Gran Turismo 4

Gran Turismo 4 is a racing simulator for the PlayStation 2 made by Japanese game developer Polyphony Digital. It was the fourth installment in the Gran Turismo series, and is the second and final game in the series to support the PlayStation 2.

A special demo version of Gran Turismo 4, known as Gran Turismo 4: Prologue, was released in December of 2003 in Japan, along with a European and Australian release in May of 2004, while the full game would see a release in late 2004 in Japan and overseas in early 2005.

Why It's The Drive of Your Life

 * 1) The amount of cars is plenty, with over 700 cars, which is over 4 times the amount of cars in GT3: A-Spec, and the car choice is superb overall.
 * 2) The physics are impressive, and the handling is more realistic than the previous games.
 * 3) The racing is intense, and better than most racing games after it.
 * 4) The gameplay is superb, running at smooth 60 FPS like the last game.
 * 5) There are more racetracks added in the game, adding to a total of 51 tracks. One of the new tracks included is the Nurburgring, which is the longest track in the entire game.
 * 6) There are more ways to play the game, as B-Spec mode (crew chief mode) is added.
 * 7) Legendary and iconic soundtrack, consisting of licensed music from various pop, rock and electronica artists, and original compositions from Isamu Ohira and Daiki Kasho, with remixes of songs from the previous games, such as "Get Closer" and "Green Monster". Classical music also makes its debut in the series.
 * 8) Beautiful graphics by PS2 standards, cars and environments are both well textured (looks even better if you can run it in 1080i).
 * 9) The game supported 1080i, one of the few games in its time to do so, but it's only available in the NTSC versions, as the PAL version omitted this feature.
 * 10) Featured the famous money trick where if you win the Capri Rally on easy, you win a Toyota RSC Rally Raid Car '02 that can be sold for 265,684cr. (The rally itself is cheaper and easier than it sounds since there's only one opponent and it's on tarmac, meaning no expensive dirt or snow tires are required. You can also repeat the event and win more of the same car, raking in easy millions.) Also winning the Deutsche Touring Car Meisterschaft it rewards the AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98 that worth approximately 793,000 combining with the prize money by winning making the total championship worth almost 1 million Credits per victory.
 * 11) Also, the HPA Motorsports Stage II Volkswagen Golf R32 (Mk.IV) was underpriced at 31,870 credits, despite being 530 HP, which makes it quite a steal if you can handle it.
 * 12) *This underpricing led to it being increased in later installments.
 * 13) If you have a Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec save-game in your memory card, you can transfer up to 100,000 credits and it updates the licenses (only National B and National A licenses) regardless if the save-game is corrupted or not which is a very good amount of money to start so you can buy a faster car like the Buick Special '62 or the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 to progress the career mode faster.
 * 14) * Sadly, in the PAL version, only the credits are updated. However, you can get the licenses updated if you 100% complete a demo version of the game called Gran Turismo 4: Prologue.
 * 15) One hundred forty-six events with more than five hundred races in total to participate considering one of the biggest amount of events and races in the entire franchise and thus practically the longest 2000's racing game of all time! Not only this but you will use different cars throughout the entire Gran Turismo mode especially in One-Make Races events.
 * 16) Pit stops are realistic as well as GT Auto car wash and oil changes. Whenever you enter in the pit stop, the pit stop crew replaces the worm tires with a new ones and refuels the vehicle as well as the GT Auto crew washes the car and replaces the worm oil with a new lubricated oil.
 * 17) Speaking of fuel, fuel is introduced in this game and the fuel drains depending the speed of the vehicle.
 * 18) The game has autosave, meaning that you don't have to worry about forgetting to save the game.
 * 19) For the first time in the series, you can add spoilers to your vehicle which increases downforce.
 * 20) You can apply nitrous to the vehicle which makes the car faster.
