Gran Turismo 4 review:
Gran Turismo 4 is the best racing game in the history of video games, but it is also the victim of its own success with its improvements and more importantly, it’s promise to deliver a realistic driving experience that amplify its weaknesses.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Even if you are not a fan of the racing genre, GT4 is a must-play. Even if it is just so you can shake your head in disbelief at the amazing visuals or gasp at the sheer magnitude of the GT4 experience, don't deny yourself this simple pleasure—it is worth every second.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Yes there are a couple of prangs on its otherwise perfect body, but I have to say that I love this game. It beats everything else that’s out there without a doubt. the depth of the game, the amazing eye candy, the attention to detail and the gameplay are all top notch. When you get into it it’s a hard game to put down. That said, I’d like to see online racing in the next instalment
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Every once in a while there comes a title that defines a genre, whose name comes to be synonymous with it. The instant you hear that name, driving simulations are all...
Gran Turismo 4 review:
If you were to cross the new, more showy, less interesting series of the BBC's Top Gear, with Rain Man trapped in a room full of spilt toothpicks, Gran Turismo 4 would be the result.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Recently we’ve seen a lot of sequels. TimeSplitters 3, Resident Evil 4, Doom 3, Project Zero 2, Splinter Cell 3, Fight Night 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, and so on. These games have all proven to be worthy sequels, which seems to be a happening trend for games, unlike movies. Gran Turismo 4 puts everything on the line as it tests your true driving skills in what Sony believes to be the most realistic racing simulation ever. Let’s review.The release of Gran Turismo 3 took the world by storm. Never had anybody seen graphics so beautiful in a racing game. Fortunately, we got our hands on an imported PS2 to play a bit of Gran Turismo 3 and Grand Theft Auto 3 before they were released here in Australia, and it almost seemed too real to be true. Looking back at that moment in 2001, it seemed racing games couldn’t get any more realistic. Along came the Project Gotham Racing games on the Xbox. All of a sudden Sony had some serious competition! Gran Turismo 4 would have to be the best racing game that they could ever conceive, and it would have to be released relatively soon. Delay after delay after delay caused Gran Turismo to slowly slip out of everybody’s most wanted games list, however it did eventually come out, and it was worth the wait in many respects.GameplayFirst of all, Gran Turismo 4 allows you to transfer over as many as 100,000 credits from GT3. This allows those that played GT3 through to death to get a rather good head start on the game, but you’ll still have to prove your worthiness in the licensing. Gran Turismo 4 has five different licenses to obtain: National B and A, International B and A, and Special. Once obtaining all these licenses, you are able to compete in any events all over the Gran Turismo 4 world, as long as you have the right type of car. This allows steady competition to continue throughout the game, as even if you get 100,000 credit points, you can blow it all on the wrong things, and cause yourself a bit of trouble throughout the game.Luckily though, in Gran Turismo 4 (much like the predecessors), you can compete in races several times and continues to get more credits for doing so. You won’t get anything towards your track rating, unless of course you get a better placing, but the money building up will allow you to purchase parts which you can upgrade your car with, or even buy a whole new car all together. There are so many unlockables in Gran Turismo 4 that you’ll be playing it for a long long time. We’ve put in loads of hours at the GameBiz headquarters, and still have many hours to go until the game is classed as 100% beaten.There are three different camera angles while racing around. You can be in the car with a strange view of the bonet, it can be down in front of the car for a full on first-person experience, or you can be in the classic view up behind the car. Unfortunately you can’t rotate the camera around, so you’ll have a rough time knowing where a car is when it’s near your side. You can always look back, but not being able to twist the view around is a real setback. There is another major setback in Gran Turismo 4, and that’s known as the handling.Sony promised that Gran Turismo 4 would be as realistic as a racing game can get. It was meant to be the be all end all racing simulator of 2004. Fortunately, it didn’t have much competition for an actual realistic simulator, given the Burnout and NFS series` have both gone off on tangents, as the handling is really something to worry about. People can argue, and the common excuse seems to be, “Have you ever driven at speeds above 100KPH?” The answer is yes, and the cars don’t handle like they do in Gran Turismo 4. In real life, you can accelerate while turning; In Gran Turismo 4, you barely do. In real life, the car slides if you turn it too much; In Gran Turismo 4, the car stops turning and decides it wants to go off track before reaching a point where the car would usually start sliding. It’s because of this and a few other instances that Gran Turismo 4 is not the best racing game on the market today. People want realistic racing games where they can actually feel the car – GT4 sadly doesn’t offer that as well as it could. The cars nevertheless handle pretty well on dirt tracks, but they seem to slide a LOT more, considering they don’t slide at all on normal tracks.The game’s extensiveness shows in its world map. There are about 50 different things to choose from, ranging from races from different countries to cars from different countries. All around the edges there are different things like city racing, dirt & snow racing, and other special modes, and deep in the heart of the world map you’ll find your garage. The garage is where you can check out all your cars, and get evaluations for how much they are worth to sell. Usually if you buy a 15,000 credits car, you’ll find that they’re