| Gran Turismo 2 |
Review
Racing game perfection just got better. From the adwizards who brought us racing
sim bliss in the form of Gran Turismo, comes the next GT in all its splendor. GT
fanatics rejoice! It hadn’t been nearly a day that GT2 hit U.S. shores, and
already newsgroups were buzzing of tricks to beat tracks, what cars to use, and
what the ending movies actually looked like. SCE had promised, and delivered a
sequel worthy of the Gran Turismo name in every way possible: more, diverse
tracks to chose from, an insanely large library of cars, and yes, a rally mode.
Good god, this game had it all. But did it?
Graphically, this game hadn’t been touched since the first. No polishing or
rendering of old tracks, nothing. Which in a sense, was good considering how the
first edition
took advantage of so much of the Playstation’s graphics processor in terms of
light-sourcing alone. The only racing sim with better graphics to date than GT2
is Need For Speed: V-Rally 2, and not by much. The V-Rally2 counterpart’s
graphics may be a tad better, but it has nothing on GT series’ auto physics in
terms of car tilt and spinout. Some have commented that GT2’s graphics during
the replay have diminished since the first, but not from what this gamer can
see. No matter where you go, there will always be someone who looks for
something that isn’t there to complain about. But enough of that. Although
allegations of graphically worsened replays may be false, it’s plain to see
that while racing, you may notice on some levels (mostly ones with buildings)
have a significantly greater amount
;)
Gran
Turismo 2
©
SCE
;)
Gran
Turismo 2
©
SCE
|
|
;)
greater magnitude. Also, some may notice that while in 2 player mode, some of those same levels will disappear in the distance, giving the illusion of the opponent flying in the distance. Although some of these graphic flaws may occur, they definitely DON’T take anything away from the game whatsoever.
The play control is exactly the same as the first one: precise to every movement, and extremely responsive. One aspect of the game which this gamer, personally prayed on the developers not touching for the new version. It seemed that the play control and perfect responsiveness are what SCE developers strove to perfect in the first one and it would be a damn shame if anything was messed with upon the release of its sequel. But
|
|
;)
when playing GT2 an overwhelming feeling of dejavu may overcome the gamer because of the striking similarities between the two. One great addition to the next in the series is the fact that the player’s simulation garage can be used in arcade mode. Just what the doctor ordered. This may be fun, but after a few hours of playing the simulation mode, one can acquire cars which cannot be competed with by the computer.
Great graphics, control and weeks of play may make up most of GT2, but there are a few loose ends that were never tied. When Sony announced the release of GT2 and its features, one mentioned was the ability to import the cars in the gamer’s garage of the first GT. There is even a function for such on the main screen of both arcade and simulation
|
|
;)
mode which seem to load, but have no baring on the game in any way. Another bone to pick is the fact that the instruction manual, as compared to the extremely helpful version of the first, is of absolutely no help at all when it comes to these odd functions that don’t do anything. The instruction manual will simply point out what is on the screen and give a vague description thus confusing the player even more. Another point which should not have been overlooked is the fact that one can’t complete the game to its entirety. Only 98.1% of the game can be completed. Whether it’s the fact that a course or so was left out, whatever the case this fact should have definitely not been overlooked. But now that everyone knows, it’s not that big of a deal because now if 98.1% is reached, the gamer knows that everything in the game has been completed. One more aspect of the game gone wrong is the complete idiocy of the AI. While racing against the computer, all the cars tend to stick together and don’t pay attention to the gamer as they attempt at passing. The computer will stick to its racing line knocking the player off the road, and once in a while morphing into the player’s car in order to stay in its programmed racing pattern.
When it all is said and done, GT2 is thee best racing game…. EVER. And that line isn’t used loosely around these parts. If you even remotely enjoy a good racing game, this title should definitely not be overlooked. Don’t rent, just stand in line, and exclaim, “I’ll take one of those.”
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|