Gran Turismo 4

This fourth instalment is my favourite in the GT series. Wonderful graphics, hundreds and thousands of cars to choose from, numerous tracks (road and rally) to race on and great background music all combine to make GT4 a unique and superior car racing video game.

As with the other GT games, you cannot damage the vehicles whatsoever, although the pit stop is as realistic as you can get, and you now have the option of refuelling, choosing which tyres to change, as well as having your oil checked! The other three GT games were seriously flawed as far as this was concerned.

I love this game immensely, but I wish the AI cars would alter their racing line at times because they just seem to try and force you off the track....And why is there only one rival in a race when driving with the roof down in a convertible?

As its predecessors, the objective of the game is more or less the same: race and win in GT mode to unlock new vehicles, tracks and cheats etc. The newly introduced B-spec mode is also weak, but GT4 is still a game to put a very big smile on your face!

The best part of this game is the realism it imparts to the driving experience. The game has a range of cars spanning over 100 years and over 1000 HP (starting at 1 hp). It has tracks ranging from simple to complex monsters (accurately based on the real life Nurburgring in Germany.) Tracks can be tarmac, dirt, ice, snow, wet tarmac and sometimes a mix. It has driving licenses which help you learn to drive better in the game (I've passed them all, but not gotten perfect in more than half...) It has room for 1000 cars in your garage (I'm at about 800) There are plenty of races that are snap easy, medium, or difficult, short or long.

Most cars can be modified by adding suspension, drive-train and engine upgrades.

So there is a lot of variety in this game. You are not stuck driving one of 10 cars or something, though some races restrict your options to one or more cars, but that is just for that race or series of races.

Above all it's the physics that drives this game above the field. A nice selection of cars is nice, but the feel for the road is the best thing this game has for it.... As the car accelerates or decelerates, you can see the car lunge or dip on screen. As the wheels start slipping, you hear it, and if you don't correct it, you might just loose it. As you hit a depression in the road or crest a hill too fast, the tires loose grip a little, and it just might be enough to spill. Just like real racing, the driver must know the road and the car. Knowing and staying in the limits is vital to racing at your full potential.

This game is NOT an arcade game where you just floor the gas and steer. This game requires you to be more subtle than that. As it's not an arcade game, it won't be for everyone. Even those who don't like driving (like me) may really enjoy the game, as you can get the feel of the race, with out the risk (to your life and property...)

I reviewed this game back in early 2008, when i first had the chance to play it over a period of days. i've played it now for nearly 3 years and I can honestly say this game got better as I moved on.

You start with $10,000 and one dream - to be the best race car driver of all time. But Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is your career. You'll have to race in tournaments with little compensation, but as you go along, the cars get better, and hopefully your driving skills do too. To prove your skills are good, you can earn licenses to race in more professional races, and you'll want to, cause those races carry bigger prizes than the amateur ones. when you've gotten past all the races, coming first every time, you can truly declare you've beaten this game.

This game is littered with things. Race courses, Cars, Pros, Cons, music, everything. it would take a player years to find it all.

As for race courses, there are 51 in total, which doubles if you count them in reverse. that makes 102 courses. can you master them all?

There are nearly 700 different cars available for racing. some of them date back to 1886 (the Daimler motor carriage) and as far ahead as 2037, and several cars littered in between. some have advantages others don't, and some cars are worth $2,000 used, others over a million new. it will be a long time before you drive every one of them.

The Pros? It's so easy to make money in this game. and i don't mean peanuts either. what's the best way I've discovered so far? Get yourself a high-powered car (I like to use either the 2003 Dodge Viper or the 1990 Chevrolet Corvette) and race Tsukuba Circuit Wet in the special condition events once you receive a International B liscense (it doesn't work for the A license race) once you win, you'll earn a professional race car worth nearly 100,000, along with 10,000 for winning the race. sell the car, and bam, you're rich enough to buy nearly any sports car available, as long as it's not a European one.

