License to Drive (or do nothing with the rest of your life)

Originally seen in The Davis Enterprise (reprinted wth permission)

Grand Turismo 4 (PS2; $49.99; Rated E; us.playstation.com)

(five stars)

Sometimes a game comes out that is so great in scope and detail that to fully play the title would mean taking years off of my life.

Such is the case with Sony’s “Grand Turismo 4,” the follow-up to the immensely popular “Grand Turismo 3” which sold more than 38 million units worldwide.

It seems that Polyphony Digital, the developers of “GT4,” know more about the combustible engine than Henry Ford and Dale Ernhardt Jr. combined. Their love and appreciation for motoring shines through in the release of the greatest racing simulation ever.

For the demanding enthusiast, Sony has ensured that players will never run out of things to do and try in “GT4.” Over 700, yes that’s 700, cars are available to race throughout 50 different locals ranging from city streets to professional proving grounds to off-road rally racing. Ever want to see how a 2004 Lotus Elise 111R would fair in snow drifts, or ever wanted to race a 1915 Ford Model T against a Toyota Superatutobacs APEX MR-S?

Yep. You can do it, and it is only the tip of the iceberg.

With each car purchased from acquiring credits during races and completing training missions, players can get greasy with their new rides for amazing amounts of performance tweaks and upgrades. If it is really important to get just the right spoiler on the back of your car, the latest gear ratio, or the best pavement-hugging tires then prepare to lose yourself for hours just in the myriad of options.

Racing re-creates each vehicle’s appropriate physics and account for the auto’s speed, weight, friction, wind-resistance and driving. Players will get a healthy dose of realistic racing in either the “Arcade Mode,” which allows players to hop into immediate races against the computer or up to six players via LAN, or “Grand Turismo Mode,” where most will spend the meat of their time unlocking and tuning to their hearts’ content.

Undeniably the most beautiful racing game on the market, “GT4’s” graphics are staggeringly photorealistic. While watching a replay of a completed race, you would swear that someone flipped over to the SPEED channel while you weren’t looking. Realism is only lost in the fact that none of the cars show the slightest amount of damage, even after taking them head-first into an abutment. Maybe it was a deal struck in exchange for being able to license so many makes and models, but it does take gamers out of the overall realism.

Also weird: for a racing game, this doesn’t feel very fast. With the advances in race-blurring as seen in the phenomenal “Burnout 3,” developers are able to make players feel as though their face is melting off from the intensity of high-speed racing. That same feeling is never captured in “GT4.”

And though the number of drivable autos is impressive, where are my dream Porsches, Ferraris, or Lamborghinis? I could drive an ’89 Mazda Miata if I wanted to for real. It’s too bad that even in a video game, I still can’t drive my most coveted.

But even being highly picky, it is difficult to believe that “GT4” hasn’t already sewn up the award for Best Racing Game in 2005. Its only real competition is Microsoft’s “Forza Motorsport” which is in “GT4’s” rearview mirror, but gaining speed for a May release.