Gran Turismo (PS1, 1997)
Graphics-9 Sound-8.5 Control-8 Challenge-8/8.5*
Level Design-8 Frustration-8/9* Fun-8.5/8* Originality-6.5
Overall Score-8
*Some high tier cups
+
Very good physics for the time
140 (!) licensed cars from 10 brands (mostly japanese)
New and used cars from most brands
Replay feature with cinematic camera (can also switch to the in-game camera angels, can also save replays to a gallery)
Detailed customization
Career mode (buy and sell cars, earn licenses to access more advanced cups (17 in total), race in various cups (or time trial) and win money+cars, machine test, car wash) and arcade modes (fewer cars and courses, much less customization, drifting or standard modes?)
2-player vs.
Car trading via memory card
Drifting
Great framerate and draw distance for the time (apparently 30 fps but very stable)
Good course variation and memorable courses overall (22 courses/tracks in career mode including reverse ones, only 4 by default in arcade)
Difficulty options (easy-hard in arcade, various cups in career)
Automatic or manual gear shift
Relatively complex backgrounds (different seasons, night and day time courses)
Pretty impressive sound
Some nice effects (lighting and reflections)
Three camera angles (four in Virtua Racing and Daytona USA)
Licensed music (Wipeout)
Sound options (music/sfx levels)
Pretty slick interface design
Analog support
Some history info on each car
Some unlockables in arcade mode (more tracks, GT Hi-Fi mode (near double framerate in three courses, better reflection effects in replays if you wash your car), ending, )
License trophies (bronze, silver, gold)
Nice intro
+/-
The drifting physics take some getting used to and are rather picky compared to previous arcade-style racing games
Up to 6 cars in a race (40 in Daytona USA and 15 in Sega Rally)
Need to read the manual for explanations of some terms and car settings mechanics
No car damage
Few courses in which you can jump (without a light and super fast car) and no over the top course designs
No commentator
Two arcade mode exclusive cars (1967 Chevrolet Corvette and 1998 Mazda Roadster)
Your garage can hold up to 100 cars
Shops change their stocks a bit every tenth day
Can't use the CRX or Eunos Roadster in the lightweight challenge
"lifetime supply" for parts (if you sold an old car and bought it again you'll still have the parts) - works only for parts that are actually added to the car (not weight reductions or port polishing)
Some rubber banding
The "normal car" cup gives a lot more money than most other cups
-
Somewhat over-sensitive controls (pretty easy to skid and end up going the wrong way accidentally)
some pop-up
need to go back to the main menu to change camera angle and sound options (should've been accessible during a race)
no course maps when taking licenses and no tutorial videos
No rumble feature
No free camera mode in the garage
Sometimes uneven difficulty during the license tests (middle of A-license and second night time level for the international license for example)
No animated spectators, No rain effect, No skid marks
Many cars have slightly different HP values in the shop and in your garage
The physics when bumping into other cars are a bit lacking
Turbo lag isn't explained in-game nor in the manual? (see gamefaqs)
The difficulty balancing is a bit rough (some of the more expensive cars like the Cerbera need some tuning to be on par with a cheaper car with some tuning (mainly tires and breaks))
Can't sell parts
~6 second delay after every race
Minor interface issues (yes/no prompts sometimes default to no and the menus after a race default to replay, have to check each sub menu in a tuning shop to see what you already have)
Easier to win a race than to qualify for first place
Some trial & error (race modification effects)
Notes:
-Analog support didn't work in bizhawk
Level Design-8 Frustration-8/9* Fun-8.5/8* Originality-6.5
Overall Score-8
*Some high tier cups
+
Very good physics for the time
140 (!) licensed cars from 10 brands (mostly japanese)
New and used cars from most brands
Replay feature with cinematic camera (can also switch to the in-game camera angels, can also save replays to a gallery)
Detailed customization
Career mode (buy and sell cars, earn licenses to access more advanced cups (17 in total), race in various cups (or time trial) and win money+cars, machine test, car wash) and arcade modes (fewer cars and courses, much less customization, drifting or standard modes?)
2-player vs.
Car trading via memory card
Drifting
Great framerate and draw distance for the time (apparently 30 fps but very stable)
Good course variation and memorable courses overall (22 courses/tracks in career mode including reverse ones, only 4 by default in arcade)
Difficulty options (easy-hard in arcade, various cups in career)
Automatic or manual gear shift
Relatively complex backgrounds (different seasons, night and day time courses)
Pretty impressive sound
Some nice effects (lighting and reflections)
Three camera angles (four in Virtua Racing and Daytona USA)
Licensed music (Wipeout)
Sound options (music/sfx levels)
Pretty slick interface design
Analog support
Some history info on each car
Some unlockables in arcade mode (more tracks, GT Hi-Fi mode (near double framerate in three courses, better reflection effects in replays if you wash your car), ending, )
License trophies (bronze, silver, gold)
Nice intro
+/-
The drifting physics take some getting used to and are rather picky compared to previous arcade-style racing games
Up to 6 cars in a race (40 in Daytona USA and 15 in Sega Rally)
Need to read the manual for explanations of some terms and car settings mechanics
No car damage
Few courses in which you can jump (without a light and super fast car) and no over the top course designs
No commentator
Two arcade mode exclusive cars (1967 Chevrolet Corvette and 1998 Mazda Roadster)
Your garage can hold up to 100 cars
Shops change their stocks a bit every tenth day
Can't use the CRX or Eunos Roadster in the lightweight challenge
"lifetime supply" for parts (if you sold an old car and bought it again you'll still have the parts) - works only for parts that are actually added to the car (not weight reductions or port polishing)
Some rubber banding
The "normal car" cup gives a lot more money than most other cups
-
Somewhat over-sensitive controls (pretty easy to skid and end up going the wrong way accidentally)
some pop-up
need to go back to the main menu to change camera angle and sound options (should've been accessible during a race)
no course maps when taking licenses and no tutorial videos
No rumble feature
No free camera mode in the garage
Sometimes uneven difficulty during the license tests (middle of A-license and second night time level for the international license for example)
No animated spectators, No rain effect, No skid marks
Many cars have slightly different HP values in the shop and in your garage
The physics when bumping into other cars are a bit lacking
Turbo lag isn't explained in-game nor in the manual? (see gamefaqs)
The difficulty balancing is a bit rough (some of the more expensive cars like the Cerbera need some tuning to be on par with a cheaper car with some tuning (mainly tires and breaks))
Can't sell parts
~6 second delay after every race
Minor interface issues (yes/no prompts sometimes default to no and the menus after a race default to replay, have to check each sub menu in a tuning shop to see what you already have)
Easier to win a race than to qualify for first place
Some trial & error (race modification effects)
Notes:
-Analog support didn't work in bizhawk