Gran Turismo 4 Launch Date 62
Gamespot has the news that the much anticipated driving simulator Gran Turismo 4 releases on February 22nd in the U.S., while European drivers will be able to purchase the game on March 9th. From the article: "Before it finally launched in Japan on December 28, the much-lauded driving game had experienced delays of more than a year. Gran Turismo 4 will feature more than 700 automobiles from more than 80 manufacturers racing across new locales--including the city streets of the Big Apple and Las Vegas. Consistent with the series, drivers will compete in races to acquire various licenses and move up in the ranks. Unfortunately, the game will not include an online mode."
What's the Big Deal? (Score:2, Interesting)
I haven't played Gran Turismo myself -- I'm not a big racing fan -- but what is it that sets it apart from other racing games?
Personally I'd rather race around Liberty City or Vice City from the Gran Theft Auto games. I like the sense of freedom (and getting away from the cops) rather than the closed tracks of racing games. But what is it about the Gran Turismo series that's so great? All racing games are pretty much alike in my (admittedly somewhat ignorant) opinion.
Re:What's the Big Deal? (Score:5, Interesting)
Instead, I'll say this: the steering system is a lot more involved. You can feel an actual difference in steering between cars with front and rear wheel drive. You can't just run every race by flooring the pedal and bouncing off of walls in strategic ways. Very detailed car data and the like. The cars look beautiful, especially during replays and have a lot of freedom for internal customization.
Honestly, though? I think the game mostly feeds on people's Pokemon "gotta catch them all" obsessions.
A lot of the time is spent not enjoying the races, but saving up for other cars which will let you enjoy the races. Even when you get the new car you are saving up for modifications that will further let you enjoy the car. After you get to that point the money you are making isn't enough and you go on to saving for the next best car.
After the cycle of wanting the best car ever is over, it's on to beating the game 100% and trying to get the best results on the license tests. The license tests basically let you run a part of the track in a certain vehicle in under a certain length of time. For example "ride your Porsche 911 through this S-turn in 11.7 seconds for bronze, 11.598 seconds for silver, 11.515 seconds for gold."
What I would be interested in seeing is how many people play the game for fun AFTER they've beaten the game 100% and acquired what they believe is the best car. ie: how many people play it for the sheer fun of it like someone would play Robotron or replay a Zelda game.
If you look at the FAQs you can see some signs of this. There are FAQs dedicated to showing you how to beat endurance races (some lasting 2+ hours) without you having to touch the joystick.
Re:What's the Big Deal? (Score:2, Interesting)
Problem with the main game of Gran Turismo 2 is that it started out painfully s-l-o-w, and all you had to do to win everything was save up 2 million and buy an Escudo Pikes Peak, simple as that.
The other problem is that the gameplay was just too realistic for my liking in some ways, and then painfully unrealistic in others. Call me crazy, I found Burnout 3 more fun (hopefully many will agree with me on that one), but moreover, I actually found it more realistic, well, at least in some key ways. Sure, you can steer the direction of your crash, but hey, at least you can crash in Burnout 3, something impossible in Gran Turismo games. Also, Burnout 3 has a more realistic sense of speed. Even compacts pushed to the max feels fast in real life, and Gran Turismo doesn't catch that sense of speed even with higher-end sports cars.
You can probably tell I'm not a fan of Gran Turismo. Well, I'll admit why, it's because that I suck at the turns. I will often fish tail or spin out or something, usually right at the end of the race. I know that's supposed to be the challenge, but I find it more frustrating than challenging. Heck, Burnout 3 is probably harder (IMO), but I find it much less frustrating. I guess one that is more obsessed with actual racing would find GT much more enjoyable, admittedly.
Re:What's the Big Deal? (Score:2, Interesting)
Really? I always though that the game was better for not modeling damage. It's a driving simulation that lets you focus on the driving itself, rather than the repercusions of failure if you take a turn too fast.
For the purposes of the game, compare slaming to a full stop and having to regain 12 seconds to an automatic disqualification; the first is still a penalty for my mistake, but I can learn from it and immediately get back to the game. Stopping the race to tell me that I just totaled my car and I have to start over would get annoying very quickly. From a game design perspective, I think it's better to keep the player playing, and to treat the simulation as a simulation - it's not the real thing, but you can learn a lot from it if you want to.