Puts the Gran in Gran Turismo! (Games that changed the world W/O)
Written: Dec 31 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The realistic gameplay. It'll take you ages to complete. Great sound. Good graphics.
Cons: It's getting on a bit. Slightly dodgy A.I. No damage on car models.
The Bottom Line: A timeless classic, GT lives up to its 'real driving simulator' tag, and is the defining PS One game. Simply a classic game.
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| paulyoungotti's Full Review: Gran Turismo 1 for PlayStation 1 |
Didn’t you just love the Playstation One? It was the games console of the 90’s, with the coolest and best games, nice graphics, and a very cool image. All your mates had one, so multiplayer was never a problem. It changed the face of gaming. But what really made the Playstation was the choice of first rate games. Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Tony Hawk Skateboarding, Wipe-out were all first rate games. But what really cemented the Playstation one’s reputation as the premier games console was Gran Turismo.v
This game blasted onto the scene in 1998 (i think), boasting the tag line ’The Real Driving Simulator’. Boasting realistic handling and graphics – GT was immediately heralded as the most accurate racing/driving sim to ever be created. Developed by Polyphony Digital, a Japanese company, and with tremendous support from the producers Sony, GT couldn’t fail. And it didn’t, because it went on to unmatched commercial and critical success. It also happened to have a titanic impact on the racing game world. This makes it perfect for my entry into Chromekiller’s ‘Games that changed the world’ write-off.
And that is all deserved. Put simply, GT is an absolute classic. The game is built around the ‘Simulation’ mode. Most people will know what I’m on about here, but I’ll briefly describe it anyway. You start off with a limited amount of money. You are an unlicensed driver. You need to quickly rectify that situation. So you have to gain your ’B’ license to start off. You then need to trawl the numerous used car garages of the numerous makes (Toyota, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, Nissan, Honda etc) to find a suitably cheap car. After making the long and stressful choice, you are then ready to tackle the racing circuit. Three cups to enter here, beginner, intermediate and expert. Within each cup are numerous mini-cups, which all have 5 or 6 races in them. Winning races gains you money, but the difficulty of races (ie. tracks and opponents A.I and cars) increases the further you get into the game. So what you have to do is gain the ’A’ license (to improve your driving skills) and then gain enough money by racing on the earlier tracks to either upgrade your car (at the handy tune shops) or buy a new car.
This first point is an integral part of GT. Does your car need better stability on those wet night races? Buy some softer tyres for better grip. Does your car simply not have enough engine muscle to out-race your opponents? Buy a turbo. And this process goes on and on through the game. Pretty much every part of your car can be tweaked, from suspension to tyres to acceleration to the clutch. This customisation of your car really helps to improve realism in the game.
And of course, this customisation has a huge effect on how your car handles. Whatever you do to it, will affect the handling. So experienced car heads can simply change a little thing here and there, and the car will respond like you want it to!
But what happens if you’ve just dirtied your pants at the thought of such mind-boggling complexities? What happens if you know nothing about the inner workings of cars? Well, don’t fear, because the Arcade mode comes swooping in to save you. This is the standard form of racing games, the handling places more emphasis on speed and fun (ie. arcade) and there is no complex car customisation to worry about. The arcade mode will keep you occupied for quite a while, and it’s a tribute to GT’s brilliance that this arcade mode is often the sole playing mode of lesser games, but in GT it’s barely a quarter. This is a very big clue as to how long it takes to complete GT.
But those things will be entered into later. What are the tracks like on GT then? Well there are 11 of them, and most of them can raced in reverse, so about 20 or so then. The type of track doesn’t stray much from the race course format, so you get stadiums, gravel pits, pit lanes etc. Every race takes place on tarmac; there are no dirt, snow etc tracks. This is understandable however, because there is only so much you can cram into a PS One game, and GT has already exceeded this limit!
What about the graphics like then? Well at the time they were fantastic, really groundbreaking. Of course, several years have now passed, and so the graphical flaws in the game show up even more now. The game is very pixellated and rough, edges are jagged, crowds are nothing but flat messes – to be frank, the graphics don’t really stand up against newer games. However, there are positives. The cars in the game are still excellent as they are detailed and smooth. You can see individual details in the car, as well as dents etc
Another groundbreaking feature (at the time) of GT is the replay mode. After each race the gamer is treated to a high resolution, 50 FPS replay. Loads of camera angles are on offer, and all give the best view of the action. The angles also look like they have come straight off the TV, and again enhance the realism factor of the game. Everyone still praises GT’s graphics, and as that famous street poet Nas said
‘Who am I to disagree?’ Ok so the graphics are several years old, and they are showing their age. But they still show technical excellence, and do absolutely nothing at all to let the game down.
