Blast from the Past - Gran Turismo 4 Review

Every now and again I'm going to dig in to the old archive from when I wrote for etoychest.org and post an old review of mine. Today is going to be my Gran Turismo 4 review. Based on reading it I would say I thought very highly of the game at the time.

"In reviewing Gran Turismo 4, one must harken back to some of history’s greatest achievements. The Great Wall Of China, The Pyramids, The Mona Lisa, The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, etc… All of these things have one common denominator. They are works of art beyond what normal mortals can create. Yamauchi is no mere mortal. His creation, Gran Turismo 4, is to video games what these great accomplishments were to their respective fields. Groundbreaking, breathtaking, and many other adjectives all ending in ing. To put it in perspective, GT4 is damn near perfect.

This is no mere game. GT4 is a crowning achievement. The kind of game that will have you busy for years trying to do everything, leaving you happily frustrated as you strive for 100% completion. Now, don’t get too excited though. Only the most hardcore will ever see 100% on GT4. There is simply too much to do for the average gamer. 24 hour endurance races, over 700 cars, tons of tracks, Model specific races, used cars that only appear on certain days, and that is just scratching the surface. Anyone who managed 100% on GT3 will discover at least twice as much time is required for GT4. It’s just that much grander in scale. It’s amazing that so much can be crammed on a single DVD.

The graphics are, of course, stellar. Light reflects off of the cars with stunning precision, the crowds are animated and lively. (During rally races, they will leap out to take a picture, then run back before you hit them. And no, you can’t hit them no matter how hard you try.) The courses are nothing short of beautiful. Photographic backgrounds lend a sense of realism never before seen in a racing game. Mountains and trees are gorgeous to behold. Truly every course is a complete work of art. Then there is the photo mode. You can save your replays, race laps especially for photos, or pose your cars in one of many various locales, all for the sake of photographing your machine. You can save these photos to your memory card or, in what is a brilliant move, you can use any USB drive to save them to, so you can transfer them to your computer and share them with the world, or if you are feeling clever, photoshop your ugly mug into the car and impress friends. The photos look so amazing that you could easily fool someone into thinking it was a real car…imagine the possibilities!!!

Gameplay has always been the staple of this series, and GT4 manages to take it to another level. Somehow, Polyphony has managed to not only surpass GT3, they’ve beat it up and stolen its lunch money. It feels like you are driving. No doubt about it. The cars handle amazingly well, one would imagine just like their real world counterparts, but most people have not ever driven a $150,000 Mercedes 200 mph in the real world to use as a guide, although it would be safe to say it would handle almost exactly like it does in GT4. Nothing else can be said. No other game is as good as this, hands down.

The “extras” are just icing on the cake. GT4 offers a B-spec racing mode, which is similar to managing a sports team. You tell the driver how you want him to handle the race, and he the AI does the rest. You can make changes on the fly as well. You can tell the driver to try and pass, or to slow down, whatever you feel is the best course of action to win. As always, car upgrades make an appearance in GT4. There are no external modifications except for adding a spoiler, or changing the wheels, which was a little disappointing, but that isn’t what the Gran Turismo series is about. It’s about taking a 100HP Civic and turning it into a racing machine, and all of the options are there. The best part is, if you are a car novice, you can make changes that don’t require a lot of work, but enthusiasts will be enamored with the ability to adjust gear ratios, downforce, camber, suspension, etc…

Gran Turismo 4 is an amazing balance. It is never too complicated for beginners, but always complicated enough for grizzled vets who’ve been driving since you were sucking on your mama’s teat at Lollapalooza. This is what really separates it from other games. Sure, the presentation is beyond human comprehension, the graphics are outrageously beautiful, and there is enough gameplay to keep the average person busy throughout their natural life, but it’s the balance that really makes it perfect. Gran Turismo 4 is one of those games that come along about once or twice a year and just blow everything else before it out of the water. Even if you are not a fan of the racing genre, GT4 is a must play. Even if it is just so you can shake your head in disbelief at the amazing visuals, or gasp at the sheer magnitude of the GT4 experience. Don’t deny yourself this simple pleasure, it is worth every second."

Wow, I really, really liked Gran Turismo 4 when it came out...maybe a little too much.