The Real Driving Simulator
Written: Nov 19 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Over 500 Cars, Excellent Graphics, Customize Everything
Cons: No Exotic Cars(Ferrari/Lamborghini, etc.), No Car Damage
The Bottom Line: Gran Turismo 2 is the best Driving/Racing Game for the Playstation.
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| supersaiyan23's Full Review: Gran Turismo 2 for PlayStation 1 |
Gran Turismo 2 is one of my all time favorite Playstation games as well as one of my favorite videogames ever. I bought this game off of a friend for about ten dollars and I have gotten much more in enjoyment out of it. It takes awhile to learn how to play this game, but once you finally get the hang of it can provide you with many hours of enjoyment, especially if your a car freak.
The Game
Here is a little background information on GT2. The game is a 2-Disc Set, one disc being Arcade Mode and the other disc being Simulation Mode. Arcade mode allows you to race the computer or your friends in an all out tire burning fest. I haven't actually played much of the Arcade mode so I really can't tell you much about it. The meat of the game is in the Simulation Disc.
In Simulation Mode, you start out as a driver hoping to make it in the racing world some day. You start with $10,000. With this money you must buy a car to get you started with the races. You must also pass license exams before you can get into certain races. The more licenses you unlock, the better races you can enter and the more prize money you can win. You can also win new cars in some of the races.
There are over 500 cars in this game and 36 total automotive manufacturers are represented. Some of the more notable names are Ford, Dodge, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, BMW, Audi, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Subaru along with many more automakers from several different countries. Unfortunately there are not any exotic cars, such as Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche, but there are several mean machines including the Dodge Viper, Nissan Skyline GTR, Toyota Supra Twin Turbo and the Lotus Espirit Turbo.
Probably the coolest thing about this game is that no matter what car you buy or win, you can customize it right down to your tire rims. There are countless customization features available in this game. You can soup up your car with Turbo Kits, Mufflers, racing tires, several different transmission and suspension kits, Weight Reduction and on some cars you can even customize them into an actual race car. Another neat aspect of this game is that even after you buy one part, you can always go back to the old part or a newer part for your car.
The races in this game are awesome. The game features several modern day race venues, like Laguna Seca in California and several other real life race tracks. There are endurance races(hour long races, 200KM races, etc.), Rally Races, League Races and finally Special Event Races. Each race requires a different license and there are certain horsepower/drive-train/engine-alignment/car type restrictions placed on each race.
Game Play
The game play in this game is excellent. GT2 makes full use of the Playstation controller's buttons. You control your car with the either the control pad or the analog stick and every button on the controller is utilized. You have acceleration, brakes, emergency brakes, reverse, up-shift, down-shift, camera angle and view switch. The excellent control style helps to bring you closer to the action and give you a more in depth gaming experience. The car responds pretty realistically to the controls. For example, it is easy to spin out in turns if you don't put on enough braking power or if you over accelerate going into a turn. Overall I give the game play for GT2 an A .
Graphics
For an original Playstation game, the graphics for GT2 are excellent. The cars are very well detailed right down to the exhaust pipes. The creators for this game must have spent a ton to get the rights to use some of the sponsors logos. Every track features banners and graphics from Exxon, Perreli, Penzoil, etc. The race cars are well detailed with different body kits and decals. All of the cars are well represented graphically wise. The tracks themselves are fairly detailed, with a notable lack in detail when it comes to the crowd or the trees and other scenery off to either side of the track. You really do not have much time to pay attention to the details during the races though so that makes up for a lack of off-track detail during the races. Overall I give the graphics for GT2 a B .
Overall
Overall I think GT2 is one of the better Playstation games that was ever made and I consider it a Playstation classic. Other than Gran Turismo 3 for the Playstation 2, I do not think that there is a better driving simulator/racing game on the market. Like I mentioned before, this game takes some getting used to because it is so realistic. I won't lie, I was very frustrated with this game the first few weeks that I owned it. It really takes time to get used to how the different cars handle because this is not your average pedal-to-the-metal racing game, this game is for those looking for a serious driving game.
The combination of excellent graphics and multiple game play and racing modes combine to make this game last a long time. I have been playing this game for well over 5 months and I have yet to even crack the 50% complete mark. If you still own a Playstation and even if you have a Playstation 2, I do not think you go wrong with Gran Turismo 2. Overall this game gets an A in my book.
As always, I hope this review helps you make a good decision if you are in the market for a great driving videogame. Thanks for reading and I appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thanks Again and Happy Driving!!
Recommended:
Yes
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supersaiyan23
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"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying" - Michael Jordan
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