Gran Turismo 4

The Good
Everything about this game seemed to find it's place in racing history. There's about 780 cars and 50 tracks to choose from including all the original GT courses as well as World Class Circuits you would find on TV. There's also rally tracks to race on too.

All the cars are modeled to their exact specs and all have realistic handling. No more spinning out like crazy from the previous installments, and tons of customizing options both in performance and visual appeal. So no matter what car you get, you'll have a different one as the end result.

The AI in the game can be challenging at times, and almost near impossible to beat if you have a low performance car. But with the right tune up and changes, it can become a winner.

Gameplay is pretty solid, there are many strategies to use with the different cars, and you'll be trying them all trying to win a race. There were some inconsistencies that I didn't like and I will note about them in the next section, but although it just takes time to beat every single race. That's whats part of the challenge.

The Bad
As I said above, the gameplay especially with some aspects of it sounds more like a double-standard. You can't do one thing, but the AI can do it all he wants and will strive to screw you in the end. It works during the rally events, if you bump a car, or hit a wall at an angle, it'll give you a 5 sec. penalty. But the AI car can hit the wall and bump you or cut in front you without incurring the penalty. It get's on your nerves on those long narrow tracks where only one car can pass through.

When you're getting your licenses, on some tracks where you want to strive for golds, the pace car up front will not let you pass without a DQ. You can't even hit it or make contact at all or you will fail. On some tracks if you want a key time to get that one car, you either tailgate the pace car which is dangerous and is always a immediate fail if you dont watch where you're going.

The Bottom Line
Other than a few annoying things, it's still a great game to play by yourself or with friends. Once you figure out the pattern for each track, the challenge dies a bit, but it can be raised depending on the event. It's a must-get for any racing fanatic and also a fan of the series! A totally new feel and look which gives way to great racing fun!

The Good
The driving, I suppose, and the fantastic graphics and replays. Great soundtrack, too!

The Bad
What I really don't like about this game are the insanely difficult driving missions starting with the Three Lap Battles, not to mention the licence tests.

Also, as mentioned elsewhere, the AI is rather dumb. Cars always follow their programmed route without any consideration of any obstacles ahead. And the computer does not get penalised for bumping into you from behind, no, it's the player's fault then. Fuck that!

In general, I'm wondering how this bumping into other cars during a race business could possibly be allowed in an otherwise realistic game, and crashing into walls should also be treated more harshly, including the player's death. Even if this comes at the expense of fun. Anyway, this is not supposed to be a "fun" game.

And the diary is utterly useless. On the one occasion when I did want to look something up, the details weren't provided: which car did I drive in a particular championship. The diary doesn't tell you that. Rubbish!

Once the player's accumulated tons of money, it is a severe pain in the arse to go through all single upgrade sections in order to pimp up a new car. One "Upgrade all to max" button could have been implemented easily.

Another complaint is the lack of variety in the Special Conditions area. You get one set of eleven or so rally tracks, and you have to drive them both ways to cash in. So far so good, but when you continue to normal or hard difficulty, the same tracks appear over and over again, only you have to do even more laps. And I'm wondering, why I can't choose B-Spec mode to get this drag over with quickly?

As for rallies, I have never had the impression that the various cars provided for this purpose did make a difference to any others. It doesn't freakin' matter if you spend 1.3 million credits on a good Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution or if you drive your trusty old Peugeot 205 Rally Car. The computer will still come up from behind when you least expect it. Talkin' about frustration!

And yet another thing I'm really annoyed about is some of the prize cars, above all the Daimler motor carriage which can be won after completing the Gran Turismo World Championship. What can anyone possibly do with this prize? You can't even get any money for this relic. You can't race it. I'd rather they'd given us some Ferraris and Lamborghinis or Bugattis to play with.

And what about the weather conditions? Driving the 24h Nürburgring endurance (in B-spec mode admittedly), I was rather surprised not to notice any nightfall or changing weather like rain and stuff. There's only one track in the game that offers rain and slippery tarmac, and that's Tsukuba Circuit in the Special Conditions area. And just a handful of night-driving tracks, the so-called Special Stages.

Seeing this is the fourth installment of a very popular racing series, some of the issues mentioned could have been addressed rather than improving on the detail level of the tracks or adding a completely useless photo shooting mode that no-one needs.

The Bottom Line
In the beginning, this is a tough game to bear with. It wasn't much fun for me and I actually shelved it for a while. But once you stick with it, drive the Sunday Cup over and over, you'll get to upgrade your ride and addiction will be setting in!