With nearly 4 years of development under its belt, Gran Turismo 4: The Real Driving Simulator, has finally made its debut. Only one question plagues every avid fan's mind: Was it worth the wait? In every way, shape, and form; yes. With over 700 cars, more than 50 tracks, and events to keep you occupied for ages, GT4 is by far the biggest, most immersive racing simulator available on the PS2, or any home console. Polyphony Digital has gone to new heights with GT4.

The main dish in GT4 is undoubtedly its GT World simulation mode. While in essence it is similar to its previous appearances, it's also very different. No longer is it a menu-driven selection screen. Instead, you are presented with something that more or less resembles a town layout. Some of its more basic areas include My Home, License
Center, Beginners Hall, Professional Hall, and Extreme Hall. My Home is the area where your garage is located, where you track your status, as well as view everything you have done in the game using the Journal Viewer.

As for basic race events, these are all found in the race halls; Beginner, Professional, Extreme, and Endurance. Each hall gets more challenging as you climb the ladder to success. Aside from the main halls, you are left with Special Condition Hall and Mission Hall. Special Condition Hall is where most of your rally events are located and more or less is a place to hone your rally driving skills. With strict penalties for hitting other cars and walls, you are forced to learn to control your car in the dirt. Mission Hall is the most interesting of them all, with several different situations in which you must win a race. Some are as simple as winning a race from a 10 meter gap, while others challenge you togain pole position within one lap, in an underpowered car.

Purchasing cars has also taken a step forward, as well as two steps back. Not all of the cars from the specified manufacturers are readily available for new purchase, as older cars are located in the used lots, a feature returning from GT2. Also within each manufacturer screen, you are given the opportunity to participate in the manufacturer races, a feature also making its return from GT2. Each dealer also has their own special selection of both classic and exotic cars, some are immediately available for purchase, while others are prize cars only. Overall this makes finding cars pretty simple, and gives variety and direction when purchasing a car.

After buying your first car, one of your first goals should be getting at least one license, if not all of them. This is where the license center comes into play. Being twice as large as GT3's license center, it's nice to see that Polyphony Digital took the learning experience to a new level. You'll notice that the license center is much more developed this time, and places its focus on basic development in the early stages, and advanced skills in the more prestigious licenses. With an all new physics engine, it's an entirely new experience and you'll re-learn your basic driving skills all over again. It's safe to say that while it is challenging, it's not inaccessible. For those going for the gold, be ready for a challenge, as some of the times are incredibly fast, and amazing. Overall the license center has gone through some very nice development, and the update was welcome in more ways than one.

Next up on the map would be the course menus. Now you can chose to race any course at any time, against opponents, but there's a catch. You have to pay a course fee, which differs depending on the type of event in which you wish to partake. You are given the choices of Free Run, Group Practice (race against opponents), and Photo Drive. Free Run is just like your typical free roam option, where you can practice a track and improve your lap times. Group Practice is where you can improve your skills against opponents and work on techniques like drafting. Photo Drive is basically the same as Free Run, the only difference being the ability to pause the replay at any time and take a picture from one of the 64 preset camera angles.

This leads us to Photo Mode, accessible through the Photo Travel icon. While many fans believe it to be an unnecessary addition to the Gran Turismo series, many of them will soon discover that it is an extremely addicting and enjoyable feature. Photo Mode consists of 15 different locations from which you can chose to take shots of your car. Within each area you can chose where to place your car, and where to place the camera. After you have your car set and camera placed, you can choose from different options and filters with the camera to give your photo the touch of professionalism, and even a nice hint of reality. It is also possible to print your pictures via a USB printer or save them to a USB Flash drive to transfer them to your computer.

Also available is the standard Replay Theater. While not vastly different from any of the previous Gran Turismo titles, it is integrated with Photo Mode so you can snap pictures of your replays. Overall, Photo Mode and Replay Theater are some interesting features that add even more to the world of Gran Turismo.

Along side Photo Mode, the all new B-Spec makes an appearance in GT4. B-Spec places you in the shoes of a manager, giving instructions to a driver of a race, telling him when to pit, when to push hard, when to cool it, and when to aggressively take over the driver in front of him. While it may seem quite simple, it can get very complex during the longer races, and will require you to use a bit of strategy to successfully complete the race.

Aside from GT World, you also have the Arcade Mode. At its core, Arcade Mode is a single player fiasco with most of the cars immediately available, and more waiting to be unlocked. Game types include Single Player, Time Trial, 2 Player, and LAN Play. While the 2 player mode is pretty much the same as it's always been, a feature that is missing is the ability to use cars from memory cards, and save your replays. Aside from the 2 player option, you also have LAN play, where up to 6 players can play via LAN. While LAN play is welcome, it is certainly not a replacement for the much anticipated Online mode that was scrapped from the final product, and rumored to be released later in 2005. In its entirety, arcade mode is fun, but not the core of GT4, and somehow feels a bit incomplete compared to the rest of the game.

Artificial Intelligence is something that GT fans have been dying for since the early days of Gran Turismo. While the AI in GT4 is better than that in earlier GT's, it certainly isn't exceptionally challenging to anyone skilled enough to acquire an S License. Often you will catch the AI pushing too hard when behind, trying to catch up, only to make mistakes and fall even further behind, as opposed to using a safe line to follow and catch up. One thing that makes the AI a bit more challenging is the aggression that it now conveys. You will notice that passing a car is no longer a flyby affair. The AI will now try to keep you from passing it, but closing the passing lane before you attempt to overtake it, forcing you to take a tighter or wider line in order to take him over.

Even with its lackluster Arcade Mode, and the lack of online play, Gran Turismo still conveys what it has always been known for: The Drive of Your Life. There is no question that this is the most expansive racing title available, and looks like it may hold that title until the next incarnation of Gran Turismo. Gran Turismo 4 brings all of its classic gameplay, while offering a completely new feel. If there is any doubt in your mind that this game was not worth the wait, forget it, because it was entirely worth the wait. Not only is it the best Gran Turismo to date, but also the best console racing simulator available. Stay tuned for in-depth looks at B-Spec, Photo Mode, and the Driving and Tuning of Gran Turismo 4: The Real Driving Simulator.

Our Final ScoreExcellent

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