You can say what you like about Sony Computer Entertainment and its PlayStation consoles. Sony completely revolutionised the games industry and rocketed development expectations. And the Gran Turismo series typifies this, to absolute perfection.
Certain videogames do carry more intellectual weight than one would have thought possible, or represent a technical achievement that boggles the mind in terms of complexity and obsession.
Gran Turismo 3 offers as much intellectual banter as sniffing petrol, though in terms of a gaming achievement, it is without question one of the most important releases the games industry has offer. Crafted in the crucible at Polyphony Digital and under the oil-spec scrutiny of Kazunori Yamauchi, this is proprietary gaming software at its richest and most beautiful.
Gran Turismo 4 Prologue is a cut-down Japan-only demo of the fourth instalment of Gran Turismo. Yet this in itself has become something of a standing joke as the game contains 48 perfectly replicated, laser-scanned cars, far more than most full games could ever even dream of. The finalised game will see over 500 vehicles – an amazing statistic.
The complete car list is a boy racer's wet dream:
Daihatsu Copen Automatic Top 2002
Daihatsu Mira TR-XX Avanzato R 1997
Dodge Viper GTS 1998
Ford GT Concept 2002
Ford Focus Rally Car 1998
Honda Beat 1991
Honda Fit W 2001
Honda Civic Type R (EK) 1998
Honda Integra Type R 98 Spec 1998
Honda NSX Type S-Zero 1997
Honda Takata Mugen NSX 2003
Lancia Delta HF Integrale Rally Car 1992
Lotus Elise Sport 190 2000
Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) 2002
Mazda RX-8 Type S 2003
Mazda Demio Sport 2003
Mazda Roadster 1.6 (NA) 1989
McLaren McLaren F1 GTR FINA (Long Version 1997
Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG 2002
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V GSR 1998
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR 2003
Mitsubishi Colt 1.5 Sport X Version 2002
Nismo Fairlady Z Z-tune (Z33) 2003
Nissan Silvia K's Aero (S14) 1996
Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (R32) 1994
Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II Nur (R34) 2002
Nissan Xanavi Nismo GT-R 2003
Nissan March 12c 5-door 2003
Spoon Sports Fit 2003
Spoon Sports Civic Type R (EK) 1999
Spoon Sports S2000 2000
Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STi Version VI (GC) 1999
Subaru Impreza Rally Car (GC) 1999
Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STi (GD Type II) 2003
Subaru Impreza Rally Car (GD Type II) 2003
Subaru Legacy B4 2.0GT specB 2003
Subaru Legacy Touring Wagon 2.0GT specB 2003
Suzuki Cappucino 1992
Suzuki Alto Works Sport Limited 1997
Toyota bB Z 1.5 2WD X Version 2000
Toyota Celica GT-Four Rally Car (ST205) 1995
Toyota ist 1.5S (2WD) 2002
Toyota Vitz RS 1.5 2000
Toyota MR2 GT-S (SW20) 1998
Toyota Prius G Touring Selection 2003
Toyota WOODONE Tom's Supra 2003
Trial Celica SS-II Tuning Car (ZZT231) 2003
Volkswagen Lupo Cup Car 2003
Although Japan-centric, the final game promises cars from the US and Europe in abundance, as well as a massive array of classic pre 1950 sports cars, a first in the series.
Prologue comprises two distinct sections, an arcade mode, featuring five tracks and all the cars listed above, which are unlocked using the driving school mode. Arcade mode is pretty self explanatory. The tracks consist of Tsukuba Circuit, New York, Grand Canyon, Fuji Speedway and Citta di Aria, all of which are available from the start. New York, Fuji Speedway and Tsukuba can be raced on with five opponents with the other two courses being single cars romps. Grand Canyon is a two car rally circuit.
Although Fuji and Tsukuba are pretty mundane tracks in terms of graphical appeal, Citta di Aria and New York are wonderfully lush, to the point of beating the pants off rivals, with the bland yet over-egged representations of Project Gotham paling into insignificance.
Grand Canyon is a real step up in the series, with camera-wielding spectators diving out of the way as you hurtle around the bend. Something that Sony's WRC promised but never delivered. Wonderful indeed.
Driving school mode is an extended challenge mode, which takes you from the fundamentals of following the racing line in a low-powered Vitz through to winning six car races in a NISMO Xanavi. It’s short, about two hours for an average player, but sweeter than sugarcoated jelly babies. Dipped in honey.
The big shock is the addition of a new viewpoint, a second out-of-car view, another first in the series. This is a higher view than the standard out-of-car and is completely different, in terms of gameplay afforded as it is "locked-on" to the car. This means that all you see is the rear of the car, the camera following, with the motor always kept in a straight line. Imagine if the camera was mounted on a long pole from the back of the car. It’s strange, as you never see the side of your racer as you may be used to, and initially it’s difficult to get a grip on how it’s handling.
And that really is about it. The replay mode is again the best the world has ever seen and aside for some minor pop-up issues (remember, Prologue is not GT4 final code) and the fact that there are bugs with steering wheel functionality, Gran Turismo 4 is shaping up to be arguably the most ambitious gaming project in the industry’s history.
