Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3092 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Atari
• Released on: 2006-10-06
• Platform: Windows XP

Amazon.co.uk Review:
In a nutshell:
Gran Turismo might market itself as the "real driving simulator" but compared to the attention to detail and level of simulation in GTR 2 it might as well be Mario Kart when it comes to realism.

The lowdown:
Since it’s focused purely on GT racing there are no road races to compete on, but you do get 34 real word tracks and 140 different cars in three different classes. Although it is an unapologetically hardcore simulation the game does make a big effort to be as accessible as possible with a suite of driving aids and an in-depth driving school to help teach you not to use them. All this computerised help is in support of fully customisable races that let you change every variable from race length to time of day. The game also features some stunningly realistic looking graphics and an excellent online mode, with up to twenty-eight players competing at the same time. In short it’s petrolhead heaven.

Most exciting moment:
As impressive as the graphics, physics and other simulation aspects are, what really makes the races exciting is the fact that the artificial intelligence for all your opponents react like real human beings, not the dull automatons of Gran Turimso.

Since you ask:
Swedish developer SimBin, who also did GT Legends on the PC, have just been signed up to create new game Race for Eidos Interactive, which will use the official license for the world touring car championship.

The bottom line:
Probably the most realistic racing simulator ever made. -HARRISON DENT

Computeractive
GTR2 is unmissable entertainment

Manufacturer's Description
Extending the ground-breaking physics engine found in GTR, GTR 2 takes the thrill of driving to new heights. GTR 2, which is the official simulation of the FIA GT championship, features more than 140 high detailed cars and 34 different track-layouts in a hyper realistic racing world with breathtaking real-world-like effects. With a revolutionary Driving School Mode, GTR 2 will teach everybody how to become a real race driver.

Customer Reviews

welcomed return of an old friend with shiny new decals.
The next release in Sinbins GT series. This game follows the similar and popular GTR game using the same game engine with a few tweaks. On initial examination there not much changed. A few more cars in the race, the same familiar tracks and the 2003-2004 GTR challenge season. Its all there, the same challenge options for playing on and offline in championship mode. The ability to tune and alter every aspect of your car from the tire pressure to the rear wing angle.

What remains in the easy mode (for people who just want to pick up the game and play), intermediate where you can disable some of the incar assistance, and the very unforgiving simulation mode.

However something seems different. the cars handling seems different and more precise, cars behave differently and the physics seems better. Theres a new driving school to ease new players into the hard and real world of GTR, following the style of the gran tourismo game with small parts of a track leading to full track coaching. YOu can set car ghosting and instructor laps to aim to beat. This revision introduces unlocks (new to the GTR series) in the form of new tracks, cars, team colours which can be achieved by playing thru the driving school and the full seasons. Along with the full season of tracks as the onset of different weather and conditions.

The online experience is great, with total control of the race with the option to adjust the length of the race from 24 hour real time to short 10 min racing. Its all there practice, qualifying, warmup lap and racing with full pit strategy.

If i was to sum up this game, i would say that its the game we all wished GTR was. Sinbin obviously listened to the feedback from the first release and thought about the sequel more carefully.

Buy this game if your into racing, if u like toca3 and wished for more. its got the learning curve that will keep you interested from newbie to pro. To get the most out of the game i would recommend a full steering wheel and pedals setup.

High Quality Game
The handling and feel as you drive in this game is breathtaking. However at the best part of 2GB to install this is not the quickest game to get started by any means. The very complicated car setup system and annoying analog steering system sadly prevented me from really getting into it. If you are very serious about driving games, I'm sure you will enjoy this. However if you are like me and just want to relax and have a bit of fun I wouldn't recommend this game.

A challenging and rewarding racing environment
GTR2 will not disappoint any of the simming fraternity. Anyone familiar with its predecessor, GTR (or any other serious sim such as GPL, GTL, rFactor, NR2003) will immediately feel at home driving one of the machines modelled here.
I tried the demo and didn't notice much difference (from GTR) apart from the weather but the full version is a definite improvement in handling, particularly exiting low speed corners where the cars used to spin unrealistically. There's nowhere I've driven in the sim where the car didn't feel like a real car should; nowhere where I had to make excuses for it being just a game. Correcting a late braking error with a rally style cornering technique works here just like in the real world - it's not as fast as correct technique but adds to the sense of control totally absent in its predecessor. Real world skills are rewarded and encouraged.

