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After being delayed for almost a
year, Gran Turismo 3, the game all the PlayStation 2 fans were
eagerly waiting for, finally came out in the US. This game was
going to be very important because the previous "hyped" titles
on this console all turned out to be either very short or just
plain disappointing. Let's be honest, this game is one of the
main reasons why the PS2 launch was such a huge success. The
first question that comes to anyone in their right mind when
reading a review for this game is: "Does it live up to the
hype?"
The Gran Turismo series has been Sony's main franchise since the
first episode came out and totally changed the image of racers
in the minds of the public. What was then hailed as "the real
driving simulator" was actually more of an arcade-style game
hidden behind dozens of options and incredible graphics, but it
was -and still is today- one of the most fun racing games in
history. While many people saw Gran Turismo 2 as the pinnacle of
virtual driving, I personally thought it was nothing more than
an update of the original installment with cleaner graphics and
a (poor) Rally Mode. I wasn't even looking forward to either the
PS2 or GT3 for obvious reason, until I saw a demo of the game in
a store.
I'm not the kind of gamer to buy a game just because it has
extraordinary graphics and because it's highly anticipated by
the whole gaming industry. I've seen too many of these
"groundbreaking" games finish in the closet or even in the
toilet after a week. I'm not even a racer fan, actually. But
when I saw this game, and later tried it, I felt excited. I
admit it, I gave in to the temptation, and got the "PlayStation
2 + GT3" bundle. Is that a crime? I don't really know, but I
sure know I felt guilty as hell on my way back home... I was
thinking: "What if it was nothing but flash, like so many
others?" Enough of my boring stories though, let's see what
happened when I put the DVD in my brand new heater... Woops, I
mean my beloved PS2 of course.
Without trying to sound like an infamous fanboy, the Sony logo
screen was not exactly enough to reassure my worried -and broke-
self. But as soon as I saw the first images of the introduction,
it became obvious to me that this game was going to be something
big. Not because it looks perfect, but because of the impressive
amount of detail it displays. Various memories of the previous
games came to my mind as I was trying to find a graphic flaw in
vain. I have rarely been in that contemplating state where you
stop trying to rationalize everything and keep your eyes wide
open, catching as much information as possible. I watched the
introduction no more than three times before actually playing
the game. And honestly, each time was as good as the first.
The whole game looks almost as good as the introduction I just
described. The cars simply look exactly like their real-life
counterparts, and the Polyphony Digital (a first-party company)
developers have done a great job at reproducing every single
detail that could meet the eye. The backgrounds look a lot
better than in the first videos I saw on the internet a while
ago and are more varied than in the first two episodes. The
trees, the stands, the commercials, the spectators... Everything
looks surprisingly real, even though there are still a few
apparent jaggies here and there. But the game is very colorful
and its most impressive aspect lies in the great use of special
effects that make you feel like you're really driving one of
these kick-ass vehicles. I have never seen a better utilization
of shadows, dust, rain and light effects (especially lens
flare). The reflection of the backgrounds on the cars is, simply
put, fantastic. You can scrutinize the graphics a lot closely in
Replay Mode, and you probably already know that, but please
allow me to tell you that they look amazing. The visual effects
look better than your average Madonna video and the camera
changes in order to provide the perfect angle to see the action,
but the hidden reason behind them is obviously to show off the
PS2's unexplored power.
This is by far the best looking game on PS2 so far, and possibly
the best looking game ever, period. It seems even hard to
imagine how racers are going to look in a near future now. Of
course, we all know graphics don't make a game. But this is one
of the rare games I enjoy just watching because it fully
reproduces the excitement of racing. The speed of the cars is
very well rendered and you can really feel their power in
straight-aways. Other than that, there is little to no
animation, as in most racers, but the cars don't seem to "glide"
too much, which is a good thing in my opinion. Watching GT3 is
exactly like watching an exciting race on television: you don't
really know why you're doing it, but you just do it.
However, it is worth noting than the interface of the game has
only slightly evolved since the first Gran Turismo. The game is
mainly divided in two parts, Arcade and Simulation, which if we
only pay attention to their names seem to be the solutions to
make any racer fan happy. But the truth is that even though the
driving in this game is a nice mix between arcade fun and deep
simulation, it is everything but realistic. You can still bump
into other racecars to adjust your path in both modes, which
sounds horribly funny for a so-called simulation. Don't be
fooled by the cool strategies featured in the manual: the
gameplay hasn't changed much in a whole generation of consoles.
The car models seem better indeed, and the Rally mode has been
vastly improved: you can actually try to control your car now,
instead of spending all your time trying to correct your
mistakes. It now feels somewhat similar to Sega Rally 2, only
better.
The Arcade mode is self-explanatory, really. You pick a track
and a car, and you battle against five other opponents
controlled by the computer or against a human player. Needless
to say that despite the fact that there are many extras to
unlock, the second option is a lot more fun. If you can get your
hands on a i.LINK hub, up to six players can take part in the
same race, like in the arcades. However, you will probably have
trouble finding 6 PS2s, 6GT3s games, the i.LINK hub and the
cables.
The Simulation mode is similar to the first two games, but is it
necessarily a bad thing? You start with a small amount of money
and need to buy a used car and get a driving license before
taking part in races. As usual, the driving license trials can
be a pain at first, but you'll be very happy when you can
finally use a decent car. The more races you win and the more
money you get, the more and better cars you can buy. The system
is addicting and consequently boosts this title's replay value.
At first, I was struck by the fact that this game features fewer
vehicles than its predecessor. But then I figured out that it
wasn't such a big deal because I had never bothered to use all
the cars available in the previous games. Actually, even a game
with only one car is enough to make me happy (namely Ferrari
Challenge F355 on Dreamcast). All I'm asking for are good
controls, and they are definitely in there. You don't need a
steering wheel to find out that this game plays very well: you
will be the only one to blame when you finish last. Because
there is something I forgot to mention before: this game is a
tough challenge. Any decent player won't have any trouble to
unlock everything in the Simulation mode: it's only a matter of
time. But finishing first on all the tracks in Arcade mode on
hard setting, or getting gold trophies on all the license
trials, now that's something for the driving experts out there.
I liked the music in this game. A lot. I think it's a refreshing
change from most soundtracks because it is fast and dynamic but
not annoying, and doesn't distract from the gameplay. To put it
bluntly, I am not a big fan of rock and particularly not of
Methods of Mayhem, but most of the tunes sound good to me, and I
never felt the urge to press the mute button. Any soundtrack
that features Pappa Roach, Snoop Dogg, Raekwon and Jimi Hendrix
is worth noticing. Lenny Kravitz's genius tune 'Are you gonna go
my way' confirms the status of this soundtrack: it is
spankarific, and perfectly fits the dynamic and mechanical mood
of the game.
If F355 is an underrated technical simulation, then on the
contrary GT3 is a great "mainstream" racer that is a bit
overrated. The people who complain about it being Gran Turismo 2
in disguise are at least partially true: it brought almost
nothing but technical improvements to the series. But then
again, isn't that the point of a sequel? The reason why it was
so hyped is because people loved the first games, and were
excited at the idea of having similar games with an engine using
the power of the PS2. In that sense, this game is a complete
success, and perhaps the best racer ever. However, if you are
looking for novelty, forget about GT3. It is not perfect and
lacks some originality to really have a long-term appeal for the
average gamer. But any PS2 owner owes it to himself to play this
game at least once in their lives. You don't often come across a
title that does live up to the hype.
.:. BillyKane |