Certain videogames do carry more intellectual weight than one would have thought possible, or represent a technical achievement that boggles the mind in terms of complexity and obsession.
Gran Turismo 3 offers as much intellectual banter as sniffing petrol, though in terms of a gaming achievement, it is without question one of the most important releases the games industry has offer. Crafted in the crucible at Polyphony Digital and under the oil-spec scrutiny of Kazunori Yamauchi, this is proprietary gaming software at its richest and most beautiful.
Gran Turismo 4 Prologue is a cut-down Japan-only demo of the fourth instalment of Gran Turismo. Yet this in itself has become something of a standing joke as the game contains 48 perfectly replicated, laser-scanned cars, far more than most full games could ever even dream of. The finalised game will see over 500 vehicles – an amazing statistic.
The complete car list is a boy racer's wet dream:
Daihatsu Copen Automatic Top 2002
Daihatsu Mira TR-XX Avanzato R 1997
Dodge Viper GTS 1998
Ford GT Concept 2002
Ford Focus Rally Car 1998
Honda Beat 1991
Honda Fit W 2001
Honda Civic Type R (EK) 1998
Honda Integra Type R 98 Spec 1998
Honda NSX Type S-Zero 1997
Honda Takata Mugen NSX 2003
Lancia Delta HF Integrale Rally Car 1992
Lotus Elise Sport 190 2000
Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) 2002
Mazda RX-8 Type S 2003
Mazda Demio Sport 2003
Mazda Roadster 1.6 (NA) 1989
McLaren McLaren F1 GTR FINA (Long Version 1997
Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG 2002
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V GSR 1998
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR 2003
Mitsubishi Colt 1.5 Sport X Version 2002
Nismo Fairlady Z Z-tune (Z33) 2003
Nissan Silvia K's Aero (S14) 1996
Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (R32) 1994
Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II Nur (R34) 2002
Nissan Xanavi Nismo GT-R 2003
Nissan March 12c 5-door 2003
Spoon Sports Fit 2003
Spoon Sports Civic Type R (EK) 1999
Spoon Sports S2000 2000
Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STi Version VI (GC) 1999
Subaru Impreza Rally Car (GC) 1999
Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STi (GD Type II) 2003
Subaru Impreza Rally Car (GD Type II) 2003
Subaru Legacy B4 2.0GT specB 2003
Subaru Legacy Touring Wagon 2.0GT specB 2003
Suzuki Cappucino 1992
Suzuki Alto Works Sport Limited 1997
Toyota bB Z 1.5 2WD X Version 2000
Toyota Celica GT-Four Rally Car (ST205) 1995
Toyota ist 1.5S (2WD) 2002
Toyota Vitz RS 1.5 2000
Toyota MR2 GT-S (SW20) 1998
Toyota Prius G Touring Selection 2003
Toyota WOODONE Tom's Supra 2003
Trial Celica SS-II Tuning Car (ZZT231) 2003
Volkswagen Lupo Cup Car 2003
Although Japan-centric, the final game promises cars from the US and Europe in abundance, as well as a massive array of classic pre 1950 sports cars, a first in the series.
Prologue comprises two distinct sections, an arcade mode, featuring five tracks and all the cars listed above, which are unlocked using the driving school mode. Arcade mode is pretty self explanatory. The tracks consist of Tsukuba Circuit, New York, Grand Canyon, Fuji Speedway and Citta di Aria, all of which are available from the start. New York, Fuji Speedway and Tsukuba can be raced on with five opponents with the other two courses being single cars romps. Grand Canyon is a two car rally circuit.
Although Fuji and Tsukuba are pretty mundane tracks in terms of graphical appeal, Citta di Aria and New York are wonderfully lush, to the point of beating the pants off rivals, with the bland yet over-egged representations of Project Gotham paling into insignificance.
Grand Canyon is a real step up in the series, with camera-wielding spectators diving out of the way as you hurtle around the bend. Something that Sony's WRC promised but never delivered. Wonderful indeed.
Driving school mode is an extended challenge mode, which takes you from the fundamentals of following the racing line in a low-powered Vitz through to winning six car races in a NISMO Xanavi. It’s short, about two hours for an average player, but sweeter than sugarcoated jelly babies. Dipped in honey.
The big shock is the addition of a new viewpoint, a second out-of-car view, another first in the series. This is a higher view than the standard out-of-car and is completely different, in terms of gameplay afforded as it is "locked-on" to the car. This means that all you see is the rear of the car, the camera following, with the motor always kept in a straight line. Imagine if the camera was mounted on a long pole from the back of the car. It’s strange, as you never see the side of your racer as you may be used to, and initially it’s difficult to get a grip on how it’s handling.
And that really is about it. The replay mode is again the best the world has ever seen and aside for some minor pop-up issues (remember, Prologue is not GT4 final code) and the fact that there are bugs with steering wheel functionality, Gran Turismo 4 is shaping up to be arguably the most ambitious gaming project in the industry’s history.
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