 * 21) Introduces the Photo Mode in where you can take photos of either your car or opponent's cars or both in races or your car only in Photo Travel in different places such as "Ponte di Rialto", "Times Square" or "Shibuya" and then save it in your memory card and print it if you have a printer connected into the PS2. You can even export your pictures from your memory card to the USB and then import to your computer or any another device such as a mobile phone or in newer consoles such as the PS3 or PS4.
 * 22) Also features the Today's Special, in which factory wheels from other cars can be applied to any car (for example, stuffing in NI0275 aka Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34)'s 6-spoke factory wheels on it's pre-tuned variants such as the Mine's, Amuse, Gran Turismo and Nismo variants, or equipping the LM Race Cars with the factory wheels of their road-going variants.)
 * 23) *However, certain race cars, such as JGTC race cars, cannot have their rims replaced.
 * 24) This game uses the A-Spec points system which depends of the performance of your car between of your rivals. For example: if you choose a car that is too overpowered for the rivals, it only awards with one A-Spec point, while choosing a car that matches the performance of the rivals it awards 60 A-Spec points, while choosing a car that is a bit underpowered for  the rivals, it awards 100 A-Spec points and choosing a car that is too underpowered for the rivals it grants 200 A-Spec points. Winning any driving mission it grants 250 A-Spec points to the player.
 * 25) * The Dodge RAM 1500 LARAMIE Hemi Quad Cab '04 and the Chaparral 2J '70 due to power-to-weight error it grants 200 points.
 * 26) For the first time in the series it introduces the Coffee Break licenses which consists for small challenges as part for the activity break at the halfway point between the 16 tests in each License. Each license has different challenges such as:
 * 27) *In the B License you must drive a Daitatsu Copen Active Top '02 to the finish line without colliding with the cones. This challenge became an internet meme thanks to the youtuber BK4 as mentioned above.
 * 28) *In the A License you must smash 100 cones in a spiral form using the Peugeot 206 CC '01.
 * 29) *In the IB License you must smash 100 cones in a spiral form like in the previous Coffee Break license but in reverse form using the TVR Griffith 500 '94
 * 30) *In the IA License you must drive a Nissan 350Z Roadster (Z33) '03 in the Gymkana advanced to the finish line.
 * 31) *In the S License you must smash 50 cones throughout the maze using the Honda BEAT Version Z '93.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Very scripted AI that ranges from brain-dead stupid to unstoppable demigod depending on the points rating.
 * 2) No damage model, cars just bump away when being crashed.
 * 3) Initially confusing UI with no tutorial, you're thrown into career mode practically blind.
 * 4) Like its predecessor, if this game gets corrupted, you must format both memory cards causing them to lose data.
 * 5) Several events are extremely hard such as "Mirage Cup", "Suzuki Concepts", "Shelby Cobra Cup", "Clio/Lutecia Trophy", almost every dirt and snow race in Special Condition Events, "Alpine Cup" and the infamous Speedster Trophy. All driving missions that need a IA License (except Driving Mission #28 Celica Showdown) are extremely hard and frustrating including the infamous Mission #34 Mercedes-Benz Showdown. Also like many Gran Turismo series, the licenses are extremely difficult to obtain gold.
 * 6) Due to the aforementioned events, this makes unlocking several cars in Arcade Mode very tedious and extremely difficult to obtain. Those cars are:
 * 7) Nissan GRAN TURISMO SKYLINE GT-R '01: (Not to be confused with the pace car variant) Attain all gold in National A Licenses.
 * 8) DOME ZERO '78: Attain all gold in International A Licenses. (it can be extremely tedious in the notorious License IA-15)
 * 9) Ford Model T Tourer '15: Attain all gold in Super Licenses (the most hardest car to obtain).
 * 10) Mercedes-Benz Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car '89: Win the Formula GT World Championship (the event is too long and requires extreme luck to obtain. Only in the PAL and NTSC versions since in the NTSC-J versions the player receives the black version of the Formula Gran Turismo '04 and this car can be obtainable in the Grand Valley 300km instead).
