks, 2 players, 11 car developers, 4 cups to race for, 12 special events, spot racing, time trial, arcade (1 or 2 player) and replay theater (You can save your replays!).

The car manufacturers are Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, TVR, Aston Martin, Dodge, Honda, and Acura.

Now that we have done that, let's get started with a more in depth look at this title. The game was developed by the team at Sony that brought us Motor Toon Grand Prix (Wow, have they taken a step up!) and Published by none other than SCEA. The music in the game is excellent and by the Chemical Brothers. The control is good great but you'd be cheating yourself not to use analog or dual-shock analog. This is the first game that I have seen that the analog controller is good for!

The arcade mode is a fast pace race to the line! You can play one or two players in arcade and you choose from a select group of cars to race with in arcade (The 166 is in simulation mode.); the one player mode is a lot like Daytona in the arcade! The two player game is perfect, except for the drop in frame rate. Initially there are only four tracks to race on, but you can unlock four more tracks. After beating all eight of the tracks on hard with each car type (A, B and C) you get the awesome "hi-fi" mode (Hi-res and 60 fps)! Talk about a reward!

Simulation mode is where this game shines; there are 166 cars to buy or sell! You start with 10 000 credits, then you get a license and race. There are 4 cups (Sunday, Clubman, GT and GT World), 11 special events (front-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, speed, endurance races, ect.), time trial, spot races and two player memory card battle. You can also buy upgrades for your cars such as mufflers, tires, weight reduction, brakes, ect. There is also special cars (stock) or you could buy a racing body and beef up you car! Sweet!

The gameplay is all great and all, but what better way to relish a win with the replays? The replays are amazing! The camera angles are awesome, this is where the physics engine can really be appreciated. You can see the reflections on the cars! You can see the weight shifting! The dust that flies behind you when you drift (power slide)! Oh baby! This is what makes it all worth while!

Now, like every game, GT has its faults; there aren't any tire marks on the track, in some replays you can see the polygon edges, getting a license can piss you off completely, not being able to enter a race due to lack of license, no car damage, and other small things. Other than that, this is a very excellent game; in fact I think it is one of the best games to come by in a while!

RATINGS
GRAPHICS 9.5
SOUND 7.5
GAMEPLAY 8.5
EXTRAS 7.5
PRESENTATION 9
OVERALL 9/10

REVIEW BY: AARON CALLIOU

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