The long-awaited GT4 has finally reached our store shelves and is already breaking sales records fast. The game is developed solely for the PS2 and follows in the footsteps of a racing franchise that sold over 35 million units worldwide.
If you can believe it, GT4 is even more enhanced than the previous three offerings, featuring better dynamics and graphics, more cars and more tracks. Well, 700 cars and up to 100 tracks. That should keep you busy for a while!
GT4 boasts circuits brought on from the previous titles as well as a lot of new additions to city circuits and world tracks. Blasting a 6min 15sec lap around the magnificent and notorious 20km N"urburgring, I can`t help but feel like I`ve just won the F1 world championship. The detail on the race tracks is unbelievable with the developers capturing every little bit down to the roadside buildings and the graffiti on the racing surface.
But the graphics disappointed me, as I was expecting a flawless product. Don`t get me wrong - the cars look incredible all of the time, but sometimes the scenery looks a bit bland, outdated.
New features include the GT Photo Mode which enables players to bring their cars to photoshoots at exotic locations such as Times Square and Brooklyn in New York, Venice, Tokyo and more. All your photos can be stored or printed as well as shared with friends. I especially like the slideshow option with its professional looking effects and background music.
The GT Online Mode gives up to six players a chance to go head to head in their favourite cars which include literally hundreds of real-life race cars, from DTM saloons to Le Mans prototypes to WRC rally cars to Aussie V8 Supercars. Even legends such as the Golf Gti MK1 and the BMW 2002Tii are included for those nostalgic fans. It is possible to spend hours on a Sunday just browsing the car dealers and staring in awe at the amazing machines on offer. OK, I`m never going to do a lap around Suzuka in a Model-T Ford or the first petrol-engined Mercedes ever built, but it`s nice to know they`re there, sort of. Give me the brand new V10 M5 any day though!
Another interesting addition to this game is the B-Spec racing mode. Unlike your regular A-Spec racing, B-Spec lets you control the race from a team manager`s view. You select your car, fine-tune it down to the smallest detail, fit super-hard racing tyres and select a race and then let your driver do the rest. This is especially handy when you need to do endurance races, since you might not have time to finish the 24 hours of Le Mans and the 1 000 miles of Fuji races. B-Spec is far from boring though. You have to train your driver if you expect him to win against the AI. Careful honing of his skills is required, and race strategies play a big part too. You`re in control of his pit-stops, his tyre choices and his pace - you can instruct your driver to slow down and conserve the tyres, or to push hard and overtake, at the risk of spinning though. Some don`t like this new feature, I think it`s the greatest thing since sliced bread.
It will take me at least another six months to complete GT4. This game is huge! Bar some of the boring races such as the slow manufacturers` cups (which you can just finish in B-Spec anyway), the racing is tremendous fun, and the awesome tracks and decent AI add to the experience.
The developer, Polyphony, actually thinks it can make GT5 (exclusive for PS3) even better. In fact I`m convinced they can do anything now. Well, I bought a PS2 to be able to play GT4, now I`m opening a savings account for a PS3 and GT5. If you even remotely like cars, actually even if you don`t know a wheel from a gear stick, GT4 is immense fun. Get it.
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