 * 11) Jay Leno Tank Car '03: Completing the Driving Missions from 11-20 (Known completing all 3 Lap Battle missions. There are missions that are even more tougher than other missions such as the Driving Mission #12 3 Lap Battle Laguna Seca in where you drive a Ford GT LM Race Car Spec II '04 against supercars and american LM racing cars and the Driving Mission #14 3 Lap Battle Seattle Circuit in where you drive a Plymouth Superbird '70 against other muscle cars. The car suffers of a very wonky handling in which you will constantly crash onto the obstacles and receiving a penalty)
 * 12) Pagani Zonda LM Race Car '01: Completing the Driving Missions from 21-24 (Known completing all Slipstream missions. The notorious Driving Mission 23 the leader goes 13 second behind making the driving mission very difficult aside that the opponents catch to you).
 * 13) Toyota 7 Race Car '70: Completing the Driving Missions from 25-29 (Known completing the first part of 1-Lap Magic Missions. The easiest mission is the aforementioned Driving Mission #28 Celica Showdown while the hardest Driving Mission is the Driving Mission #26 Honda Showdown)
 * 14) Nissan R89C Race Car '89: Completing the Driving Missions from 30-34 (Known completing the second part of 1-Lap Magic Missions. This counts the infamous Driving Mission #34 Mercedes-Benz Showdown where you must overtake a 212HP Mercedes-Benz 300SL '54 using a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren '03 that has gimped handling in the longest track of the game, the Nürburgring Nordschleife; the worst part is that despite the power the SLR McLaren has, you're forced to deal with an extremely long gap just to catch up to the leader who's already far ahead by the time the final countdown finishes for you to race).
 * 15) Opel Calibra Touring Car '94: Winning the Speedster Trophy in the Opel one-make races. (Since the A-Spec points is always 200 no matter if you tune the car or not, this means considered one of the hardest one make races of the game due to the opponents has upgraded beyond to the humanity). However, it is possible to buy its Vauxhall counterpart in the PAL versions of the game.
 * 16) Despite featuring the Las Vegas Drag Strip, there are no drag races whatsoever like in Gran Turismo 2.
 * 17) Unlike the other games, you cannot sell any of the concept cars, only discard them from the garage, which can be a problem if you're running low on cash.
 * 18) The Supercar Festival is also known for the AI's use of cars which are prohibited in this race event such as Cadillac CIEN Concept '02, Audi Nuvolari quattro '03, Volkswagen W12 Nardo Concept '01 and the Acura HSC Concept '04/Honda HSC "The 37th Tokyo Motor Show Concept Car" '03.
 * 19) Up until the save feature was included during the pit stop in Gran Turismo 5, you're unable to save the race during Endurance Races at pit stops, especially during the 24h races. There is no way for you to save the race during pit stop and you will definitely have to rely on switching over to B-Spec mode to let the AI drive the car for you while you rest up. Yes, that means leaving your console on for a whole day in order to finish the 24h races. However this can be remedied if the player enters to Race Monitor mode and press L1 + Right to change the race speed to 3x so the 24h races can be completed in 8 hours. However, if the player car enters to the pits due to worn tires, it exits the Race Monitor mode and the player must enter Race Monitor again as soon as the player car exits to the pits.
 * 20) The game's penalty system is incredibly unfair as you are always at fault, even if the AI bumped into you first. This only applies to Special Condition Events and in Driving Missions.
 * 21) B-Spec mode acts as a double-edged sword; while on hand its useful for when you don't have to do all the tedious driving and even win races for you, it also becomes a liability for when the AI will not want to overtake, even if instructed to do so, and can even spin out at times for incredibly stupid reasons. This results in having a poor finishing position, even if you have provided an incredibly fast car to win races.
 * 22) There is notable screen tearing when racing in specific tracks such as Special/Clubman Stage Route 5 or Twin Ring Motegi - Road Course. However, screen tearing can still occur on random occasions.

