LADYDRAGON.COM - Gran Turismo

People who import Playstation games from Japan before they officially launch in North America usually only get the very best games because of the added expense involved in shipping software across the Pacific.

Earlier this year there was an importing frenzy as just about everyone with a modified PSX ordered a copy of Gran Turismo. It is quite the game.

Over 150 different consumer level vehicles are available to choose from as well as a few select concept cars and high spec professional racing cars. Every vehicle is fully customizable from the brakes and tires to the air filters and flywheels.

These customizations aren't present merely to pad out the options list; you have to learn what effect these components have and tune your cars well if you want to succeed.

You start the game with some money in your pocket and you head out to buy a car. The best vehicle you can afford to purchase is a used car. It's a slow car. It's a lousy car. If you were stuck with this car for the entire game you'd stick your copy of Gran Turismo back on the shelf.

There are much better cars available, but at this point, you simply don't have enough cash to get them. The way to get more money is by entering races and earning prize money. Before you do that though, you have to get your driver's license.

There are three different classes of license, each of them increasingly more difficult to obtain and each of them allowing you to enter more lucrative races once you possess them.

The first license class is had after completing eight tests which gauge your cornering, braking and overall driving abilities.

The time spent getting your first license allows you to familiarize yourself with the controls and once you have the license, it's time to hit the races.

It doesn't take long to discover that the old used car you're riding in doesn't have enough power to beat the competition. You still don't have enough money to get a better car, so you do the next best thing, which is, you get better parts.

The car in the middle costs more than my house.

Night racing!

In between racing, the entirety of Gran Turismo is spent at the car lots and upgrade shops tinkering with various parts and comparing the prices of various vehicles.If that doesn't sound like much fun to you, you needn't worry because most of this game is spent on the track where this thing really shines.

The races are fast and competitive with drivers cutting each other off and bumping into each other. Its also incredibly realistic. You can feel the differences between the various cars in the way they handle on the road. Some have a tendency to oversteer and spin out in the corners while others understeer and will run off the road if you let them.

You have to get used to the particular way the car your using handles, and if it isn't performing well you have to modify it accordingly.

One concession is that there is no vehicle damage whatsoever. You can bump and scrape these cars all you want, but it won't affect their performance and you won't see any damage. Almost all the cars in this game can be seen on the road every day, so its kind of understandable that Honda wouldn't want images of their Civics exploding into a ball of flame, nor would Chevy like to see Corvettes wrapped around telephone poles.

The various race tracks have designs that run the gamut from twisty technical sections that put your skills to the test, to long straight-aways that reward vehicles with high maximum speeds. Some low visibility night races are included which force you to memorize track layouts so you can anticipate the corners without seeing them first.

The graphics aren't as polished as a racing game on the N64 but they aren't as bland and empty as N64 racers either. There are lots of off track features and a wide variety in the textures so you don't get bored of the visuals easily.

The sound is a mixed bag. The sounds of the different car engines and brakes skidding are very well done, but the music in this game is a little weak. You can turn it off, though, so its no big deal.

The important parts of this game: the way the cars look, the way they handle and the level of competition is excellent. Playstation owning racing game fans need to play Gran Turismo.

Company:
Sony
www.playstation.com

Category:
Racing Simulation

NOTES:

Interest: 95%
Control : 95%
Graphics: 85%
Sound : 80%
Originality : 95%

TOTAL : 90%

Requirements:

Playstation

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