Gran Turismo

A passable Gran Turismo with nothing remarkable about it

GamePro (online)

  • Review
  • Specs
  • Images
  • User Reviews
  • Where to Buy (3)

FADE IN:

Pros

  • It's Gran Turismo, insane amount of cars, good difficulty progression

Cons

  • Lack of direction leads to a hollow experience, player development is weak

Bottom Line

Even an endless list of cars can't compensate for Gran Turismo's shortcomings.

Would you buy this?

  • Where to buy

    Priced from: $ 14.95
    Selling at 3 stores
See all prices

INT: POLYPHONY DIGITAL - MEETING ROOM, LAUNCH PREP

DESIGNER

So here's what we've got. I think you're going to be psyched. So we've completely scrapped the career mode in favour of a more open, structure-free single-

PRODUCER

Wait, what? No career or structure? I don't want to be brash but are you out of your friggin' mind? I think that's something we should reconsider. Gran Turismo has always been about progressing through--

DESIGNER

Hear me out! So instead of arbitrarily forcing players to earn licenses to play races, we give them the option to take on brief tutorial tests like braking, cornering and driving wickedly-fast. The benefit of this is it's educational and you get huge stacks of cash. The game's biggest reward money is here, at least to start. This is independent of the solo mode.

PRODUCER

OK, but if we're just going to let players select a dealership, buy a car and hit the road, then--

DESIGNER

No, man, that's the best part! You don't select the dealership you buy from. Your income determines it. Kind of. I mean, the game will randomly select like five brands when you open the menu. Then you pick from the available cars. And for kicks we show off the million dollar rides. Like "look at what you can drive later!"

PRODUCER

What you can drive later... after you've, what, hopped in a bunch of individual races? Listen, we need some sort of player development. We need each track to be tiered, D-grade, B-grade, A-grade. You've got to be able to play this game with a variety of difficulties. That's a great way of not only letting players earn more money, but to work toward more challenging events.

DESIGNER

I like that. Very nice! Alright, I've also got these ideas for time trials and drift modes. Drifting earns you points, and the points transition into cash. Time trials are just for fun. No reward. Cool, right?

PRODUCER

That's pretty good. I mean, the single-player mode still sounds terribly misdirected and time trials are boring without bonuses. What's the incentive to keep playing? I don't get it.

DESIGNER

Cars, baby. Trading them with friends, sharing them over ad-hoc wi-fi. That's the good stuff. And because our animators aren't allowed to sleep we've got like 800 cars or something ridiculous.

PRODUCER

So you play to earn money, then spend that money on more cars to keep racing? I'm sorry to tell you but is seriously lacking. The basics of what makes Gran Turismo great are here... but it's bone-dry.

DESIGNER

Listen. Who cares? We've got a game that is fundamentally Gran Turismo. Good enough, right? We're gonna roll with this free-form thing because, frankly, this game needs to get out the damn door already. It's not a rush job - the game runs like a dream. The cars look and feel great, we've got a solid variety of visually different tracks, and each of the cars controls like it's its own beast. Let's call it a day and start working on a real GT, yeah?

PRODUCER

Y'know, the sooner I get off this train-wreck PSP project the better. I've been doing this BS for too long. And look at what came from these years of dedication: a passable GT with nothing remarkable about it. Let's get some grub.

FADE OUT

Keep up with the latest tech news, reviews and previews by subscribing to the PC World newsletter.

Be the first to comment.

Post new comment

Users posting comments agree to the Good Gear Guide comments policy.

Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.

Most Popular

Tethering tutorial: How to use your iPhone as a modem
Capacitive vs resistive touchscreens
How to pick the right size TV for your living room
LCD vs plasma vs LED TVs buying guide
The next Xbox reveal: What to expect from the Xbox 720

Best Deals on PCWorld

GamesView all »
Software and ServicesView all »
PC ComponentsView all »
Desktop PCsView all »
NotebooksView all »