Gran Turismo 3 was amazing. how does Gran Turismo 4 Stack up? It's the Holy Grail of Racing Games.
User Rating: 9.3 | Gran Turismo 4 PS2
Gran Turismo was a game that started back in 1998 by a company called Polyphony Digital. the game boasted many makes of cars and diffrent models, well as long gameplay and a lot of races. the following year Gran Turismo 2 was released on the PSX this time showing off its impressive lineup of 500+ cars and numerous tracks Gran Turismo 2 out did its predecessor. In 2001 the 3rd installment of the Gran Turismo series was released: Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. while it did not have as many cars as Gran Turismo 2 its tuning capabilites were limitless and its graphics were top of the line. it may seem like probably one the best realistic racing games ever made. how does Gran Turismo 4 stack up to the mountian established by Gran Turismo 3? well the truth is , it scales it and sets a new peak. Gameplay-------9 The Gran Turismo 4 game play is the same concept as its predecessors. in Simulation Mode which is now renamed appropriately Gran Turismo mode. you start off with a meager ammount of credits and must buy a car from the ground and build up and win cash by participating in races, but inorder to participate in most races you need a licence in which you must pass a licence test. Gran Turismo 4 takes the amazing gameplay from Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec and refines them to utmost perfection. The cars now have weight shifts and minor details and more control than before . in adition to the simple racing mode. there is also other things to check out such as the photography studio. where you can take pictures of you car and either save them to you PS2 Memory card or a compatible Flash Drive. there is also the adition of Race Mission in which you must complete certian objectives. After your done checking out the Gran Turismo Mode you can head over to Arcade Mode. which is just plain racing no major tuning of you car. This mode includes the 2 player battle mode which you can go head to head with another friend. you can also link up PS2's to play with up to 5 other players including yourself to have a LAN match. In addition to gameplay features. if you do not wish to start with the 10,000 credits if you have a save file from Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec you can import up to 100,000 Credits and you National B and Nation A licences. the only reason why the Gameplay is not perfect, is because the fact your cars cannot break down nor can you destroy them . Graphics ------10 As if Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec's graphics were not beautiful enough the engine used for Gran Turismo 4 is simply beautiful. the Car models are detailed and the enviroment is proabbly the most detailed inviroment graphics on the PS2 to date. everything is crips and clear . While the Graphics from Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec were amazing. The Graphics for Gran Turismo 4 are probably the best ever for a console game. the frame rates never drop ever even when you crash or hit a wall at top speed they stay at a constant frame rate . Sound----------9 The Sound in Gran Turismo 4 is great. while a few cars don't sound as they should they sound good enough to satisfy most people. some of the Car's sound a bit diffrent like the SRT4 but its satisfying and good enough. The soundtrack is very good varies from nice rock songs such as Van Halen's Panama which is used for the opening video to nice techno themes. and Orchstrated music. Great Varity in the soundtrack. Value----------8 650+ cars for $50 is a pretty good deal. the value for this game is great while the absence of Online mode that was promised is very lacking and disappointing the amazing single player is enough to make up for it . Overall Final Score ---------9.3 Gran Turismo 4 is the best racing simulator out there right now. Gran Turismo 3 had it's turn on the top of the pedestal now Gran Turismo 4 is its sucessor and it's turn to sit on top for years to come. the line up for this game is amazing boasting 650+ cars 80 manufacturers and 50 tracks. This game is not being overthown as probably the best racing game any time soon. 
