Gran Turismo IV
Hated by: Executive Editor Eric Bratcher
Why is Gran Turismo praised for being the most boring racing game on the planet? This mega-delayed, stuffy PS2 driving sim is so concerned with realism, it forgets to be enjoyable.
Having a zillion cars is nice, but who needs the low-end jalopies? We play games to get away from reality, not to be reminded of it. Sure, it's technologically impressive that the piece o' crap Corolla you're stuck with in the game handles just like the piece o' crap Corolla in your driveway, but it's not pleasurable.
It takes hours to win a few races and buy a better car than you could afford in real life, and begin to experience the ultimate in driving realism...
Above: So realistic, you can almost see the reflection of each driver yawning in nearby cars' indestructible side panels...
Then you hit something, and bounce off it like a bumper car.
Apparently, the much-touted incredible depth of simulation does not extend to actually touching anything. Your car may drive like it would in the real world, but your personal force field breaks the racing entirely, enabling you to consistently ricochet off other cars on tight corners instead of slowing down. The game finally makes a concession to gameplay over simulation, and it undermines the entire rest of the game. Whoops.
And for what reason? That whole "you can't damage licensed cars" excuse is bullcrap, as games such as GT-killer Forza Motorsport have proven.
Sure, many other racing games don't show damage, but they're arcade racers, not simulations. Which apparently means they have a better sense of speed, more gameplay options and online modes, while GT4 has... photo mode? That's a fair trade.
"Sony's hallowed racing series might thrill auto engineers, but for the rest of us? Stick to racers with simpler titles, like Midnight Club, Ridge Racer, and Burnout, whose gameplay leaves room for actual fun." - Eric
