Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

Written by Adam Woolcott on July 19, 2001

Full Review: Funny Name, Serious Simulation.

On a rare occasion, a game comes along, that despite being a sequel changes the landscape of a console totally. Gran Turismo 3 is that game.

When the PlayStation 2 was revealed, the first game announced was Gran Turismo 2000. It was supposed to be an enhanced version of Gran Turismo 2 originally, but after a little time, developers Polyphony Digital decided to make GT2000 a full-out sequel. Thus, here we are with Gran Turismo 3 A-spec. And we should be on our knees thanking PD for going this route, for GT3 is hands-down the very best racing game ever conceived and perhaps will only be topped by an eventual 4th game in the series. Nothing comes close..not Ridge Racer, not Need for Speed, not Sega GT. Nothing. No, it's not perfect. No, it's not for everyone. Yes, it has a couple flaws. And yes, if you even remotely have an interest in realistic racing games, you owe it to yourself to buy this game NOW. If you don't have a PS2, buy one. If you don't, you're missing out on a masterpiece of programming.

As usual, there's 2 different ways to play Gran Turismo 3. Arcade is a simple pick up and play game that lets you fiddle around with the monstrous cars like Vipers and Corvettes right away. Winning a combination of rally and street races will unlock new cars and tracks, and the 3 difficulty levels will keep you challenged for some time. Even as an arcade game there is a lot of realism, only a bit of looseness in the control. Really the arcade mode could keep you playing for quite a long time.

But the Simulation is where the game really takes off. As with the other GT's, you buy a car, get a license, and get out on the road and try to make headway as fast as you can. There are 5 different licenses you must acquire, including a special rally license for rally races. Used cars are gone, and with the 18,000 credits you can find a low level new car for the early races, to fine-tune your skills. Cars such as the Mazda Miata and the Chrysler PT Cruiser (along with a handful of others) are there for the choosing. Once you can win consistently you can start moving up the ladder and racing in Skylines and Evolution VII's.

The license tests still aren't as challenging as they were in the original Gran Turismo, but they are tougher than GT2's. The S license tests are especially difficult and require a few runs through to get a grip on it. A few here and there are difficult in the other levels, such as the 2 rain-soaked circle tests, and the mercilessly tough A International Final Exam in the Complex String. The best part is, passing the various tests prepares you for what to expect when you really get to racing.

There are 5 different levels of races in Sim - Beginner, Amateur, Professional, Endurance, and Rally. All are exactly what they say - the beginner level is rather simple and used to get used to the gameplay, the amateur is where they turn up the difficulty a notch, and professional is merciless. Each level is built for skill level. If you can't beat beginner you'll get wasted on pro. Simple as that.

As much as GT3 is similar to the first 2 games, it's hard to innovate in a game such as this. When a game is hellbent on realism, you just can't be totally creative or it's not real anymore. Most of the tracks are the same, most of the cars are the same, but if it ain't broke you don't fix it. The physics have been upgraded and seem much more like driving a real car, and DEMANDS perfection in driving. This is a hardcore driving simulation, not an arcade game. Powersliding is not going to work here like in Ridge Racer V.

Of course, your car is upgradeable like it should - you can deck it out with big turbo upgrades and fully tune it to your specifications. Actually, learning how to tune for optimal performance is pretty much required in Gran Turismo 3. If you don't fiddle around with the transmission you'll never get the true top speed, and if you don't play with the suspension you may be bobbing around the tracks like a pregnant roller skate. You can't just buy a car and buy the parts and go out and tear up a track - pre-race refinements and strategy is required as well. You must learn how to create a plan of attack for particular racetracks. For instance if you're racing in Tokyo or the Test Course, you'll want to change the transmission so while the acceleration is slow but a top speed is fast, but at Laguna Seca or Seattle, you'll want max acceleration but a lower top speed, because you'll never be able to reach that top speed anyway.

This is a racing game yes, but it's a thinking person's racer, as a simulation should be. You really think a 1000 HP plus Nissan Skyline can fly around corners at 150 MPH in reality? Ha. Thus you must learn just how the cars handle on a track and plan out your tuning strategy. If you don't, you'll be eating dust the whole time.

