Gran Turismo 4 (PS2)

As is Gran Turismo's standard, there are two main racing modes here: Arcade and Gran Turismo. I'm going to skip over the Arcade part as its not greatly changed from the days of GT3, the true beauty of this game lies in Gran Tursimo Mode. Within GT Mode lie hundreds of cars from many of the premier manufacturers in the world today, with the exception of Ferrari and Porsche who I've yet to find, so probably won't be in there. You start off trying for a B Licence so you can race in the Beginners Events, once you've completed that you are given a car depending on how well you did, and you can choose to sell it and by from one of the three second hand dealers in the game (split into pre 90s, mid 90s and late 90s models) and go from there, or race the one you have. The first car you get will probably handly pretty badly but that doesn't matter, as so will all of the other cars you race against in the Sunday Cup. Besides, do you really want your VW Lupo to handle like an Aston Martin DB9? I'd be disappointed if it did.

Now you have raced a bit, you can tune your car, upgrade the parts to make it better and start kicking some ass. Beware though, the better you make your car the less points you'll receive when you win the race, and the less points you'll have towards your final total. It generally makes way for a Win Event, Win/Buy New Car, Race Car, Lose, Upgrade Car, Win kind of pattern but where you take it is up to you. You can choose to enter a massively modified Lotus Elise in a lightweight race of Renault Clios (as long as your Elise adheres to the race specifications) and win without ever leaving first gear - you'd get 1 point for that probably - or you could choose to enter it for challenging races, upgrade the handling and tyres for grip and use old-fashioned SKILL to win against cars more powerful than yours for anything from 100 to 200 points. So, if you hear people bitch about this game being far too easy, it's because they make it too easy.. if you handle each race realistically, this game is hard. I played Burnout for a few months before this, and the switch from arcade speed to technical cornering was a big jump that took me a little while to get used to but it's worth it. Still only six cars per race though.

On the subject of races, there are many new circuits, as well as the old favourites, hidden away. Frustratingly, not all of them are available in two player mode. Also frustrating is the handling of the Dirt and Snow circuits, both of which are ludicrously slippery and don't seem to affect the computer cars. These are just a couple of down points to an otherwise great game and these races are avoidable, and you'll only need to do them if you yearn for a 100% completion score. As well as Beginner events and 4 other licences, you have the more Advanced races still around like the Clubman Cup, once you've done those you can opt for the Extreme Events, if you have a 25% completion rate you can head over to the Endurance Events, plus there's Special Events (old school road rallies, plus the dirt and snow lot) and then you can also keep yourself amused with Japanese/American/European Events depending on the make of your car and Driving Missions which start off easy and get hard quick. Is that not enough? Well, no. Your manufacturer might also hold Cups for separate makes: VW for example have Lupo, Beetle and GTi Cups you can race in. Hundreds of races, then. The mind boggles, and i still havent mentioned the all-new "B-Spec" mode, where you act as a team boss and let the computer drive your car for you, giving it orders.

Having read some of the other Amazon customer reviews for this product, you can't help but feel sorry for some people who've spent their money on one of the best driving games in existence, and still managed to miss the point. The ONLY way you will find no enjoyment for this game is if you hate racing simulations and only play Arcade games (and even then, there's a pretty good arcade mode here), or racing games in general just give you the fear. There's something for everyone here from the super-enthusiasts who tune their cars to perfection, to the casual racer. Regardless of its slippery rallies, I couldn't give this game any less than five stars.

The Intro - Gentle music sweeps out of your speakers, a white GT40 sits there in all it's glory. Operatic power starts to build in the music, the GT40 starts rolling, Mechanics prepare the car, the music still building, then.....the engine revs, Rock Music cuts in, the sign goes up, the car launches away and all hell breaks loose.

The first thing you notice, more menus, more cars, more tracks. The menus are well laid out and easy to follow. Arcade mode is similar to before, now you can choose cars by either Era or Manufacturer. The game play is slightly improved in terms of car handling, the graphics are simply stunning, both on the cars, but also the backgrounds. Check out the Grand Canyon, wow!!

GT mode, same deal as before 10k to start, licences to pass. Licences comprise 16 tests not 8 as in GT3. Once you get some licences behind you the game really opens up and you realise why you bought this even though you already own GT3. It's a different conversation. Massive numbers of cars and more tracks than you could shake a stick the size of Schumacher's ego at!!

The photo capture options are easy to follow, they're not the reason I bought the game but if it's what you're into then you're well catered for. The B-Spec mode again works well, it can speed things up in the early days so you don't have to race the Sunday league 20 times!! Could have used a few more options in terms of strategy etc. but it's still a welcome addition.

In summary, the graphics are stunning the game play is great and the size is awesome. If you like driving games then buy this, it's the best one there is.....on any console.