Every system has a series to call its very own: Nintendo has Mario, Xbox has Halo, and if one was to think about it, PlayStation’s series could very well be Gran Turismo. No other game on Sony’s systems has garnered a following like GT has, and now in its 4th iteration it aims to snuff out all other would-be competitors with a bevy of options and inclusions that no other can match.
Delayed almost 2 years, Gran Turismo 4 was beginning to look like it would be a launch title for the PS3 to a lot of gamers out there, but in late February fans of the Polyphony Digital racer finally got to revel in the fruits of its labour.
The series has long strived to set itself up as the ultimate driving simulation, and this time around, along with bringing its well polished physics model and tuning system to the table, GT4 offers up over 700 cars for you to race and tinker with. You have choices ranging from econoboxes all the way to the super cars and tuner-specials that have been featured in past GT games. Once again however GT is lacking the big boys, such as Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche – though you can race a few tuned 911’s by picking up one from German tuner RUF.
By and large one of the biggest improvements and one of the first things you notice when you start up GT4 are the graphics. Never before have graphics this stunning been featured on the PS2 or in a racing game on any system. The use of lighting, reflections and shadows give the cars and tracks an ultra realistic look and an illusion of depth that just hasn’t been present in other racers. One caveat to this huge leap in graphical prowess though is that by pushing the PS2 to levels thought incapable of the system, there is a glitch that arises, called "stuttering" by most that’ve seen it. This stuttering occurs usually during a flyby on the starting grid, or of the track, when all cars are on screen and usually happens on the nighttime races. While it does take one out of complete immersion for a moment, it passes quickly and just goes to show how far GT4 is pushing the system. Most gamers have agreed that it’s acceptable given the look of the game otherwise. And hey, we never really freaked out that much over the slowdown issues on the later NES games, so let’s not get too hung up on this – it won’t cost you a race.
As you can see Gran Turismo 4 isn't lacking in the looks department
Besides the graphics, which supports widescreen 480p and 1080i modes, GT4 also ante’s up on the sound side of things as well. With support for Dolby Prologic II surround sound the experience is very immersive. The sounds for all the cars are very distinctive, and you can immediately tell whether you’re racing in a 4 cylinder with a turbo versus a big V8.
The effects have really taken a new level of importance in the game as well. When in the first-person view modes you can use the effects to your advantage and really get a feel for what’s happening between your car and the track. The sound of your tires chirping on the track gives you a very good indication of your level of grip when going around the corners, and gives you a good sense of just how much adhesion you have left.
|
|
One of the coolest features when it comes to sound is use of wind buffeting. When you get your car traveling at more than 160 km/h you’ll really start to hear your car getting pummeled by the air you’re cutting through. This really helps to give you a good illusion of speed, and is even more convincing than other racers that try to fool you by blurring or by goofy looking trails. Not only does the buffeting make you feel like you’re really going at break neck speeds, but you can use it to help yourself tactically in endurance races when you want to draft your opponents. You can immediately hear when you’re in a rival’s draft as the wind noise cuts to almost nothing, and you know you’re coasting on his power.
While you’re going to be floored by the sheer number of tracks and cars available, and the intensity of the graphics and sound, GT4 doesn’t really bring all that much new to the series – more so it just builds upon its past and refines what has already worked.
You’ve still got the extreme customization that you’ve had before – but the interface has been refined and streamlined, making it easier to make the changes you want. You’re still lacking the external customization that some have been wanting though, because only getting wing and wheel upgrade options.
Also retained is the driving system used in the previous versions of GT, which is very realistic in its representation of vehicle physics, but still lacking the damage models that will take it to the next level. Because of this GT4 still falls into the pitfalls its forbearers had with being able to ram into other cars to make that corner when you’re going too fast, or using the wall to get around a turn. In short, GT4 while being even more refined and realistic than previous GT games, is only as realistic as you want it to be. If you don’t play by the rules the AI isn’t going to be vindictive towards you and play dirty, and if you don’t want to race cleanly there aren’t a huge amount of penalties that you’re going to take.
With all the old you do get some new though, and one of the ways is B-Spec mode. B-Spec is an entirely new way to play a racing game, and starts to show that Polyphony Digital is really striving to make GT a sim on all levels. In B-Spec you play the part of the race team director as opposed to the driver. You sit in the pits, and make simple calls for the driver to speed up, slowdown, overtake, and pit. While not extremely interactive B-Spec does help in long endurance races and during the times when you need to build up your bank account by racing over and over. It does this by allowing you to go into a monitoring screen that displays information about the race without actually showing the race. While in this screen you’re given the ability to run the race at up to 3x the normal speed, thus enabling you to complete tedious events more quickly. If this mode is expanded in future revisions of GT or even by other games in the genre it could become quite interesting, but for the most part the mode is just a utility, and not that fun to play.
Another new mode is photo-mode. This allows you to take your car to several virtual arenas, pose your car and take snapshots. While it doesn’t exactly sound that fun, for a real car nut it can be quite appealing. After all the hours of racing and customizing your car, you can take that shot of it sitting in Paris, and then if you own an Epson USB printer you can even print out the picture and hang it on your wall. It’s just one more way to let you obsess over your cars, even when you’re not playing.
All that being said, GT4 is the best racing sim available on the market. The sheer amount of options and races that are available can keep you occupied for months if you let it. The graphics and sound completely immerse you in the game, and when combined with the force feedback steering wheel, can make you forget you’re sitting in your living room. If you’re a fan of racing games and own a PS2, Gran Turismo 4 (even with the lack of online play) should definitely be one of the titles you own.
