7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
The most realistic racing game to date
Date of Review: Nov 9, 2004
The Bottom Line: It's beautiful, it's fun, and it's technical. This game is for car lovers anywhere.
Green means ready to fly! But don't hit the gas pedal too hard or you'll spin out. The true beauty of this game is it's physics. The analog buttons work in conjunction with this game so you can control how far the gas pedal is pushed. Everything in the game matter so much, from tires to exhaust, from suspension to turbos right down to oil changes. The return of the license testing really taxes the player's ability to control the car. Like in the previous games, some of these tests can be quite difficult. Fortunately not all of the simulation races require a license so even beginners can earn some credits to upgrade their cars. The diverse amount of customizations for each of the cars leaves the game so open to play and it will definitely last years, at least until Gran Turismo 4 arrives. The game is technical enough for the most enthusiastic player or simple enough to have preset car settings for the novice. This game is definitely for everyone. Whatever the level of the player, they get to enjoy beautiful cars and environments. The realism of the visuals is very impressive. Cars actually get dull without washing them. But what is unrealistic is how the car stays in perfect shiny shape no matter how hard you hit them. You can crash into a wall going 150mph and not see a single dent.
Getting into the bad points of the game, the exterior details of the cars leave a lot to be desired. The only thing you can change of the look of the car is it's colour and low it rides. I miss the ability to give cars a change in appearance like the original gran turismo. Another thing that is missing from the original was the ability to buy used cars. In GT3, you must buy new cars leaving very little money to upgrade immediately after the car purchase. Although the used cars option is missing, there are enough cars in the game to safely say that the player will most likely find his or her favourite car there.
A nice addition to the game is the rally mode. I loved it, it's great. that's really all I can say.
The diversity of the tracks is pretty generous. In arcade mode, you'll have to unlock all of them, but in simulation they're all there. If the regular tracks aren't enough, they can be turned around and it gives the player a completely different feel to the course. There's enough substance in this game to last a very, very long time.
As a greatest hits game, the number of hours of enjoyment for the price is definitely right. At 8 dollars, the game delivered enough hours of game play that no other game could ever provide.
