Product Description

In Gran Turismo 4 the characteristics of the cars are realistically designed and calculated so that they handle as per the real-life physics of that particular vehicle, taking into account weight, speed, friction, wind and more. New technology immerses the player in real-life environments such as New York City and the Grand Canyon. Highly detailed vehicles and environment mapping create broadcast-quality graphics, from light and competitor car reflections on the player's automobile to leaves on a tree shaking in the wind.

In offline gameplay, players will have the opportunity to race in enhanced arcade and simulation modes, experiencing more than 500 authentic automobiles from manufacturers around the world, with a range from vintage to modern vehicles. Courses include existing closed racing circuits to specially designed city courses, reaching a total count of up to 100 tracks.

The online mode features a robust system for players to race with up to six other players and interact and chat with others to form an automotive community.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #580 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2005-03-09
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Platform: PlayStation2
• Number of items: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo 4 is one of 2005's biggest releases and, to boot, one of the most important PS2 games yet. What makes it such a significant title?

First up, Gran Turismo 4 is bigger and better than previous games in the record-breaking series. Much bigger, in fact: there are some 500 cars to drive, and around 100 courses on which to take those motors for a spin. Every single car is a perfectly modelled replica of its real-life equivalent, containing much more detail than the car models found in Gran Turismo 3. And it shows: thanks to this increased level of detail, GT4 edges the series ever closer to photorealism.

By far the biggest of Gran Turismo 4's many attractions is its online play. Over the Internet or using a local area network of PS2 consoles, it will be possible for six people to meet and race, each with their own cars. The prospect of an online Gran Turismo community is certainly something to look forward to.

As Gran Turismo continues to evolve, Polyphony Digital ups the ante by making each new instalment more comprehensive than the last. Gran Turismo 4 follows that admirable trend: its driver AI is more lifelike, its physics engine is more complex, its engine noises sound closer to the turbines mimicked... and there's more of everything. To top it all, GT4 boasts improved handling over GT3. All this work should achieve the desired result: Gran Turismo fans will be kept happy and new converts will be made. --Jonti Davies

Customer Reviews

Best game I've ever played........Period
I've always been a huge fan of the GT series. I remember being so excited about playing the first Gran Turismo on the PS1 when it first came out. The graphics were ground-breaking at the time and the selection of cars was amazing, even if the first game was limited to nearly all Japanese cars.

GT4 still does contain more Japanese cars than American and European cars (it is a Japanese game, after all) but the choice of non-Japanese cars has been greatly improved and GT4 boasts even more racing circuits than it's predecessors. There are about 700 different cars to choose from all told, covering most car manufacturers. The cars vary from racing cars, rally cars, road cars and even concept cars.

Each car has been beautifully rendered to give a very realistic appearance. Handling also varies from car to car, depending on if it's 4WD, front wheel drive, etc. I also love the fact that they have incorporated 0-1000m test trials from the previous games, as it gives me great enjoyment to just test loads of different cars and compare their performance to one another.

The game is just massive with a whole array of different racing types, ranging from rally, to compact car racing to high-speed Le Mans racing.
Realistically, it would take most people months and months to complete the game. I have been playing it regularly off and on for a few months now and have only completed about 17% of the game!

There have been one or two criticisms of GT4. Firstly, some people complain that the physics of the cars are too similar to each other and don't really give a true "simulation" experience. Secondly, the complaint that many cars are identical, with the only difference being the year or a couple of horsepower difference. Lastly, of course, there are no exotic manufacturers like Ferraris, Lambos and Maseratis but this doesn't bother me since those cars have been repeatedly used in so many other racing cars.
Well, unfortunately, there was a game which set out to be 100% true to real life when it came to the cars' physics: it was called Enthusia Professional Racing. However, most people complained that the handling was too hard so I suppose Sony can't satisfy everyone! I do agree, however, that some cars have been unnecessarily overused, such as the Nissan Skyline and some other Japanese models.

Saying that, however, there is a very good selection of American and European cars for fans of Alfas, Mercs, BMs, Renaults, Chevys, Dodges, etc.

If you're a fan of racing games, this one is a must!

Very Poorly Designed.
I picked up a copy of this game not too long ago, excited after playing GT1 and 2 for so many years now, I was really looking forward to see all that kick ass racing in brilliant PS2 style graphics. Oh how I was wrong.

I had literally only played 20 minutes of actual game play before I had to turn it off in shear disappointment. I couldn't believe how badly the GT developers and designers had screwed it up. Sure it looked beautiful at times, but that's as far as it went. Where was the fun? Simple answer being, there wasn't any.

Mind-numbingly slow game play combined with the total butchering of any realistic feel the old games had. Hugely unrealistic driving simulation, for example, under steer on every single car no matter how hard you try to turn in, also the inability to turn and brake at the same time. Basically transforming this enjoyable series into a chore, a road no game should ever go down.

But that's not the whole story! Today I thought I'd give it another chance, and after trying to come to grips with it I got used to the controls and started on my way. Sadly a few hours have past and I can safely say that the game will be back on ebay within a week. Why you say? Simply put, enormous design flaws. Firstly, the inability to do as its told, this being directed to the auto-save feature. Once turned off you'd expect it to stay turned off right? Wrong! It just seems to ignore you at times and think IT knows best. Secondly, and quite largely, the appalling AI. I know this had been an issue with the early games, but its really getting old now. Thirdly there's also the unfair car matching, making this extremely hard for beginners and just plain annoying for experienced drivers.

In conclusion, when oh when will the designers and programmers cut down on their insufferable arrogance, pull their heads from their asses and listen to the actual players themselves. That feeling sadly comes across VERY clearly whilst playing the game, as if your only doing what they think you should be doing, and cutting out all fun, because this driving sim is serious business you know.

Looking to buy a fun and entertaining racing game? Look either for GT 1 or 2 or go over to the need for speed titles, but this is one of the worst games in history in my personal opinion.

Also, I expect this review to be marked down by people who disagree, but doing so only shows me how stupid those people really are when it comes to the reviewing system on this site.

The ultimate race game...once you crack it
I've never been into racing games, but this has all changed since I bought this game. GT4 is potentially a stunning race sim ...but it's a slow process to progress in career mode. For the first few days I raced an old Japanese car until I won an upgrade. It was slow going. But then I discovered a crack CD called 'Ultimate Cheats for Gran Turismo 4', I bought it for £5 online and havent looked back. Now I race turbo charged hotrods at 180mph and feel the wind in my hair :)

I can also now access most cars in GT (career) mode. Many years ago I owned a Triumph Spitfire and went on skiing trips with it in my native Scotland. Driving the Spitfire on snow-covered roads in GT4 - and skidding all over the place - was very realistic and fun - just like it used to be during Scottish winters 20 years ago :)

To Summarise: This is a great racing sim, but unless you want to spend months building your career in the game, you need to crack it with one of the cheat CDs.