Gran Turismo Concept 2002 Tokyo-Geneva

Life

1 April 2005

It’s not a sequel to Gran Turismo 3 A-spec, but is more of an arcade version of it that runs on the GT3 engine. This means that the cars are amazingly rendered, and are incredibly like the real thing to drive. The manufacturers have succeeded in creating a version of the game that has all the action and fun of the original, but have removed the ‘nuts and bolts’ modification options, so allowing the gamer to jump right in and satisfy their need for speed.

The game has three modes of play: Course License, Single Race (Normal and Professional) and Free Run (A time trial challenge). Course License lets the player race through the course within a certain time, but it’s not a criterion for race qualification like in the any of the previous GT series’ games.

What’s ultimately most rewarding about the game is the opportunity to drive ‘Concept cars’, the sort of prototypes that are normal only seen at motor shows. You’ll also drive the usual wide range of production models as well as race-developed variations, full-on racing cars and fantasy models.

Although there is a fantastic range of cars available from the first time the game is loaded, it will take a little practice and effort to unlock the more unusual and exotic vehicles. Every time a race is won, or a course licence achieved, the player is rewarded by a new vehicle being revealed. This of course does give an incentive to return to the game again and again until all goodies have been sampled.

A personal favourite that I’ve unlocked is the Toyota Pod. A concept electric car, it’s sort of a VW Beetle — Milk float hybrid. The front of the vehicle features an array of lights, that change colour to reflect the cars ’emotions’. For example, if you crash into a wall, or heaven forbid another Pod, the cars lights will turn bright red in virtual anger. It’s the slowest car in the game, but also one of the most addictive to drive.

Although the emphasis on obtaining course licenses to advance to race stage has been removed, it is still a challenging and engaging game. The cars can still be as difficult to master, and each model can vary greatly from the next in terms of driving style. There is still some skill required in choosing the right car for the right race course, I spent many happy hours trundling a Ford Ka around the Swiss Alps rally course, lots of fun, but alas no medals for this car/course mismatch!

The courses themselves are varied but familiar from previous incarnations of the Gran Turismo series.

There are five tracks to race on, dotted about the world from the Tahiti Maze to Tokyo. Owners of any of the other GT titles will recognise Midfield Raceway; Autumn Ring; Swiss Alps and Tahiti Maze. Making its first appearance is a new street circuit, Tokyo R246.

Gran Turismo Concept is a great racing game and an excellent addition to the GT series. However, if you already own a copy of GT3 it may not hold much of interest to you. But to be fair to Polyphony — the publisher of the Gran Turismo titles, it has been released at a budget price, which may help to persuade die hard GT-ers to part with their cash, while they continue to wait for Gran Turismo 4.

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