Gran Turismo

Where do you start with Gran Turismo? It's sold almost 11million copies. There are 178 cars in the game. There are 11 tracks and bunch of sequels.

That do?

No – okay.

It's been 10 years since GT was first released, so it's probably been around 9 years since I last played it and things have changed. The cars look dated.

The RX7 looks old. DB7 looks old. There are cars with pop-up headlamps. It feels like upper-class banger racing. It's weird. These cars were once, for the most part, desirable. Now they have all been superseded.

The game still looks amazing mind you. If you squint, and make your eye's go all blurry, GT does look almost real.

I remember playing this the first time, and what is obvious, is that the 3DOKid of 10 years ago, wasn't blessed with same patience of 3DOKid of today. For starters, the mandatory license scheme didn't bore me to tears. In fact, this time round it actually felt like part of the game, not some needless chore. And, I passed them much quicker than previously. Perhaps that is because this time around I have an actual driving license, or because I have played other driving games, and I've learnt a few cornering tricks from them. Whatever, 30 Minutes in I had a B license and an A license.

So to pick a car. As I recall, the first time around a picked a Mazda MX-5. A good choice, but for all the wrong reasons. I think ten years ago I believed all cabriolets were faster than other cars. And the idea of balance, weight, performance and upgradeability never crossed my mind.

This time, for god knows what reason, I picked a Toyota 70Supra. Powerful? Yes. Handling? Upgradeable? Light? No – no it isn't. I should have picked the Mazda RX7 FC or Toyota MR2 but then, I'm an idiot and emotion and wild car fantasies got the better of me.

So – to race.

GT takes no time once you start racing to reveal it's true colours. It sort of punishes you in one respect, and rewards you in others. Cornering in GT is tough. Hell, braking in GT is tough. Thinking about it, hitting the curb in GT is tough. This game isn't easy. Every car is different. Properly different. Every minor tweak or modified part has a tangible effect. And learning and re-learning how to drive each car? Well, is that a chore or part of the game? The answer, is that's part of the game. To play and enjoy GT, you have to face that. GT is not about streaking past the chequered-flag two-miles ahead of your opponents. Which is where most people get stuck.

You see GT is not Need for Speed. It's not Ridge Racer. What it is, is a car fanatics wet-dream. For normal people, and I'm borderline, GT must appear to be quirky at best, perhaps anal, at worst simply boring.

You can see the people that didn't step-back with GT and have a think. Where is the damage model they ask? Why doesn't the weather change? Why doesn't it get dark.

In reality see, GT is more like an RPG-come-Collect 'em up than a competitor for Ridge Racer.

That said, if you pick the right race, with the right car, with the right settings then GT is perfect. It's almost magical. The sense of being in a race is epic. It's a genuine real thrill.

Pick the wrong race, with wrong either the wrong settings or the wrong car and you enter GT hell. But then, for car fanatics, GT Hell is actually GT heaven. The game is about properly modifying cars, trying to not create the car with the biggest BHP (Break Horse Power) but about making a balanced racing car. At the time, and even today, that's unusual. I'll say it again, the best car in GT is the one that wins races. Not the fastest, not the most expensive and certainly not the prettiest.

You start with 10,000 credits. Blow it on the wrong car or the wrong upgrade, and GT is the most frustrating game in the world. And the only way out? RPG-like 'grind'.

Grind in GT is racing the same easy race over-and-over-and-over-and-over again, to earn enough cash, to simply stick on the right stabilisers, tyres and suspension, that you wish you had bought when you were blowing all your money on a Stage 4 turbo that just makes the car bounce off of the rev limiter, makes it go too quick, so it can't stop, and when you catch it just wrong, every corner has you pirouetting off the circuit like drug addict at a ballet school.

If game-grind gets you down, collecting every car will slay you. Like Pokemon, you gotta catch 'em all. From the boring Nissans to the exotic Astons, one of each must be in your garage.

If you don't like that. Then don't play.

GT is engrossing if you approach it with right frame of mind. Forget about winning races, and think about cars. Then think about making your car the best. Then you can enjoy it.

This game is truly ground breaking. One of the most important games ever made but it is a game. And the question is, is it fun? The truth is, not for everyone.

3DOKid.