Gran Turismo 4

Since its inception, the Gran Turismo series has always focused on delivering the most scrupulously realistic racing experience ever on a console.  Since pretty much the very first GT game, this has held true.  In terms of racing physics, Gran Turismo just keeps pushing the envelope further and further.  Gran Turismo 4 is set to hold this tradition. With new gameplay options, this is one racing title not to be missed by any gamer. 

Like other titles in the series, GT4 will feature a plethora of cars.  500 cars from 80 different manufacturers will make an appearance, with vehicles ranging in model years from 1886 all the way up to 2004, including Ford’s Model T and the latest from BMW, the 1 series.  The game will have many new courses, including the Nurburgring Nordschleife, the world’s longest and most challenging circuit, weighing in at 13 miles long with 176 turns, large and small.  The track, a benchmark for sports car developers, has been reproduced with extreme precision, with an accuracy difference of 15 millimeters (under 2/3 of an inch).  Just to give you an idea of how accurate this is, the best Nurburgring driver in the world drove a Nissan GT-R (R34) within the game and ended up matching his real world time within five seconds.  That’s a less than one percent difference, folks. 

The game is also showing improvements in human physics as well as vehicle physics.  The car driver will move realistically considering what is occurring onscreen, taking G’s as the car takes tight turns.  Spectators will now be completely 3D rendered polygons, not just cardboard cutouts of sprites. 

One thing that series creator Kazunori Yamauchi has stressed about the GT series is the fact that the gameplay is essentially is split into two parts: the driving aspect and the viewing aspect.  While the viewing aspect has typically been limited to watching replays in previous GT games, so is not the case in GT4.  The Photo Mode in GT4 will allow players to take photos of any car they want in the game in 16 exclusive locations and 50 courses, making for 66 locations total.  The photo taking interface is a snap (no pun intended); simply position your camera and your car in the location of your choice and the game will take the photo and render it onscreen.  The pictures look amazingly realistic with depth of field options, motion blur and other tweakable options and believe me, you can just barely tell the difference from a real photo.  These photos can be exchanged online or printed out using a USB printer.  According to Yamauchi, the Photo Mode can provide up to months of entertainment for aspiring shutterbugs. 

The wait is nearly over- GT4 comes out this November.

For All E3 2004 Previews