only willing to offer 3000 credits if you sell it back to them, so make sure when you purchase a car that it’s something you want, and something you can credit from.You can either tune your car at the tuning shop which is right near your home and licensing test, or you can go to whichever car you want to tune’s country. Ranging from Japan to Australia, United States, and several countries from Europe, you can upgrade your car in nearly every aspect on the inside - engine, brakes, suspension, nitro, turbo, exhaust, etc. Unless you’re a total rev-head though, it’s doubtful that you’ll be able to tell the difference in a slight upgrade. Upon sale of your car, if you want more for it, then you can wash it, give it oil changes, and all the necessary cleaning things to get more money for it, however it’s hardly worth the credits and time doing so, unless the car has been through a lot of work.MultiplayerOnline you can get up to six people racing at one time, however offline unfortunately there’s no multi-tap 4-player experience. If you’re fortunate enough to have friends with PS2’s then you could even have a small LAN with 6 players, but if not, then you’re stuck with just 2-player racing. Try to find a mate that has GT4 and has played through a fair bit of it though, and get them to bring their memory card over so that you can race your car against theirs. The Gran Turismo 4 experience is pretty elaborated given that you can not only race against each other, but you can also trade cars. This system has been working in previous Gran Turismo 4 games, but yet other similar games haven’t taken up on the opportunity to copy the idea yet, which is very surprising.Gran Turismo 4 definitely isn’t the type of game that you can buy and ignore the singleplayer to jump straight into the multiplayer or straight online, unless you’ve got a really nice friend that is willing to give you a top notch car. The competition online is fierce, and unless your car is finely tuned to suit your needs and the specific race type, you’ve got next to no chance of beating the host of the game.GraphicsYou’re not going to get much better graphics than this on the Playstation 2. The environment is awesome, the car models are awesome, and the crowd looks more realistic than ever. The crowd can be especially appreciated on dirt tracks as they like to run out on to the course to take a photo of you as you come screaming at them going 160KPH. Luckily they dive out of the way before you slam your brand new headlights into their knees, however it adds to the realism immensely. If you stop and take a look around, you’ll notice the beautiful scenery that makes up the background in Gran Turismo 4. Some of the landscapes you’ll see are truly amazing and definitely not something a rally fan with a PS2 would want to miss.Car models don’t get much better than this. All of the cars in Gran Turismo 4 look perfect, especially as they all cruise around the course uniformly together like in real life. Yes there are Holden’s in Gran Turismo 4, although not as much of a range as us Aussies would have liked. Perhaps in Gran Turismo 5 we’ll see a Holden VY or VZ. The team at Sony has gone to extreme measures to make sure the car smokes the way it does in real life. When you screech around the corners you’ll see the smoke rip off your tires, and if you’re on a dirt track then you can pretty much guarantee that whoever is tailgating you is going to crash in to the next corner. What they did like to point out before the game came out is that they spent a long time getting the exhaust smoke to look perfect, so we may as well mention that in the review!SoundSet your PS2 up with some Dolby Digital Prologic II to achieve optimum performance when it comes to sound in Gran Turismo 4. There’s nothing better to wake up your neighbours than the sound of 6 high powered cars blasting through your lounge room, and Gran Turismo 4 can accomplish this rather quickly. All the engines have been recorded from the actual models of the cars, so unlike in GT3, this game actually allows you to have a different feel for each car when it comes to the sin waves coming from your speakers. When you put on the handbrake, it’s not long before you can realise whether you’re going to slide off the track or not, and when this happens, all of a sudden the sound of your tires shredding doesn’t seem all that cool anymore. The sound is done fairly well though, and there’s nothing major to complain about.Menu music and the game’s general soundtrack gives an overall feel to the game of excitement. There are so many different tunes that you probably won’t find yourself learning the words to the songs, unlike in other racing games these days such as Burnout 3 and Need for Speed Underground. This could be because of the fact that there aren’t any really famous songs in the game, apart from Yello’s “Oh Yeah” which plays every time you fail a license test.OverallIf you’re a racing fan and you haven’t checked out the Gran Turismo series before, check it out right now. Stop everything, and order a copy of Gran Turismo 4 to be delivered to your house as soon as possible. Gran Turismo is a rather addictive series though. Once you start, you’ll have a tough time pulling yourself away from it in order to cook dinner or do the laundry, and it offers a good 30 hours of gameplay in order to satisfactorily complete it. One can only assume that you will be able to transfer your credits from GT4 over to GT5, and possibly even some cars, so there’s no reason why you wouldn’t want to work your way through Gran Turismo 4 today, unless you’re not a racing fan.Thumbs Up Awesome graphics. Gameplay spans for as long as you want it to. Online play boosts gameplay hours through the roof! Realistic engines with an interesting unique soundtrack makes for the perfect audio experience.Thumbs Down Not as realistic as Sony like to make it out to be. It may be a long full game, but other racing games on the market are faster and more action packed. Takes up a good 1500KB on your memory card. full size >>
