Pros: Incredible graphics, good cars, a bit more challenging then 2 was
Cons: You earn money too slowly in Simulation mode, the music is only decent
The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a great racing game, go for this one - the graphics, driving simulation and sheer fun factor in this game blow all the competition away.
Gotenks's Full Review: Gran Turismo 3 A-spec for PlayStation 2
Wee, this has always been a great series. GT1 set new standards for racing games and GT2's replay value is near-legendary. GTA or GT3 (depends on what you prefer to call it) is another high quality racing game, though it is lacking in a few areas.
First off, the graphics are THE BEST ever seen in a racing game, hands down. There is no question about this - the cars are all extremely realistic, you can see that they really did put in two weeks of work per car. I agree with other reviews that the rally mode's smoke is kinda cheesy though. Still, these graphics cannot be beaten by any racing game currently out.
The music is.. erm.. well, it's decent. There is a much bigger selection then GT2, I believe there are more then 20 songs in this one. Lots of popular artists, too - Motley Crue has a song, so does Snoop Dogg. I'm personally not a big fan of any of the groups who did the music in this game, so I didn't really enjoy it that much, but I never turned the music off.
The sound effects are pretty darn sweet in this one, each car actually sounds different! You can hear a difference with or without a muffler, too! Lots of nice detail on the sound effects.
The car selection is sort of limited.. well, not really, but compared to GT2's 400+ cars, GT3's 180+ seems meager. Still, there is a wide variety of types and makes of cars.. still no jeeps, though (grumbles). Many, MANY many car companies in this, ranging from BMW to Suzuki! Also, I never really noticed it in GT2, but apparently the cars aren't "biased" by country like they were there.
The simulation mode takes longer now and nothing real new was added, I'm afraid, outside of the oil changes. No new upgrades are available at all, which is kind of annoying, and in fact some are gone, notably the Racing upgrade, which was a personal favorite of mine. Oil changing is.. somewhat interesting. Basically, if you ride too long without changing oil, you start losing horsepower, but it comes back when you change it. The car wash option was bugged and didn't work in GT2, it works now in GT3 with little or no effect aside from making the car clean. I've also come to understand that this was originally GT2 for PS2 and was converted into GT3.. which makes sense, given how there are barely any (if any at all) new racing tracks and no new upgrades, as I said before. Also, simulation mode's races are hardly as rewarding as before, some spanning as many as 20 laps for only 10k in credits (which isn't enough for even the lamest car!) and a prize car.
And those are the non-endurance races! Earning licenses is still a royal pain in the rear, and some go that extra mile to get all golds in the licenses for what are reportedly pretty lame prize cars (I didn't have the patience or skill to try for all golds). Still, even with all these flaws, Simulation mode is still by far the most fun way to play! Well, at least I think so.
Arcade mode is pretty cool, though, and you can use your cars from simulation mode in it. There's a graphics bug though with the simulation mode cars that has sent many a fan into panic.. your car seems to be a stock car and not modified with the parts you give it in Simulation when you load it up into Arcade Mode, but don't worry, it's still modified! Anyways, Arcade is definitely better for getting in a good car fast and getting your racing fix.
There's some frighteningly good FMV in this, too - the intro, especially. Try to tell how much of it is real video and how much is the game's engine generated FMV. Scary. Anyhow, this is definitely a great game..
Pick this up if you have a PS2 and enjoy racing games. If you aren't a racing game fan, you should still rent this one - you just might get hooked.
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