They aren't fast cars, by F1 standards, but the new Letter Box mode (first used in GT Legends) and the new, less intrusive cockpits add to the sense of speed. The AI cars are fast enough to provide an engrossing challenge and compared to open wheelers allow a more physical style of driving.

Wet and mixed weather driving is finally rewarding without suspending disbelief. There are no obvious shortcomings in, sound, graphics or car handling. The Force Feedback with my Logitec MOMO Force wheel conveys all the information I need to control the car at the limit and feels as good as it does in GPL. I'll restate that: the Force Feedback is as good as GPL!

In Novice and Semi-Pro modes it won't stretch any experienced simmers but the Simulation mode doesn't let the AI go below 100% (as its predecessor did) and won't permit ABS or Traction Control, though neither are needed with the new physics model, and this is a good challenge but still quite winnable without spending too long at it. Completing the Track specific lessons in the Driving School will provide all the groundwork you need to start bumping up the AI level beyond 100%. I don't think the Driving School will replace books such as Going Faster! by Carl Lopez or Speed Secrets by Ross Bentley but will do enough practical work for the student to learn by example and experience.

The Time Trials, chasing a ghost car replicating your best lap so far (or someone else's), will encourage improvement far faster for most of us than poring over any amount of telemetric output or watching the lines and gears used in replays. The ghost car gets fainter the closer it is so it doesn't distract at all from the driving. A great feature!

The AI is well modelled. They don't do anything silly if you don't and I haven't noticed any unrealistic behaviour in any of the races so far except their sluggishness off the line and through the first few corners so there's less incentive to do your absolute best in qualifying.

There's plenty added and there's nothing taken away. Users of the predecessor are unlikely to ever use it again.

Niggles? The user interface, like most driving sims, isn't Windows compliant. I need a mouse to navigate the menus; it won't accept keyboard/controller input. I don't have the mouse close enough when using wheel and pedals to reach it without disturbing my position. I could prop the keyboard closer (but I can't use it one-handed without taking my eyes off the screen) but the mouse needs a good surface. GP3 let me use wheel and pedals in the menus over five years ago and that didn't even support (readily) a separate axis pedal controller (to calibrate the wheel and pedals you had to `centre the joystick' and press 'Fire'!).

The replay system is unimproved. Eight years on and can no-one match Papyrus' replays yet (GPL and NR2003)? If I hit a PB in qualifying it still only saves my best race lap and I can't see my speed or lap times during a replay or see what level the competition is at. It would be nice to load my qualifying PB's into the Time Trials feature or to save a PB as soon as I've done one.

It's a personal thing but I'd rather crash terminally into a brick wall (in the sim) than end up sitting in life-saving gravel with a running engine and going nowhere. Take out the gravel traps (and chicanes for that matter) and give me run-off areas (and faster corners). In the sim there's no danger to life - I don't need my fun curtailed for safety.

The manual (and Help system) isn't comprehensive. It didn't make clear, for example, that I could turn off the Pit Lane Control and drive into the pit box myself.

Finally, and it's not a failing of the sim, I don't get to see these cars on TV. Not the cars, not the drivers and not (all) the tracks. I'd be much happier driving these cars on better known circuits such as Suzuka or Interlagos regardless of them not being used by these cars in reality. I can't remember when I last saw Estoril on the TV; I've never seen Pergusa, Anderstorp or Zuhai).

Add a user interface to match Flight Simulator and a replay system to match NR2003 (and maybe faster cars) and this would be an ideal sim but its shortcomings are not enough to warrant the loss of a star. It's great fun to drive, it is, I believe, the best sim out there at the moment, has all the necessary features for a long shelf life, and it does merit all five stars.