Gran Turismo: the best racing ever.

Before there was the famous Burnout, there was Gran Turismo. It means "grand touring" in Italian and the game is grand. I love the fact that you must race races repeatedly to gain money. I'm not a car aficionado and I don't plan to be but I like the fact you must upgrade your car to achieve the best times on the course. My basic philosophy is to upgrade to the highest possible horsepower and zoom past the A.I. It works most of the time, but the little intricacies like flywheel, brake controller, etc., are the stepping stone between winning and losing. That said, this game makes you think. What car do you buy? What's the best strategy to win? These are some questions you ask yourself and this game is good in deciphering the answer for you. In GT3 and 4, features that were added were total mileage, oil gauge, and a plethora of tracks to test your skill on. The licenses in the games are fun because the skill required is essential to win and have a high winning percentage. For the car junkie, the latest addition includes old classics like the mustang, the supercharger, and corvette just to name a few. Of course, the tracks are the essential and with each new addition comes more tracks along with updated versions of old ones. There are approximately thirty tracks or so currently and there is a track that's wet and this shows you how to drive over wet surfaces. My favorite track is in GT4. The name is Nurburgring Nordschiefe because it is the longest track ever at 12.8 miles. It is extremely narrow and provides great chances for comebacks if you are behind. GT4 has individual dealer races (like GT2 but without the glitch) and country races. The country races are very specific and I like it when criteria needs to be met. If not, it provides an unfair advantage. The beginner, advanced, and extreme races are fun to do as well. Also in GT4 is b-spec mode. It is perfect for if you don't want to do any races or for endurance races (especially the 24-hour races.) The one thing that this franchise gets hammered for is the fact that it has no car damage. In the era of Burnout, Twisted Metal and so on with the availability of car damage, GT remains true to form. It would not look right for GT in my opinion to have car damage. It's popular now, so why change? In the end, as they say in the lyrics, Go Gran Turismo!