Looking at Gran Turismo's list of
videogame achievements is like looking at Wayne Gretzky's phenomenal
decade-plus old career. It's overwhelming to the average person, or even
the average fan. Gazing at the surface of Gran Turismo 2,
it's easy to make the same mistake. At a quick glance, GT2 looks
relatively the same as its predecessor, and for newcomers the racing
initially seems overly hard and much too much like a simulation.
The sheer brilliance behind Gran Turismo 2, however, is embedded deep
under the hood of each and every car. It's in the timing of player as
she or he takes on Laguna Seca's 90-degree final turn, or in the power
slides of the cars racing through the Rome Circuit, or the endlessly
deep selection of cars, licenses, courses, and upgrades. It's in the
accurate descriptions of each car, it's specs, history, and mechanical
possibilities. The genius is hidden away under a wall of rather harsh
looking pixels until you realize that every one of the 500-plus
replicated vehicles races so exactly like the real thing it's shocking.
Keen car dealerships can now delight in the fact that for those looking
to buy, they can simply play Gran Turismo 2 for a test drive -- without
ever to drive the real thing. Gran Turismo 2 is no ordinary racing
game, it is the greatest racing game ever created.
Read Full...