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Product Description ------------------- Here is your passion. Gran Turismo 3 delivers a realistic racing experience. The customizable vehicles handle differently due to differences in horsepower, ride height, tire type or vehicle mass, just to name a few variables. On the road, complex calculations take into consideration everything from entry speed to tire friction, momentum and aerodynamics. Gran Turismo 3 blurs the line between game and reality. Each race displays amazing visual effects, including beams of light shining through trees and reflections on the cars accurately mirroring the surrounding environments. From exotic super cars to vehicles straight from the assembly line, Gran Turismo 3's vehicles look and feel like their real-life counterparts. You are in for the ride of your life. .com ---- The third title of the Gran Turismo series takes full advantage of the new PlayStation2 game engine, which is capable of rendering about 20 million polygons per second--roughly 10 times the number of total polygons of the series' previous installment, Gran Turismo 2. Real-time lighting forces your eyes to adjust to changing conditions, such as when a car rounds a turn and the sun comes out from behind a building to cause glare on the windshield. This makes the game harder, but more realistic. Heat rises off the ground and mist swirls around vehicles as they make their way across the racetrack. Gran Turismo 3 also features more than 100 distinct cars, each with different statistics, including the Subaru Impreza Rally, Dodge Viper GTS-R, and Mazda's RX-7 RS. Computer-controlled nents benefit from enhanced artificial intelligence; they don't act like baby ducks following their mother, but instead respond to other cars, the course, and the conditions in much the same way that real drivers would. Pressure a car, and it will pressure you back; cut one off in the early part of the race, and expect to receive similar down the course. They don't drive perfectly, either; some will spin out and make other mistakes over the course of a race. P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review ------ When the PlayStation2 was announced, the first title Sony officially mentioned for the system was Gran Turismo 3. If you have played Gran Turismo 2, then you already know what to expect from the gameplay, since GT3 is basically an enhanced version of it at this point. Graphically, Gran Turismo 3 is turning out to be stunning. In the latest playable version, high-resolution textures are starting to be implemented, but some areas still need work (for example, the crowds). The smoke effects caused by skidding now appear to be finished, and they add a nice sense of realism to the game. Lighting in the game is also coming along real nice. Shadows caused by buildings blocking the sunlight (which is a nice effect in itself) allow for a completely different driving experience, compared with Gran Turismo 3. As you move in and out of the sunlight's path as you race by buildings, your eyes are forced to quickly adjust to the lighting - just as in real life driving - making the game more difficult. The replays in the game are unlike anything ever seen before. It's breathtaking to see the heat rising off the road as a pack of cars comes from the edge of the horizon and zooms past you. As for the physics, what you found in Gran Turismo 2 is basically what you find in Gran Turismo 3. If there is any difference to be mentioned, the cars appear to be a bit more "springy." Of particular note is that the game will benefit from the Dual Shock 2's analog-sensitive buttons. Take acceleration, for example: The harder you press the button, the faster the car will go similar to the way a real pedal behaves, or like the shoulder buttons on Namco's neGcon controller. Needless to say, this is extremely cool, especially considering the fact that the buttons don't feel any different to the touch from the buttons on the standard Dual Shock controller. Sony has said that Gran Turismo 3 won't just be a graphically improved version of GT2, so it will be interesting to see what the company adds to the game before it's released to make good on that statement.--Dave Toole--Copyright © 2000 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot Review See more ( javascript:void(0) )