Game analysis # 3

Gran Turismo

When Gran Turismo was released on the playstation it quickly became the most popular game of its genre. Boasting its real-life like driving system, its detailed car modelling and customisable options, it was the only driving game at the time to offer so much in terms of realism.

The game had such a wide base of followers because the physics and number of licensed cars appealed to the petrol heads and those looking as close to the real thing as possible but with the arcade mode it still allowed novice gamers to play without too many problems. Gran Turismo has hundreds of licensed cars to choose from and any modifications to the vehicle will affect the physics and the way it handles. This meant that by you could customise all aspects of the car from tyre type to engine parts so that the car would perform better on certain tracks or events. At the time of release no other driving game had managed to go into as much detail but still be accessible to casual gamers.

The car models were almost identical to their true life counterparts however due to the license agreements with the car manufactures no damage modelling could be implemented, only the internal parts or tyres could be seen to become damaged. The gameplay was fun and addictive because the player starts with a set amount of credits and then has to buy from a selection of used cars, winning events and sitting tests for new licenses to unlock new events and cars.

The player is shown a map with different events and car dealerships to choose from, with hundreds of events for specific cars and tracks there was always an incentive to keep playing. Although the physics was sensitive to modifications to each car it was not punishing enough for many die hard driving sim fans. This failing was for other players the reason it was so enjoyable. When cars collided with each other or against barriers there wasn’t much of a speed penalty and could be quite forgiving at times. Also there were no rules as such, tyres could wear out too quickly and the racing flags were totally ignored. For me this game combined the best of both worlds, the in depth realism of a driving sim but still the ability to be played as an arcade driving game.