The AI for the most part is pretty solid, if occasionally quirky. The computer racers do run a straight line and bump you a lot, however you will be severely punished for making a mistake on the track. If you're in a tight race and hit a wall because you didn't brake fast enough, sorry but you're SOL. Yes, it seems like the computer AI rarely makes mistakes, but you're not supposed to make mistakes either. Perfection is demanded in a real race, and in GT3 it's no different. And occasionally, that perfection will allow you to run off with races, making some think it's too easy. In earlier races the margin for error is a little bit larger allowing to recuperate, but in later races a mistake can mean the whole race. The point in difficulty is to let you learn perfection for those much tougher races. It's for the players' own benefit. And in later races that have tire wear as a hazard, you'll see that it gets harder and harder to turn, almost forcing you to pit in to repair them. If you fail to do so, sometimes it changes the entire outlook of the race.

There are a couple things weird with it though - sometimes it's a little kooky and quirky. For one, I was racing in the German Championship with a Vertigo Race Car that I won in the European Championship. It's a 5-race set all at once. I won the first 3 races very easily and was cruising along. Then BOOM I get to Seca and get slaughtered and barely finish second. Huh? I blew the CPU off the line a race prior and now I can't catch them? With the same cars no less? And when I got to Tokyo Route 246, again I couldn't come close. I switched to my Skyline and won, but I found the whole thing strange. It seems the CPU cars get faster as you progress in a series. Also, the various endurance races are very easy, due to the CPU's constant pitting. They pit seemingly all the time while you'll only pit a few times.

But a lot of AI flaws are not really AI flaws but the flaws of the person playing the game. Hitting walls and bouncing off them may get you some wins occasionally, but most of the time it'll get you nowhere. Precision cornering is incredibly important and if you don't learn the limits of how to stop and start again, you'll be losing quite often. That's the realism..going through a tight turn in Seattle, or the Corkscrew at Seca you just can't plow through like you might be able to in an arcade racer, but you'll need to SLOW DOWN and turn. If you don't you'll lose. That simple.

Another bone to pick, when discussing tracks is some of the missing ones. Now, the new ones included like Cote D'Azur and Tokyo R246 are really good (even if Cote is less a racing track and more of an obstacle course), but there are some good ones missing. Where's High Speed Ring? Autumn Ring? Red Rock Valley? Gone, that's where. And the Test Course has changed into a boring 2-minute top speed test, though it is the easiest way to make fast cash on the Turbo challenge series. They keep tracks like Super Speedway but can't keep High Speed Ring? For shame.

The other things, like the lack of cars compared to GT2 and the no damage system are really not an issue. 600 cars is a lot and I never got to race as them all anyway. GT3 has a much smaller list of cars, thus a chance to see them all is more possible.

As for the damage, I'm almost glad it's not included. If it was, the game would be that much harder, because of everyone hitting the walls because they don't know how to turn. And since carmakers don't want their precious supercars turned into a heap of parts, they just won't allow it. Sure it makes it a little bit less real, but the penalty for poor driving is good enough until it's implemented, if it ever is.

Graphically GT3 is very, very good. Mind blowing in a lot of places. The detail of the environments and tracks is ridiculous, with fully detailed signs that whiz by at 150 MPH and buildings that do the same. The old GT tracks have been enhanced so while you know how it will drive, you just will be shocked at some things you see. Even the sun gets into the eyes of the driver and can actually mess with your driving. And when your car enters a shady area it turns black in that area. And in Trial Mountain and Deep Forest, the sun peeks through the trees creating a cool lighting effect. Really nice. The cars are fully rendered right down to the name of the car engraved on the back of it. You can easily see the word Skyline, or Evolution VII on the back of those cars. The different models of the same car are easier to differentiate because of this as well. Sure, there are a couple jagged edges, but if you're really into the GAME, you'll never notice it. Really, if you're looking for graphical flaws, you aren't really playing the game anyway. Even if pretty pictures are your bag GT3 is still the best looking game on PS2 right now.

Despite some bellyaching about the soundtrack, I personally love it. The mix of 80's cheese rock by Judas Priest, The Cult, and Motley Crue, combined with some Jimi Hendrix and Lenny Kravitz, along with new stuff by Papa Roach, Methods of Mayhem, and Goldfinger is nice and varied. For hip-hop fans Snoop Dogg is included (though I really don't care for the song). The rest is just kind of forgettable, besides Apollo Four Fourty's Stop The Rock remix, with an incredible beat and the pounding "Get down and dirty baby" echoing through.

As for the other stuff, the engine sounds are once again realistic and cool. Listening to a Viper rev up and accelerate is really well done. Polyphony Digital did a great job recording the engine sounds of the 200 or so cars included and making them seem like they're right in your face.