GT4 gameplay, controls, audio

The premise behind GT4 remains the same as GT3, a “true driving simulator.” Like GT3, GT4 continues to have a superb physics engine that allows you to get a feel of the difference between different cars. Airborne physics also seem a bit better. Unfortunately, GT4 has not progressed to a true “racing” simulator – although the computer AI is better, it still doesn’t handle itself properly and damage modeling continues to be absent.

The DB9

Mazda owns Laguna Seca

The track really has that level of geometry detail in-game

LG = Lucky Goldstar

Do not let the poor performance of the previous generation Golf GTI fool you

Nurburgring in a Skyline GT-R Nur

Tsukaba after rain

The EVO VIII can’t keep up on the straightaways

Clever lighting

In the grand scheme of things, Polyphony Digital has chosen to allocate those resources toward graphics and physics. I think it’s more of a limitation of the PS2 than it is of the development team. The only change to the damage model is that there is a 5 second penalty when you crash and an accumulation buffer visual blur effect. Physics modeling is better than it was in GT3. Although GT3 did a great job with the suspension and subtle perspective changes associated with braking, GT4 does a better job with the regular road cars. Lastly, a “G-force” meter is available on the screen to give you additional feedback on the way your car is handling the road.

Jaguar Supercar

The Spoon Honda Civic

Audi TT

The real-life 350Z is a great car

Will we one day see Corsair Raceway and OCZ Raceway?

3Sadly, the motion blur in-game is nowhere as cool at this

Cars still aren’t 100% accurate. As we mentioned in GT3, cars too old to have an on-board computer still benefit from a racing chip, and the Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren, which is only available in automatic in real-life, can be configured as a manual transmission.

We can understand having automatic transmission for cars that only exist as manual transmission cars for the sake of helping novices, but for a car such as the SLR, which is only automatic, we would have preferred that it be more truthfully modeled. It would be better if the difference between torque converters and computer-controlled clutches were in the game, and ideal if Polyphony Digital could implement the double-clutch systems found in the Audi TT and RS8, or CVT systems. One nice thing about the SLR McLaren is that the airbrake is appropriately implemented with better braking noticed at the higher speeds.

My Spoon Civic with 100-shot nitrous

Ex-FiringSquad writers Bob Colayco and Wayne Chiang have tried to convince me to take up poker

Yay! It’s the Paris Hotel at Las Vegas, where the staff says Bonjour at night.

The Accord Euro-R (an upgraded Acura TSX) after being riced out

MrB from Rage3D.com drives an Acura TSX

The reflections are not real calculations, but they still look great

The Prius Hybrid Synergy Drive is also implemented properly and you can get a sense of the gas mileage and see the dynamic switching between gasoline and electric power. Interestingly the batteries never completely run out and no similar feature is seen with the Honda Insight hybrid vehicle.

In addition to the conventional upgrades from GT3, a supercharger and a nitrous oxide setup are two new upgrades in GT4. The game is unable to quantify the improvement in horsepower that arises from the nitrous although it does help you accelerate notably faster. You can customize the size of your shot and the nitrous oxide gets refilled at every race without any additional cost. We actually like the implementation of nitrous oxide in GT4– it’s not like the Fast and the Furious or Need for Speed Underground.

That’s the new 2005 330ci!

A BMW F1

Audi R8

Polyphony Digital loves the Ford GT

Hey it is green!

It is impossible to control a RWD car on snow