3.5/5 ★ – THRILLSON's review of Gran Turismo 4.

I really wish Polyphony knew how to program AI because every other aspect of this game is sublime. (Well except the engine sounds. Why does a WRX sound like a Wankel?). There is every 90s shitbox you can think of, decent car customization, so many lovely tracks, an amazing sound track, and so much content to play through. My biggest issue is there is barely any racing here. 80% of the “races” have you do a rolling start, and you don’t gain control until your car crosses the start line. With no option to qualify this means the lead car is half-way through the first lap by the time you can do anything, and most of the time they are some BS Ringer car that you can’t catch. Your only real option is to refresh the race until the randomly selected cars are slower, or massively upgrade your car so you can run laps around the AI. Basically you are doing a “one lap magic” or “chase the rabbit” with the lead car, with all other cars being essentially traffic. Granted there are usually only 5 opponents, and some races do s standing start. There are no performance restrictions in most races, rather the player is awarded more “A-Spec points” the slower their car is. These do nothing apart from give the player bragging rights. Polyphony really meant it when they said “the real driving simulator” because there is very little racing here, but the car physics were impressive at the time. Not every race is like this, but the majority of the beginner races are and it gets dull. But unlike later entries there is still many other things to do, meaning you can find something else if these races bore you. There is a tonne of fun to be had here, and this is probably the last good Gran Turismo game.