SORE THUMBS - Video Game Review (PS)
Gran Turismo 2 - "There is a God, and he loves cars."
by Steve Egan

There you are sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2 million-dollar Vector M12 racecar going at speeds far above quadruple the speed limit. Up ahead you see a sweeping left hand corner that opens up to a long straight away. You slam on the brake decelerating from 216 mph to 100 in, oh, about 2 seconds. The car nose dives forward and you force the wheel to push you through the corner. Back on the gas. Right S-curve ahead. As you take your foot off the gas and twist your way through the barricade-lined turns you feel the car perilously pushing its way towards the outside wall and then CRASH. You have just disintegrated the nose clip of a car that you should not have been driving in the first place. If you had to pay for this devastating repair your children would never be able to go to college, your wife would have to settle for origami animals and paper clip bracelets for future anniver-saries and you could kiss your chances of ever seeing a NASCAR race in person good-bye. Thankfully, you don’t have to sell your eyes and kidneys to science yet; the car you just demolished cost you a mere $40. How does a 2 million-dollar car cost $40 you ask? Easy, you drop $40 on the hottest and most realistic racing game on the market today: Gran Turismo 2(GT2), from your friends at Sony.

Sony recently introduced the most feverishly anticipated race game in years. So anticipated by this writer, that I could not have had Christmas without it. Sad I know, but it eclipsed all other wants for the holiday season. My girlfriend battled a few kids in her pursuits to make my holiday complete. For those of you who appreciate race games as much as I do, Gran Turismo should be a very familiar name. Sony sparked a gaming phenomenon in the spring of ‘98 by presenting the world with a benchmark by which all others are judged. They have now shattered that mark with GT2.

You have the ability to drive and custom-tune nearly 500 cars from 30+ manufacturers. Among the makers represented are some of the most unattainable cars around including the likes of Lotus, Shelby, and Ruf. And the best part is that they all display the characteristics of the origi-nal car. The game boasts over 20 tracks, endless possibilities for tuning and customizing, incredible graphics, and the one of the best soundtracks for a game I have heard. With featured bands such as Garbage, Cardigans, STP, Beck, and Soul Coughing, you definitely will not get board with the tunes. There is also a companion soundtrack due out this month.

With graphics that make you feel like you are in the car, you will enjoy the exhilaration of sliding the back end of your Dodge Viper around a 180º hairpin and slamming the accelerator to the floor to overtake the all-wheel drive Ruf Porsche that just cut you on the inside. But what if you don’t know how to slide the back end of your car around intentionally? Go to school! GT2 has one built in.

Here’s how the game works… In order to gain licenses and access to all the races and cars, you must pass a series of 5 (or if you are really good, 6), sets of 10 short time trials. Each series involves progressively faster cars in time trials, thus insuring to fray the nerves of even the most avid game player and seasoned racing veteran. Each race allows you the chance to win money. These spoils are then used to upgrade your car with everything from simple mufflers to stage 4 turbo kits, engine displacement increases, traction/yaw control systems, and racing modifications. To begin the game you are given $10,000 and no car. This is where the adventure begins. The first thing you do is to try to get your B License. Since the cars are provided within each series you don’t need to spend a dime. Get your license and go buy a used car, I recommend the Mazda Miata. Spend as little as you can to keep money in the bank. Start upgrading by improving your muffler and tire situation.

Continue to race and stockpile your winnings. After you have gone through and earned more licenses you will be able to race the more exclusive races which offer rewards of cars AND money.

This is where the real strategy to the game begins. You see, the races are limited to maximum horsepower so you have to make sure to race only races that allow the cars that fall under the horsepower rating. One of the best ways to win races is to get as close to the horsepower limit as you can and then reduce the weight of the car as much as possible. Once racing you will be competing against 5 others cars comparable to your vehicle. The one benefit you will have is that you will probably be much lighter so that horsepower will propel you faster down the track. You will be winning races in no time and collecting cars to boot. By the way, you can sell the cars that you win, albeit not at the full retail price, in order to have more cash to upgrade some other car you own. After all the racing is done you can try out the time trial section and even some pretty cool rally races with even more exotic super cars.

Before you know it all licenses will be yours and your garage will have 25+ cars that each have their own purpose, a couple million in the bank, and about 30 hours of wasted time. This is an incredibly addictive game and will probably frustrate your spouse or significant other because you will likely spend more time playing this game than with them. If you feel like this type of sacrifice is worth experiencing the holy grail of racing games, then GT2 is a very wisely invested $40. However, you should be advised that if you choose to discover the excitement of GT2, we will not be responsible for the legal fees charged by your divorce attorney or medical expenses accrued visiting a relationship counselor.