The gameplay is what rightly propelled GT to the summit of driving games. Put simply, there is nothing to rival it. Control is instant and smooth. The layout of buttons is good, and the buttons are very responsive. Cars respond brilliantly, in a very realistic way and this then adds another factor to the realism of the game. The dual shock controller really rumbles whenever you break, get forced off the road, crash into another car etc.
Multiplayer is sublime. Taking on your inept mate, and completely annihilating him is one of the greatest feelings in modern life. The excellent replay mode only helps to rub in the humiliation as he wallows in self-pity, and you mock him! For a greater challenge, simply get a friend to bring round his memory card, so he can load up his own customised cars, and you can then have a memory card battle. This tends to ensue in closer races – and equally as fun for both participants!
The classic status of the GT gameplay has not declined – it’s always been great, and the numerous years and following sequels have done nothing to change that.
The sound in the game is also great. A fully licensed soundtrack has been put together, with contemporary artists like Ash and Feeder providing an excellent rock/indie soundtrack. The tracks are generally rockish, and very driving and forceful. They are also uplifting, and all this forms to create brilliant musical accompaniment.
Car engines, tyre squealing etc is also excellently brought to life. You get the feeling that Polyphony went around visiting every car manufacturer in the game and taking the care and love to accurately record each individual sound effect. I like the crowd noises that accompany every overtaking move, and this all helps with the realism.
GT will take you an age to complete. This is a seriously long game. I played it for around 5 or 6 months, which speaks for itself! Completing the arcade mode will take you 5 or 10 hours, and the simulation mode could take you 80+ hours. But how do you properly complete the game though? I mean there aren’t any levels or anything so you can judge your progress. It’s one of those open-ended games. However, what I judged it on was getting every license, and winning every single race/cup. Just doing that will (probably) take you 70/80 hours. Don’t even ask me how long it would take to collect all 300 or so cars in the game! GT also happens to be a seriously addictive game, you will keep on coming back to it. The multiplayer factor only enhances this replay value and lifespan even further!
There’s a couple of things wrong with the game. The lack of damage to the car models rather makes a mockery of the term ‘The real driving simulator’. This problem, however, lies at the feet of the car manufacturers, as they didn’t want their car models (in the game) to get wrecked, hence decreasing their appeal (through looks), which (obviously?) leads to lower profits for car manufacturers. I hope that last sentence made no sense at all, because that’s what I think of this decision by the car manufacturers – it makes no sense! The A.I. of the computer racers is also a bit disappointing, as all the racers simply stay together in a pack, and don’t respond to your moves on the road. This means opposition racers are often easy to beat (as long as you have a powerful enough car). Fine at the time, but now A.I. has evolved beyond that stage, and makes GT’s A.I. seem rather crap. These two faults are admittedly minor, and are the only real faults I can find in the game.
This game is a classic. And it seriously changed the face of racing games. Since GT was released, most racing games that were released all tried to be realistic, and tried to be a simulation. But they can’t compete I’m afraid. This is the Mack-daddy of racing games; there is nothing else that I can say. Actually, i can say that 'The Real Driving simulator' tag is completely correct. Yeah, there are a couple of minute faults, but these hardly impair the game at all, and the superior gameplay, sound and lifespan really elevates GT head and shoulders above the rest. It literally changed the face of racing game – oh I can’t really describe the brilliance of this game, but I’ve tried. To be honest, none of the sequels are drastically different, so it’s just as good buying GT 2 or GT 3 (PS2). Either way, you must own one of the Gran Turismo games if you own a PS1 or PS2.
Graphics – 8/10.
Gameplay – 10/10
Sound – 10/10
Lifespan & Replay Value – 10/10
Gran Turismo receives an undisputed 5/5, and is a timeless classic.
First of all, props to Chromekiller for organising an excellent w/o.
These are the other mighty fine reviewers that participated in this W/O. Make sure to check them all out!
antsteverpgs
ChromeKiller
DCAST35
Gerper
jeremy1456
nscanuck
Pavona21
Pika312
Rock_On
Rufster
The_Wood
xeno3998
xxxxer
Yarrick
Recommended:
Yes
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paulyoungotti
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