Gran Turismo 4 is a solid title that captures the essence of racing, and then welds it to a wealth of valuable features.
User Rating: 8.2 | Gran Turismo 4 PS2
Gran Turismo 4 is a solid title that captures the essence of racing, and then welds it to a wealth of valuable features. The game does not reach the pinnacle that it could have--the faults of the original Playstation Gran Turismo inexcusably return intact. But there’s so much to do here that Gran Turismo 4 transcends its downfalls, and maintains its place as a stellar racing title. The presentation is mostly excellent, particularly the menu screens. Everything is crisp, clear, and well laid-out, and it’s no trouble at all to whisk from buying a car, to tuning it, to slinging it around a race track. A nice variety of piano lounge music plays in the background, and many of the tunes are quite catchy. The theme here is simplistic elegance, and it shines through admirably--even the loading screens adhere to this purpose. Unfortunately, these loading screens occur a bit too frequently, and while they’re never too long, it is marring to arrive at them after every click. In-game, the presentation is perhaps less memorable. The graphics stride for a photo-realistic look, and it all looks nice. Some of the pieces are predictably sparse--such as the crowd and the background environments--and nothing seems particularly inspired, as the photo-realism serves to scuttle that sort of flair. But the graphics are more than serviceable, and they are a wonder considering the aging Playstation 2 hardware. The sound is less enigmatic than it could have been. While the engine sounds and tire screeching are perfect--even my untrained ears can perceive the difference between a 180-hp minivan and a 520-hp speed demon--the music leaves much to be desired. The soundtrack is comprised of mostly modern pieces, and while a couple are entertaining, I quickly shut off the music to avoid the rest of the drudgery. A better selection would have been welcomed. Another welcome inclusion would have been some sort of race announcer. I suppose the developers strived for a sort of in-car feel, leaving the player with only car sounds and radio tunes to experience, but it didn’t strike me so well, and the entire effect is conspicuously bare--especially after shutting off the meandering radio. No doubt my favorite feature of Gran Turismo 4 is the absolutely absurd amount of cars and features to enjoy. There are no less than 600 vehicles present, in all varieties, and I adored the prospect of collecting them. Even then, the fun isn’t over--each car has a score of possible upgrades, and it’s a true joy to renovate even the weakest vehicle into a speed machine. With your new tricked-out beauty, a world of racetracks is literarily there for the taking. A plethora of circuits, courses and Sunday drives await your tackling, and conquering the slew of them is an addictive prospect. The dreaded license tests have returned--I recall them from the original. I hated them there, but it’s done better here, and even my horrible racing served to steer me pass the first two test courses with a minimum of retrying. Perhaps unacceptable are the full-lap test courses--while it’s no big deal to lose a quick braking trial, failing a two-minute lap test repeatedly is more frustrating than it needs to be. I would rather the license tests be relegated to the fringe of gameplay, and have them offer rewards without being forced trials which one must pass in order to enjoy the rest of the game. I can accept the fact that they’re here, and they aren’t as bad as they could be, but they truly are unnecessary frustrations. In a bit of irony, the actual racing portion of Gran Turismo 4 is its weakest facet. In particular, the AI--the computer-controlled cars are mindless automatons, and the game doesn’t even pretend that they aren’t. The enemy drivers are absent souls, and maintain no personality whatsoever--they aren’t aggressive drivers, or cautious ones, or even good ones. Every car is occupied by a clone of the same boring fool, and together they trudge around the track in a straight line, more alike to a funeral procession than race competitors. The absence of multiplayer only exacerbates the problem. While I’m not a multiplayer fan myself, it’s a desperate necessity in the light of poor AI. I longed for human opponents as a foil to the incessantly tepid clone army, and the lack of multiplayer is thus a conspicuous absence--and a damaging one. In the end, Gran Turismo 4 is an entertaining title that could have been better. I haven’t played a Gran Turismo title since the original, and it’s sort of bizarre that the same poor AI issue has yet to be addressed, even after all these years. Yet Gran Turismo 4 maintains itself as a worthy title, and the wealth of vehicles and features are unsurpassed. Pursue and enjoy. 