Panel	Graphics	Sound	Playability	Replayability
Eric Schofield Editor-In-Chief	10	8	9	9
	The graphics in GT2 aren’t a major improvement over the first generation but they are excellent nonetheless. Lots of detail and smooth animation enhance enjoy-ment of this game. There are some small glitches during replay sessions but once you get down to serious racing, you’ll find that you replay your races less often.	The sound effects are great and you can hear great differences between cars. The soundtrack is enjoyable too as Sony has pro-vided a nice variety of tunes from Techno to Metal which will keep you racing at a feverish pace.	The playability of GT2 is excellent. I prefer the dual shock analog controller myself as I feel it provides greater control with vibrating feedback to remind me of when my rear end gets too squirrelly. Racing wheels are a bit oversensitive for GT2 but you really don’t need them to get full enjoyment out of the game.	The strongest attribute to GT2 is the Simulation Mode. Unlike most racers, GT2 allows you to custom build your own cars and to improve upon them constantly. The ownership that GT2 gives you is what will keep you coming back for endless hours of thumb cramping fun!
Lane Singletary Design Editor	9	9	10	9
	Most of the graphics in GT2 are the same as in the original version of the game. The increase in car man-ufacturers gives you more vehicles to choose from. About 500 in total, and they nailed them to the nose in detail. Several new race tracks are also included. Realistic graphics and the replay theater add to the excitement of GT2.	The sound effects for the cars are pretty awesome and exact, although the music selection could be better. Beck and Gearwhore are stuck in second gear for my taste. Just crank up the sound effects and crank down the music in the options menu. Stone Temple Pilots and Rob Zombie contribute to the soundtrack, so it gets a thumbs up.	The playability in GT2 definitely gets a thumbs up! With 3 different view angles to choose from when you’re behind the wheel you can almost feel the g-forces ripping through your face as you take a corner doing 185 miles per hour. Plug in the Dual-Shock Analog Controller and you can feel every bump, car or wall you crash into. The two player split screen mode lets you race a friend for hours of wheel screeching excite-ment.	The simulation mode and two player racing make this game very addictive. Winning races and collecting money in the simulation mode allows a player to accumulate an enormous collection of cars. Being able to customize each car to very specific parts such as engine specs and tune-ups never gets old. GT2 is one hot racing simulation game that will leave you with red eyes and a sore ass!!
Gary Briddle Accounts Manager	10	9.5	9	9.5
	The graphics in GT2 are above average in the world of driving simulation games. The graphics on the fast moving tracks are good as are the specific details to the many different cars you can choose to race. I of course will not be completely satisfied until all of the graphics appear completely realistic as in the high powered introductive trailer at the start of the game.	The sound effects are very good. Minor sound differences of car acceleration add to making each individual vehicle that much more unique. Braking, skidding and crashing all sound about the same if you can hear any of it over my yelling, swearing and foot stomp!	The playability of GT2 is awesome. The dual shock analog controller gives you terrific control with a little vibration at every paint swapping, fishtailing situation. Every car has different handling capabilities, maximum speeds and acceleration. That keeps you on your toes trying to figure out how to maintain top speeds at every turn.	One on one racing with a friend is what will keep you coming back to GT2. The high speed racing keeps your adrenaline flowing while the one on one competition might make you throw up you hands at the end of a race and say, “Who’s your daddy?”
Charlie Baird Creative Director	10	8	9.5	9.5
	In an era of Open GL and massive processors (video and otherwise), GT2’s graphics, while nice, could use a little sprucing up. Also, there are some smaller glitches that need looking into. For instance, while revving at the start line, the rpm gauge’s needle has a tendency to ghost itself. Overall how-ever, the visuals are solidly built.	Whether it’s the gravelly, deep-throated gargle of a hooked-up Viper, the silky smooth purr of a racing-modified Audi TT, or the high-pitched, engine-blowing whine of the Suzuki Escudo, you know what’s lining up to push you into a guardrail before you can see it. Forget the tapes and CD’s of rambling brooks and itchy cricket chips designed to put you at ease. What I need is an audio version of my last rally against a friend of mine -- yelps and swears included – to alleviate the tension in my back and neck.	Before GT2 I maintained a strict gaming diet of first-person shooters and Tiger Woods 1999/2000. And I have to say that when I was handed a copy of GT2 I was not doing the pee pee dance in anticipa-tion. A day later and I was hooked. I asked a friend why he hadn’t told me that this game kicks ass. His reply: “Charlie, I did.” That pretty much sums it up. Play it once and you’ll hate yourself for not having picked it up sooner.	Considering the vast array of auto manufacturers, modification options and race courses to choose from, I don’t think I’ll be able to make any weekend plans for a good while. As far as replayability, the only area for improvement would be the inclusion of more courses. The GT engine built around a PC platform, allowing for add-on packs with course/car updates, might come closer to perfecting the equation for long-term enjoyment. However, that scenario is rife with drawbacks as well.