Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

Gran Turismo 3 has been labeled as a system-seller; it is a masterpiece title that is strong enough to convince people to shell out money for an entire gaming system. The Gran Turismo racing series has been the king of racers ever since its origin in 1998. Following the strong success of the previous two Gran Turismo titles, Sony's in-house studio Polyphony Digital has worked for years fine-tuning GT3 into the ultimate racing game. Fans of the first two GT games will be familiar with GT3's setup and interface. There are two modes of play: Arcade and Simulation. The Arcade mode is similar to most racers where you pick a car and a track and play in single exhibition rounds. A large selection of cars is available instantly and there are multiplayer options including split-screen view and iLink racing, where multiple PS2s can be hooked together for up to 6 players in a race. Simulation mode is a racing career in a game. You begin with $18,000 and must pass a license test, buy your first car and begin racing. As the game continues you will earn money and win prizes by competing in races. Money can be spent on new cars and part upgrades that have a noticeable effect on your car's mobility. You must also take care of your car with regular oil changes and carwashes to maintain optimum performance. Old cars and prize cars can be sold off for money once you've chosen a favorite car to use for racing. Over 150 officially licensed cars are available from manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet, Ford, Acura and Jaguar. Each of the twenty courses in the game is painstakingly modeled after its real life counterpart, some of which include Seattle, Rome, Tokyo, the Swiss Alps and the Laguna Seca. GT3 not only includes regular street racing, but also Formula One and Rally racing modes as well. The sheer depth of GT3 is overwhelming; this not a game you will complete in a weekend; it is the type that will take months of playing to experience. GT3 is a realistic racing game with lifelike physics. It does not follow traditional "arcade" style rules where cars speeding at 140 mph can power-slide around tight corners without spinning out of control. The realistic gameplay may be frustrating at first to those who are used to playing arcade racers, but GT3's license tests and Free Run modes provide excellent training for real racing.

Gran Turismo 3's graphics have to be seen to be believed. Every car is modeled with thousands of polygons down to the spokes in the wheels, and the reflections on the hulls and windshields give the game an ultrarealistic look that could fool someone into thinking an actual televised race is playing. All sorts of little details give GT3 its immersive look, from heat waves to glowing brake discs to clouds of dust kicking up behind cars in Rally mode. While the camera angle during actual gameplay must be either an outside or inside car view to let the player see the road ahead, the race replay camera shots are astounding. The coolest replay mode is the music sync mode, where the camera and special effect filters cycle and pan in relation to the music playing; it is almost like watching a music video. It is mind-boggling to think that this much detail was packed into a single game. GT3 has raised the bar of graphics to an all time high.

In the audio department, Gran Turismo 3 does not disappoint. Each car's sound effects are accurate recordings of the actual car noise in real-life. If you switch from an outside view to the inside-car view you can hear the wind blasting past your car as it speeds through the raceway. GT3's song list is massive and includes several selections from artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Jimi Hendrix, Motley Crue, Papa Roach and Snoop Dogg. You can customize your music list and leave out the tracks that you don't want to hear while racing, or play with only the car sounds.

To call Gran Turismo 3 a masterpiece is an understatement. It is tuned, refined and tweaked to near perfection. It does not end here, for Polyphony Digital is hard at work on an online Gran Turismo Network for Internet play. A racing wheel designed specifically for the game, the Logitech GT Force, is also available and brings the game to even higher levels of immersion. No PS2 owner should be without GT3: it is the ultimate racing game and an instant classic.

*Currently there is a PS2 + GT3 special package selling for $330 (that’s $20 off buying them separately).

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