A Touch Overrated
Written: Mar 08 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of race circuits, great physics model, rally mode
Cons: Only about a fifth of the 592 cars are worth owning
The Bottom Line: read the review
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| xeno3998's Full Review: Gran Turismo 2 for PlayStation 1 |
"Can we give a game an 11?" - EGM, WInter 1999
Though Gran Turismo 2 is not in the least a poor or even just-good game, calling it perfect is insane. Because of all it's graphical and completion flaws (you can only achieve 98% completion), GT2 is far from perfect. Lest we not forget that the sim-tastic gameplay seen here and in the original was put to shame by Namco's amazing Ridge Racer Type 4, and that was released a good six months before GT2 and featured half the number of cars. Claiming that GT2 is a game so flawless, so perfect that it transcends the regular rating scale EGM uses and hits "11/10", is laughable. Oh well, EGM is mainly good for previews anyway.
Back in 1998, the hype surrounding the original Gran Turismo wasn't nearly as luminous as the hype that would surround it's sequel. A few glowing previews (and eventually reviews), some television spots along with impressive screens and specs set the stage for a racing game that would make a huge impact and redefine a genre. It quickly rose to become one of the best and most well-received Playstation games ever made; an instant classic was born.
At first, I didn't care for it, prefering instead the quick thrills of arcade racing. Eventually, the game began to grow on me. The physics engine was so intricate and playable that you could swear that was a real car on screen, albeit one at a much smaller resolution. For a game based on realism, GT was surprisingly fun. The licenses feature along with the unprecedented (at the time) 150 or so cars made it everything you wanted out of a racer at the time.
With the sequel, Sony's second party developer Polyphony Digital (who also had the stellar Omega Boost under their belt by then) set out to improve upon everything in the original. More license tests were added, the number of cars was more than quadrupled, new modes galore, and by far my favorite addition - a fully comprehensible rally mode. The grass was green and the water pristine for what would amount to Sony's biggest game to date.
Yet the outcry upon release of the game was that you couldn't complete more than 98% of it. Of course, I didn't find that to be a problem as getting 100% completion in any game just isn't worth the effort (unless we're talking about Medal of Honor). There were other complaints though, such as the one concerning pixilization in the race track environments (probably the worst case of checkerboard-pattern trees in a Playstation game). Another was with the lack of true innovation in the game, which is probably the strongest argument of them all.
Despite the arguments against it, I still found GT2 to be a fun racing experience with a nice amount of extras to unlock and enough gameplay modes to keep racing fans busy for a long time.
With 592 cars, you would think there'd be some variety here. Unfortunately, only 150 or so of the cars are significantly unique. Thats including the rally cars, the sports models, and the generic cars of every manufacturer. Beyond that is 'completist' territory, meaning only masochists (or die-hard fans of a particular brand) will bother. That isn't to say that the lineup has no diversity - quite the contrary. GT2 has the best array of cars in any game, ever.
The reason why I say GT2 is slightly overrated stems from it being one big mess of racing modes and cars and licenses, et cetera. There should be a constant flow to the game - one linear path on which everything can be unlocked gradually. Heck, two or three paths even, but there's such a thing as having too much freedom in a game initially. On the bright side, this makes GT2 perfect for those wishing to rent it beforehand and test out as much stuff as possible before making a decision.
I won't bore you with a lengthy analysis of the car-tuning options and the model lineup simply because I'm not a car enthusiast, nor do I care to be. That said, there are car-tuning options here for those of us who can't drive something we haven't tinkered with. The options go in-depth providing you with everything you need to build the fast car of your dreams.
The tracks themselves are realistic, as is virtually every aspect of this game. The physics engine works wonderfully giving you realistic control of the car while making newbies privy to more spinouts than an angry SAHM in a snowy parking lot. The physics engine is great on so many levels. It gives you a realistic sense of weight on the car and all-around feel of driving a real vehicle. (Keep in mind I'm trying to recreate my impressions of this game in Winter 1999, as if asked right now I would hardly be this enthusiastic about realistic racers.... they're standard stuff nowadays).
Graphically, GT2 suffers from, of course, several glitches in the course designs. Besides that, the game is beautiful. The cars feature intricate detail unlike any Playstation game before, and for the most part the courses look good too. The cars, from almost any angle, appear to be realistic depictions of vehicles in low-res, which is an amazing accomplishment for a 32-bit racer. Though I could go without the obtrusive use of the then-popular lens flare technique.
Sound-wise, the game is bliss. Music from such bands as Rob Zombie, Beck, The Crystal Method, Filter, The Cardigans and Stone Temple Pilots complement the excellent racing gameplay. Rob Zombie even manages to sound 'at home' in this game (unlike, say, Twisted Metal 3). The sound effects feature realistic engine effects as well as brutal sounding spinouts and crashes.
In terms of replay, GT2 will keep you busy for weeks if not months. I spent a good ten hours on the rally mode alone, which is almost as good as Colin McRae Rally's (although not nearly as adequete). Although there only about 150-200 cars worth owning in the game, that's still enough to constitute a purchase. In total, along with the licenses, this game took 50-60 hours of my life away for a scant 70 bucks (50 American). It's at around half of that now. If you don't have it, what are you waiting for?
Overall: 8.6 / 10
Recommended:
Yes
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xeno3998
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