Review #178: Gran Turismo

 Oh boy, is my head gonna roll for this...

 Disclaimer: This whole piece was written by someone who does not like racing games, so, y'know, that's the point of view from which I'm gonna tackle the game, because, it kinda is my point of view and there kinda isn't much I can do about that. And I have to write about it because that's the whole purpose of this blog. So... yeah.

 Gran Turismo was THE racing sim of its time, it boasted tons of details, cars, and other mumbo jumbo that car enthusiasts love. Heck, the game comes packaged with a "Reference manual" that explains all kind of techniques and types of cars and how the relate to the game and what not. Most of it is probably outdated though! Regardless, the game has two main modes: Simulation and Arcade. Arcade is where 2 Player mode is, alongside Time Trial and Single Player races against 5 other cars. There's a bunch of unlockables in this mode, but you need to clear each track on every difficulty and with each type of car. Needless to say, for someone like me, it was kind of a chore, but it's nice to have unlockables. There's over 100 cars and 8 tracks to race with and in, not too bad for the first game in the series!

 Simulation Mode is where the meat of the game is, and it's for a single player only. In this game you start off with 10.000 in cash, and you must buy cars, or parts to tweak them with, as you progress through the different cups. This mode is phenomenal, and it's a great idea, but a racing game-challenged person like me had a ton of difficulties clearing the first License and gave up on the second one! Y'see, before being able enter cups you need to earn licenses, and you do so by clearing a set of challenges. The thing is, the game doesn't properly explain you how to do it, just what you have to do. Eventually I just gave up. Regardless of how I felt about it, the premise behind the mode is genius, and I'm sure that people that like this kind of games will love it. Besides the Cups there's Special "events", but these are more challenging since rival cars won't be "scaled" down or up to your vehicle's level, so you might not stand a chance until you buy a better car or better parts.

 As for the gameplay... it's fast, it depends on the car actually, but it's fairly 'rigid' on how you must handle curves and breaking. It makes sense, as the game aims for realism, so if that's your thing, this game is right up your alley. One thing I noticed is that the game seems to employ some sort of rubber band AI, as on the very few occasions I manged to do well, they would catch up to me, and at times after I spun out, I could catch up to them without much trouble.

 There's no denying that the game looks gorgeous. Cars look amazing, for a PS1 game mind you, with tons of detail, and they managed to create some fake "reflections" on the windows that look fairly good and were probably quite impressive back in the day. The one disappointment would be that cars don't get damaged, but I think that had to do with the deals they made to get the car manufacturers in the game. As for the tracks, I felt like it could've used more variety, not in quantity or quality, but in the backdrops, guess I'm just used to more over-the-top racers. I really liked the soundtrack too, it features some licensed music, and it fits the game very well.

 I know that Gran Turismo was, and probably still is, a great game, but it isn't my kind of game. and if you aren't into Simulator Racing Games... yeah, I'd say pass on this one.

 5.0 out of 10.