Gran Turismo 3 (PS2)

The original Gran Turismo, released back in 1998 on the PSOne, was a remarkable piece of software. Not only dwarfing Namco’s brilliant Ridge Racer franchise, it dragged the racing genre back to the very forefront of console gaming. With its now-trademark glossy visuals, incredible depth and design, it became an instant classic. Gran Turismo 2 continued the good work when it hit our shores in early 2000, but by this point people were immediately looking forward to seeing what the industries most realistic driving simulation would be like on a next-generation console. One year further down the line and we would discover the answer in Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec ...  Read the complete review

Maybe few of us gamers realised it at the time, but December 1997 was to mark a pivotal moment in the evolution of gaming as we knew it. An unknown game developer named Kazunori Yamauchi set about creating a different kind of racing game, a game where the cars looked and performed as they would in the real world and the scenery at the various race track locations looked lifelike and believable. This game was called Gran Turismo and was available on the original Playstation console, there was one more Gran Turismo game released for the PSX before 2001 saw the release of Gran Turismo 3 A-spec for the fairly new Playstation 2. I remember actually seeing a feature on the six ...  Read the complete review

When it comes to driving in that thing called real-life it may shock you to find out that I can't do it, well I can, but I still haven't gone as far as getting that piece of paper that you need to do it legally, however that doesn't stop me hurtling around hairpin bends at speeds of over 200 kmph and putting a level 4 Turbo in my Gillet Vertigo Race Car - but all of this is done from the comfort of my own home, How you ask - well through Gran Turismo 3 on my lovely little Playstation2 of course. Now I'm not one for driving games usually but when I finally got my grubby little hands on the black box of fun, I knew that I needed a game that ...  Read the complete review

The first real reason to own a Playstation 2 is here. Until now Sony’s Playstation 2 has failed to raise more than a halfhearted eyebrow with any of the launch titles. SSX and Dead Or Alive 2 are pretty much the only games that stand out from the crowd, which is quite shocking considering that Tekken Tag Tournament was supposed to be a ‘must-have’ title. All of that is about to change though. The fate of the PS2 is about to be turned virtually on its head and there’s only one title that can do that more than any other. Gran Turismo 3 has arrived and it’s going to grab you by the hair and very viciously throw you ...  Read the complete review

Gran Turismo essentially set the bar as far as racing games go - back on the PlayStation, it pioneered not only immense gameplay, but photorealistic visuals, and saw through the introduction of the analogue and rumble features in the PlayStation controller. With the massive critical acclaim of the first two games, there was a lot of hype and expectation behind Gran Turismo 3, and somehow, miraculously, it lives up to it. This is one of the very best games you can buy for your PS2. At its time, it was hands down the best looking racer on the market - the models are extremely well rendered, and still, many years on, look excellent (if outshone by the newer ...  Read the complete review