Whats a major con? Realism. The game boasts it's realism but i think it would be much better off if it were as real as Need for Speed or Grand Theft auto. but of course, that would ruin half the purpose of the game. so GT4 isn't for every racing gamer out there. but personally, i don't think GT4 truly can call itself real. here's a few points as to why i say that.

-When you crash into a wall or another car, your car doesn't take damage. if it at least went a few clicks slower for the rest of the race it might feel a little more real. -The AI is about as basic as grade 1 math. they go on a pre-set path for the course, and even if you collide into them, they don't come after you for screwing them up. -Cars should not sell for a quarter of their original value, new or used. in the Xbox Release Sega GT 2002, You were able to pick the value you wanted to sell your car at. if that was the case, it would not only be more fun (Cause you have more control over the game) it would be more fair.

To Note, There's a special version of the 1983 Toyota Sprinter Trueno in the game, labeled the 2000 Toyota Sprinter Trueno Shuichi Shigeno Edition, Mr. Shigeno being the man who created the Anime Initial D, in which the main character owns a Sprinter Trueno, with a Black hood instead of a white one. it's valued at about $26,000 (Compared to the original 1983 version, valued at $5,375) in the Used Car Showroom II, and appears about 1 out of 4 times.

Bottom line, Gran Turismo 4 is a game that should not be overlooked. if you don't own this game, i suggest you at least try it a few times, and see if realistic racing is for you.

9/10

Being a car nut, I was looking forward to this game very much. After several delays, it has finally come out and is well worth the wait. The variety and range of cars is amazing! There are many different kinds including compacts, classic muscle cars, exotics, luxury sedans, and even pickup trucks. There are even a couple of cars from 1886. (No, that's not meant to say 1986.) The tracks are nice too. Along with the city courses, most of which are realistically recreated, are several real racetracks (including the highly challenging Nurburgring) and several of the original tracks the series is known for. In the cities, many of their landmarks are easily visible during the race. On the rally courses, there are actually guys who stand in the track, take pictures of your approaching car, then scurry out of the way.

As for the soundtrack, there's more good variety. I've driven exceptionally long endurance races (some as long as 8 hours, or more) with the default soundtrack set up and it took two hours for the music to cycle around. What played in that two hours was nicely chosen. I heard some good new songs from Jimmy Eat World, The Donnas, Jet, Chronic Future, Dirty Americans, and Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers. Also, I heard some nice older tunes from Judas Priest, Yello, and Van Halen. Everything else was at least worth listening to.

There's also an oddity new the series in this game called B-Spec. With this new mode, you can let the computer drive for you while you manage its pace, tell it when it's okay to pass opponents, and when to go into the pits. This can easily make many of the longer endurance races more manageable.

Recommending this game to car nuts with a PS2 seems almost useless because they most likely have this game already.

Is it just me, or are there missing some very important cars? In Gran Turismo 2 there were cars like the Ford GT90, Lotus Esprit GT1, Lotus Elise GT1, BMW 8-series and manufactures like Vector and Venturi. There were also a Lambo Diablo GT in the Japanese version of Gran Turismo 3. Somehow they all disappeared in GT4!!! Perhaps they will be there in Vision Gran Turismo? But some cars are still missing: Mercedes Benz C111 from 1979 (first concept car that went beyond 250 MPH!), Bugatti EB110 from 1991 (first road car with 4 turbos!), Bugatti Veyron (first road car that whet beyond 400 KPH!) and I could go on for hours...

Kazunori Yamauchi says that he is a big fan of cars, but perhaps he's a big fan of Japanese cars? Is it really necessary to have so many versions of the NSX, the Skyline GT-R, the Supra and so on? There is only one version of the CLK Touring Car, one version of the C9, one version of the TT-R Touring Car. Let's hope that the PS3 and the use of Blu-ray disc will solve all this (I believe that the lack of power and storage is the reason?) And by the way.. get those car licenses for Ferrari, Porsche and all the other missing manufactures. It would be cool to drive an Enzo around Nürburgring

All in all, GT4 IS A GREAT GAME, but it could be greater!!!!