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Watch out for that. The lifespan of this game will be extraordinarily long. I can’t see any reason to put it down, and will challenge the most elite gamers round the world. The game is clever, technological, thrilling and it is well worth your money. I suggest you go out and buy it if you haven’t got it yet. You’ll be playing it till the next Gran Turismo.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Pros:- Graphically beautiful, pushing the PS2's limits- Huge and varying options provide plenty of hours of play- New B-Spec mode attempts to offer something new to gamersCons:- More race restrictions needed in order to create more competition- Still no damage model present- AI improved but still falling short of what should be expected
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Full control of the camera allows you to take pictures of your cars at almost any angle you wish. You are then able to save your favourite pictures and view them through your photo album, as mentioned earlier in this review.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
The latest version of Gran Turismo 4 further demonstrates its mission to provide the most authentic driving simulation available in the marketplace. New features will extend above and beyond just pure automotive racing, providing a unique destination for automotive and PS2 enthusiasts to enjoy car culture in every dimension.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
The time penalties for cowboy driving are a neat, if slightly flawed idea that at least try to make you drive with care. But after all talk, how many racers do you leave behind after a week of play? Loads. GT4 smells of gorgeous leather interior daily, weekly, monthly, and probably will do until GT5 on PS3 – and what a truly amazing prospect that is.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
All of that time and effort seems to have gone into other projects and considerations at the expense of GT4s Online mode. I’m pretty confident the typical GT4 fan would have gladly seen the photo modes dropped before the online mode. Yes we’ll all be shouting praises when it finally arrives, but GT4 feel somehow incomplete without it.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Much like a reputable used car salesman, Gran Turismo games are a wonderful, rare thing that everyone wants – although Gran Turismo gets the edge thanks to its good looks and lack of fake tan. It also gives you a massive range of cars to choose from, instead of a select few death traps. Not only that, but you don’t have to haggle over prices, you won’t get pressured into a ridiculous insurance scheme and you won’t die if it turns out he wasn’t as reputable as you thought. Come to think about it, Gran Turismo games are nothing like a reputable used car salesman…
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Four years ago, Polyphony Digital proved to the world why they are the king of racing simulators. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec sold millions of copies, remaining the best selling game in the series at the time of this writing. With tons of cars, the addition of rally races, and a stunning presentation that was second-to-none, it offered all car lovers what they wanted: cars! Now, four years later, the oft-delayed follow-up, Gran Turismo 4, has come out of the gates. Does the game truly hold up to the legacy left by its ancestors, and can it hold up to new competition? Senior Editor Greg Wilcox and myself got together for a little discussion, and here, we offer our own opinions on the game. In the end, you’ll judge for yourself, but for what we think, the game is worth it, even if a couple of things do hold the game back from full potential.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Hundreds of cars, thousands of miles of gorgeous globe spanning raceways, unparalleled graphics, innumerable customization and tweekage options, intuitive control and brilliant automotive physics, what more could you want from Gran Turismo 4? Well...
Gran Turismo 4 review:
At its heart, what Polyphony Digital wants Gran Turismo 4 to do is make you feel like you're driving a lot of increasingly expensive cars. Surprisingly. But we mean it wants to make you feel like you're really driving them. This it does with aplomb.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
If you are a fan of the Gran Turismo series then you need to go out and purchase this game immediately. It is truly the best racing package out there to date, and will impress all previous fans and new players alike. If you like racing then you need to go give GT4 a shot. It's definitely worth your time and money.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
Without a Gran Turismo 3 save you’ll pretty much be starting from scratch, which means used cars and license tests. That’s right, to enter various racing circuits you’ll need to be licensed, so you’ll have to submit to several difficult, somewhat frustrating trials before you can even start racing.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
I could spend the next month on the license tests and missions and be quite happy. Give me a car and a time to beat, and I’ll be glued to the TV. Partner this game with the Logitech Driving Force Pro (more on this in a full review) steering wheel to get the full experience. Running with the wheel in front of an HDTV playing GT4 in 1080i is pure driving bliss. Score: A- -- Nik Dunn
Gran Turismo 4 review:
I purchased the game hoping that I could enjoy what the game offered. I can appreciate it on an intellectual level, but the fun-factor was limited in my case, and I imagine that—unless you are a hardcore simulator or longtime Gran Turismo fan—you may encounter the same issue.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
The CEO of the company says that this is to prevent any horror of the player’s love for certain cars, and they wouldn’t want to see their BMW’s torn into shreds. To make up for it, Polyphony makes the cars blur as they crash onto areas, but no actual damage will be made to the car. Not to worry, as you most likely won’t own any of the cars when you start racing anyway.
Gran Turismo 4 review:
The Gran Turismo series is by far my most favorite gaming series of all time and there are no amount of ‘thank yous’ that can describe how much I love every iteration. GT4 is no exception and it is easily the best of the series, the most refined, and without a doubt one of the most gorgeous videogames of this generation. Gran Turismo 4 is a masterpiece and there's no two ways about it.
Gran Turismo 4 review: