Gran Turismo 3 A-spec Review

After many months of waiting and pushed back release dates, Sony have gave us what we’ve all been waiting for, the Ultimate Racing game ever, complete with a force feedback steering wheel. What else could we ask for?<br><br>With very few triple ‘A’ titles currently out for the PlayStation 2, it was essential that Gran Turismo 3 lived up to the expectation set from previous version. In a few simple words, GT3: A Spec is everything we could have dreamed for, and then more. This is the game that will finally kick the PS2 into 6th gear and make it THE essential console of the year. Well Sony would hope so wouldn’t they.<br><br>The first difference with Gran Turismo 3: A Spec is the fantastic graphics, OK the original games looked top-notch, but as soon as you start playing the PS2 version your jaw is certain to fall. The graphics are simply stunning in every respect, there are very few games that really show what the PS2 is actually capable of producing, and GT3 is one of them. The actual cars look identical to their real-life counterparts, with environmental mapping, which shows reflections of the surrounding objects on the car. There are hundreds of cars to choose from each with there unique characteristics, meaning they will all handle differently and thus altering the way you must play the game in order to win each race.<br><br>The handling is perfect, even without a steering wheel, and you’ll notice the difference between cars when speeding them around sharp corners, or as you climb a steep hill. However the complete Gran Turismo experience only starts to shine when you play with the third-party developed ‘Force Feedback’ steering wheel designed around the specifications of Gran Turismo 3. It really does feel like you are handling a car, if like me you’ve raced on a circuit you will know how it feels to control a car at stupidly fast speeds, this experience is perfectly re-created in GT3.<br><br>Like the previous versions of Gran Turismo on the Psone, there is a GT Mode where you must work your way up through the ranks, complete tasks, some simple, some requiring a lot of time and patience. There are a number of new challenges for you to take, and with the replays at the end you will find yourself sitting somewhere on Cloud 9, amazed by everything that is GT3.<br><br>The sound effects and background music is spot on. With music from Ash, Feeder, Muse, and Grand Theft Audio, rock fans will certainly get their fix on this. The sound effects are near perfect with each car having their unique sounds; you really do feel as if you’re driving not playing a game on Sony’s black box.</p> <br /> <p>Comments<br>Gran Turismo 3: A Spec is everything we wanted; the graphics are so realistic it’s actually quite scary. The sound effects and background music push your adrenaline to the max, and you’ll find yourself in shock after playing this game. A must have for ALL PlayStation 2 owners.