I reviewed this game back in early 2008, when i first had the chance to play it over a period of days. i've played it now for nearly 3 years and I can honestly say this game got better as I moved on.
You start with $10,000 and one dream - to be the best race car driver of all time. But Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is your career. You'll have to race in tournaments with little compensation, but as you go along, the cars get better, and hopefully your driving skills do too. To prove your skills are good, you can earn licenses to race in more professional races, and you'll want to, cause those races carry bigger prizes than the amateur ones. when you've gotten past all the races, coming first every time, you can truly declare you've beaten this game.
This game is littered with things. Race courses, Cars, Pros, Cons, music, everything. it would take a player years to find it all.
As for race courses, there are 51 in total, which doubles if you count them in reverse. that makes 102 courses. can you master them all?
There are nearly 700 different cars available for racing. some of them date back to 1886 (the Daimler motor carriage) and as far ahead as 2037, and several cars littered in between. some have advantages others don't, and some cars are worth $2,000 used, others over a million new. it will be a long time before you drive every one of them.
The Pros? It's so easy to make money in this game. and i don't mean peanuts either. what's the best way I've discovered so far? Get yourself a high-powered car (I like to use either the 2003 Dodge Viper or the 1990 Chevrolet Corvette) and race Tsukuba Circuit Wet in the special condition events once you receive a International B liscense (it doesn't work for the A license race) once you win, you'll earn a professional race car worth nearly 100,000, along with 10,000 for winning the race. sell the car, and bam, you're rich enough to buy nearly any sports car available, as long as it's not a European one.
Whats a major con? Realism. The game boasts it's realism but i think it would be much better off if it were as real as Need for Speed or Grand Theft auto. but of course, that would ruin half the purpose of the game. so GT4 isn't for every racing gamer out there. but personally, i don't think GT4 truly can call itself real. here's a few points as to why i say that.
-When you crash into a wall or another car, your car doesn't take damage. if it at least went a few clicks slower for the rest of the race it might feel a little more real. -The AI is about as basic as grade 1 math. they go on a pre-set path for the course, and even if you collide into them, they don't come after you for screwing them up. -Cars should not sell for a quarter of their original value, new or used. in the Xbox Release Sega GT 2002, You were able to pick the value you wanted to sell your car at. if that was the case, it would not only be more fun (Cause you have more control over the game) it would be more fair.
To Note, There's a special version of the 1983 Toyota Sprinter Trueno in the game, labeled the 2000 Toyota Sprinter Trueno Shuichi Shigeno Edition, Mr. Shigeno being the man who created the Anime Initial D, in which the main character owns a Sprinter Trueno, with a Black hood instead of a white one. it's valued at about $26,000 (Compared to the original 1983 version, valued at $5,375) in the Used Car Showroom II, and appears about 1 out of 4 times.
Bottom line, Gran Turismo 4 is a game that should not be overlooked. if you don't own this game, i suggest you at least try it a few times, and see if realistic racing is for you.
9/10
