On Wednesday Sony was in town to show off Gran Turismo 4 and I was there. What has always been touted as a racing enthusiast’s dream come true is actually living up to the hype, with new features that makes the game completely accessible to those who aren’t expert drivers (thank God).
First off, I finally got to see how B-Spec mode works. Basically, it takes the player out of the driver’s seat and into the role of a manager. You give the driver instructions as he races, such as when to get aggressive, when to pass other drivers, and when to pit. Basically, Kazunori Yamaauchi (the man behind the series) realized that some people simply enjoyed the replays more than the actual racing (which is totally true, the replays in the games are simply stunning), so he figured there had to be a way to make them interactive. So those who love Gran Turismo but completely suck at driving (such as myself sadly) can still enjoy the game with some sense of accomplishment.
Plus there’s the photo mode. Basically the player takes pictures of their favorite cars in picturesque locals. Okay, I know this sounds dumb, but it’s actually pretty cool, especially since you have so many options at your disposal: camera position, lighting, color, lens type, and even exposure settings. And you can print your pics out if you have a USB printer hooked up to your PS2; the Sony guys had a few prints on hand to give out and they looked awesome. Once again, I know this going to appeal to only about 0.3% of the audience out there, but I can’t help but appreciate the insane attention to detail the game exudes.
Speaking of, the guys demo-ing the game were total racing nuts. When you go to enough press events, you really begin to appreciate it when the folks know their shit, and not just some basic facts memorized from a PowerPoint just that morning. Anyway, they were totally cool, and no bullshit, hence why I wasn’t afraid to ask them about the game’s loss of online functionality.
I enquired how online play would be handled; via a new addition of the game or an add-on disc? And again, they were totally honest and didn’t shy away; they simply did not know. Apparently the reason why online play was dropped was straightforward 6 player racing was possible, at least for those in North America (I think that’s worth pointing out), but getting all players across the globe connected was a problem, and Kazunori simply did not want multiple versions of the game floating around. Plus he wanted every feature online, so he made the choice to drop online support. It obviously wasn’t an easy choice to make, but I have to say that I’m still disappointed, but respect the decision.
Finally, they had the much talked about Logitech racing wheel controller on-hand, and used that to give the game a spin. It felt really nice (it was seriously the closest I ever felt to racing a car ever in a video game), and if you’re a racing diehard, the high cost (it’s over $100 I believe) is actually well worth it. I actually did quite well, though I wasn’t so much focused on winning any races as I was simply staying on the road. That time I put in with GT3 really did pay off.
- Meanwhile in Japan, Virtua Fighter 2 finally came out for the PS2, and as it’s been mentioned before, the game is not arcade perfect. While it’s not as wretched as every other Sega Ages titles produced, it’s yet another example of Sega fucking up the most simplest of things. Among the complains are bad textures for the backgrounds and characters, plus lighting that’s off. Also the frame rate is not a constant 60fps (like the “inferior” Saturn version), but at 57fps, which apparently is how the arcade version was, but how anyone could seriously notice this is person is beyond me.
Here’s a comparison between every version out there: arcade, Saturn, PC, and PS2. I just love the crazy set up…
And GAF member Sho Nuff, who’s been on-top of the PS2 VF2 since day one (and who sends his love BTW), did an awesome in-depth comparisons for the arcade and PS2 iterations, which can be found here.
- Also, I across this: a guy who’s selling unreleased NES games, which thus far could only be playable as roms via an emulator, in the form of cartridges so they can be at last played on an actual system (the way they were supposed to be). On one hand, this is blatant piracy, but on the other, it’s via a genuinely cool fashion. I would love to play the first Earthbound or the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros on a television set.
Stuff like this really makes me wish I never parted ways with my NES, Genesis (the Genesis 3 I got for my birthday is great an all, but its video output is horrible and sound is in mono… contrary to popular belief, Genesis music rocks and deserves to be heard in the best possible manner), and especially my SNES (that decision in the summer of 02, I swear to fucking God is going to haunt me the rest of my damn life. Emulation is awesome and all (saves you tons of money and space), but it really is “not just the same”. There’s simply nothing better than playing Mega Man on a nice comfy couch or bed, with a nice, small, and curvy controller in your hands that has “just enough” buttons.
- And still on the nostalgia tip, check out these scans from a Nintendo catalog, circa 1990. There’s accompanying gag descriptions, a la Late Night with Conan O’Brian, but it’s not nearly as funny. Stuff like this is simply hilarious all by itself…
And finally, GameOnNY started yesterday, but I won’t be able to attend till tomorrow at the earliest. It really sucks that CMJ is also going on right now. Tonight I’ll be checking out “Mister K”, who’s now the new drummer of Knife Skills. And tomorrow night is a special double screening of Maniac Cop 1& 2 at the Pioneer.
Oh yeah, the really big news this week is Halo 2 getting leaked. The only game people have been looking towards for the Xbox this year, which happens to be the most anticipated title this season for any system, is now being downloaded and played by who knows how many thanks to some sneaky bastard at a French production center. And everyone I know who’s been playing says it’s awesome.
