Controls, Audio, GT4 Roleplay

Force Feedback

Force feedback in GT4 is even better than it was in GT3. The game supports the new Logitech Driving Force Pro with the 900 degree turning radius. We are disappointed that all cars lock at 900 degrees and that the MOMO Force isn’t supported. For racing, the shorter turning radius of the MOMO Force was more than adequate, and more importantly, the feel of both the wheel and pedals were significantly better with the older MOMO Force than the new one. Hopefully we can leave it to Konami’s Enthusia to bring MOMO Force support.

Sound

All of the cars have been re-recorded. While engine sounds continue to be superb, where a car in the game really sounds like the car in real life, we’re still disappointed that the Polyphony Digital has not incorporated additional subsonic bass into the recording. Gaming consoles are designed to be hooked up to home entertainment centers – having a killer subwoofer won’t be a rarity. Music is always hit or miss – I think it’s a miss other than a great opening song.

In real life, the spectators would be seconds from being horribly injured

An American sports car we can be proud of

Oh no! The SLR McLaren is taking over!

Look at the air brake

I would buy the Ford GT over a 911 Turbo.

Slow shutter speed demo (in-game does not look like this)

Slightly faster shutter speed

Ha! The Ford GT regains the lead

Honda’s first hybrid vehicle

GT World

The “RPG” element of Gran Turismo 4 has been significantly improved from GT3. There are now 700 cars, which are NOT all Skyline GT-R variants. They’re genuinely cool cars you’d be interested in driving such as the Ford GT, the new 2005 Mustang GT, the DB9, the new 3-series, and even weird stuff such as the Land Rover Range Stormer and vintage cars such as the Supercharged 1971 Dodge Charger, the De Lorean, and even trucks such as the Chevy SSR or Ford SVT-F150 Concept (AWD for some reason – it should be RWD). There are now 50 tracks, many of them real tracks such as Fuji Speedway, Tsukuba, Infineon Raceway (Sears Point), a revised Mazda Speedway at Laguna Seca, and of course, the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife.

How many WRXs and EVOs do you think Gran Turismo has sold?

Todays Mitsubishi line-up sucks other than the EVO

EVO VIII!

The NSX is an underrated car

Audi RS4 and RS6 wagons are the epitome of stealth. Plus you can carry a lot of groceries too.

I am not a big fan of the Spyker cars.

The Nurburgring track is actually an exceptional feat for this game. Not only is this the only modern game with force feedback steering to implement an accurate Nurburgring (the other is the classic Grand Prix Legends for the PC), but it’s also a cool technical marvel from the team at Polyphony Digital. The geometry data for the 20.8 km track is too big to fit into the PS2’s 32MB of ram – they’re streaming the data on the fly from the DVD.

One great feature to the game is that in addition to entering in races to make money, you can also pay a $5-equivalent of credits in the game to drive on other courses in the game as if it were a race day. Everything is 500 credits (approximate to yen).

I would buy an XJ220.

The Spykers distinctive look

This almost looks like a real picture! In-game is nowhere as nice.

Kubrick-esque perspective

The Cadillac Cien. Those jaggies are due to low-resolution textures

Da Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na. Batman!

The car dealer system is different in GT4. In addition to the distribution by car manufacturer, there are also used car dealers where you may be able to find older cars for a bargain such as a good Hachi-Roku or older EVO IV. Some cars such as the Ford GT are not immediately available either – you’d have to wait for the dealer to get one in. One of the problems with GT3 was that the game did not give you enough cash to get started with a car you’d be interested in. Some people get tired of game before they can even get a chance to upgrade to the better cars. Unfortunately, this is still a problem with GT4. For the most part, that means starting off with the AE86, winning some races, and modding it up until you win a prize car that’s worth driving or have enough money to upgrade to some current era cars. After all, as good as the Hachi-Roku was in its time, no matter what anyone says, the Lotus Elise is a better car.

The Ciens brakes cannot handle this course

The SLR McLaren is one of my dream cars. Pricey though.

Another shot of the airbrake

Nurburgring: 18 Euro a race

Mach 3 Turbo

Dont look too closely!

The licensing tests in GT4 are also tougher than the ones from GT3 but in a good way. It’s much more progressive in terms of difficulty, and you really get a sense that these license tests will help you become a better driver. Interestingly, there isn’t a lot of overlap between GT4 Prologue’s and the real game’s license tests. It’s not hard at all to get bronze, but gold seems more of a challenge than it was before.