Tips

 * To obtain lots of money at start of the game you must have a Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec save game in your Memory Card with 100.000Cr and National B and National A licenses completed then transfer into the game. Once transferred buy a good car such as the Buick Special '62 or Nissan Skyline GT-R (any model) then go to the Capri Rally (Easy). Once you win the two races, you win the Toyota RSC Rally Raid Car '02 that it sells for 265,624cr. Another way to grind money faster is using the said car and win the Japan Championship to win the Nissan Fairlady Z/350Z Concept LM Race Car '02 that can be sold for 318,749cr and then repeat in order to proceed to either buy the Abt Audi TT-R Touring Car '00 or buy the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren '03 and win the Legends of Silver Arrow event to obtain the Mercedes-Benz CLK Touring Car '00 and equip with Stage 4 Turbo Kit. Once you obtain one of those aforementioned cars you must enter in the Deutsche Touring Car Meisterschaft and choose B-Spec mode to make the things faster. Winning this event rewards you the AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98 that it sells for 743,749cr plus the prize money you will win 893,749cr which is a pretty good grinding of money that it became famous as mentioned in the WIR #10. Alternatively if the player doesn't have Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec or if you have the game, but in different region, complete all of the licenses (which is time consuming) to unlock the Mercury Cougar XR-7 '67 which is a great car to obtain at the start of the game. With few upgrades you can beat the Capri Rally (Easy) easily.

Reception
Gran Turismo 4 was generally praised by game critics. It received an aggregated score of 89.53% on GameRankings and 89/100 on Metacritic.

Gran Turismo 4 is the third-best-selling PlayStation 2 video game (11.76 million copies sold), behind its predecessor, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Trivia

 * Some internet memes such as the Coffee Break B License (the challenge that involves the player to drive the Daihatsu Copen Active Top '02 while avoiding the cones) and the Nissan GRAN TURISMO SKYLINE GT-R (R34) PaceCar '01 in the license IA-15 which became notorious with the song Oh Yeah by Yello whenever the player fails a license test.
 * This is the last game in the Gran Turismo series to feature different soundtracks in each region. All subsequent entries have soundtracks that are shared across all regions.
 * An online version was made in order to test the waters for online modes in the PS3 entries. It also marked the debut of the N car classification system which would later be used in Gran Turismo Sport. It can be seen here.
 * The 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen and the 1886 Mercedes-Benz Daimler Motor Carriage along with the 1771 Cugnot Fardier from a PC indie game Switchcars are the only drivable vehicles from 19th century and prior in videogames.
 * As for 2020, a secret menu is revealed in YouTube videos. The secret menu allows the player to not only adjust the camera settings, but allows it to customize the starting grid with either limiting the rivals to the cars the player added in Favorites section or by specific manufacturers in Arcade Mode before this feature existed in Gran Turismo 7.
 * However, in every occasion, the opponent's cars appears are repeated twice or more whenever adds six cars to Favorites section so to make a custom race without any opponents repeating cars, the player should add much more than six cars to be secure.
 * Special cars like the Toyota Motor Triathlon Race Car '04, Caterham Seven Fireblade '02, Nike ONE 2022, Ford Model T Tourer '15, etc cannot be triggered as custom opponents, with the exception of the Daihatsu Midget '63.
 * The player cannot also trigger special colored versions of cars or the secret black cars as custom opponents.
 * In the days 694-700, the player can buy special colored black LMP cars in the used car dealerships. The cars are the Mazda 787B Race Car '91 and the Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 in the Early 90's car dealership which both can be purchased for 1,224,990 credits, the Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car '98 and the Toyota GT-ONE Race Car TS020 '99 in the Late 90's car dealership for 2,924,999 credits. To purchase all, the player must have a total of 8,299,978 credits.
 * A special Formula Gran Turismo '04 with a black colour with Formula Gran Turismo logos in the sides can be obtained by completing the game at 100% and completing the Formula GT World Championship in the Japanese version of the game.