| Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec All of you have probably looked at that first fresh footage of GT3, standing with your mouth wide open, gazing with amazement; but when it finally arrives, is there still a need for words like "Fantastic" or "Superb"? Yes, it is obvious that our favourite real driving simulator has undergone quite some changes. We all remember those cheesy graphics GT2 had on offer: bad animated cars in bad animated tracks was one of my worst nightmares. Of course the gameplay was just perfect with a mighty array of cars on offer and that sweet feeling of victory when you beat a difficult race, GT2 had it all. And then time passed on, SONY had an evil idea and made a magical potion with perfection, beauty and many unkown elements and gave birth to Playstation 2... It was obvious that Polyphony Digital had no choice but to give the player what it expected, a brand new Gran Turismo on a brand new console! After some delay and name issues, Kazunori Yamauchi brings upon us a new racing simulation, a new experience, a new driving heaven. New, you say? Well, not quite... Don't get me wrong, GT3 is innovating, but not what people were expecting. It is needed to say that the graphics are really that good; gone are the mediocre graphics and in comes one of the best looking PS2-games up to date. You are greeted with a brand new multi-million dollar FMV-sequence in the beginning so the guys at Polyphony can show off that they know how the PS2 can be exploited at its best. Although pop-up is still a frequent thing, it's tucked away by neat graphics so your eye looks over those; riding through such a beautiful animated track makes you feel more relaxed and will take off the frustration. That there are cars in a race game is quite obvious, GT3 offers some 200 cars whereas GT2 boosts a massive 600 cars. But don't be let down by this, as the menus where you pick a car, go to your home, etc are now more user friendly: you chose a country, you chose a car; that simple. Also the races and championships have been given a new jacket: everything is now divided into leageus, ranging from amateur up to professional. Thanks to PS2's mighty array of weaponry - graphics and such, for those who don't know - ; rally is now better than ever: when your racing against an opponent, you can blind the other fellow with a big cloud of dust: annoy the hell out of your brother or friend, fun! A number of new tracks have been implemented too: race between the many skycrapers of Tokyo, or drive down the famous Monaco raceway or just take a drive in one of the old ones. The new thing about the races has to be the wonderful qaulify section, where you can improve your starting position by racing the best possible lap, no more beginning last, no more pain. This wonderful mix of excellent graphics, great cars and suspense driving could not be complete without some sound to accompany this already fine game. The music will definitely crank up the race as you'll be driving with all sorts of techno-rock songs and remixes which wil be reappearing a lot in this very expansive racer. Next to Gran Turismo Mode, there is also an Arcade Mode, in which you can race against an other opponent; if you ride the tracks and win; other tracks will be made available, as simple as that. A Time Attack Mode is in there too; yes, you guessed it: try and get the best time with a pre-decided car, not an easy job you know .. PAGE 2: Almost there, exciting huh |