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SONY'S GRAN TURISMO BROKE free of all racing games ever before it, with depth and realism in strides. Its sequels have further pushed the series into the lead, with a gap on the competition that defies description. Most publishers have been happy to concentrate on the race for second place, prefering that much more realistic goal to the seemlingly impossible task of toppling Gran Turismo for top honours.
Until now.
Sega GT 2002 is actually a sequel itself - the original Sega GT appeared only on the ill fated Dreamcast and even then, it was pretty late in the piece - it never got the attention it deserved. Far from perfect, Sega GT was however a clear indicator of where this series was targeted - straight at pole position. There would be no trying for second best.
Skip forward to today - Sega GT 2002 is out and exclusive for the Xbox. In fact, it's a pack-in with the "Massive Entertainment Pack" so if you don't have an Xbox yet, chances are real good that when you buy one you'll get this game by default. Is it worth spinning up and having a play with? Let's take a look under the hood...
First up, an introduction for newbies to the sim-boy-racer concept. The general gist is simple - you start the game with a garage (empty) and a fist full of cash. Not all that much cash, when you consider the expense of the sport you are about to take up... First, you buy yourself a car - it's gonna be simple, don't expect a lotus badge to adorn your first ride and don't expect to break any speed records on your first lap! Once you have the car and have hurtled around your test track, you can enter some basic races (with similar level vehicles) and go for your race license. Complete the little courses within a set time to get your license, beat the other cars to win cash. Once you have more cash, you can maybe improve your existing vehicle or even upgrade to a better one. And so it continues, throughout your career.
In addition to the career mode, you can also just "pick up and play" for some quick-fire racing action, Time Attack and the interesting Chronicle mode. Chronicle limits the range of cars available to those from the 80's and 90's and will definitely sort out the men from the boys - you don't have the raw horses under the hood that the modern racer takes for granted, so there is no rescuing you from bad technique. Drive well or be last, simple as that. Intriguingly, when you start this mode the races are presented in black and white - gradually changing into full colour as you progress. A novel and cool presentation technique!
Chronicle is not just there for giggles - you need to complete a number of different objectives in this mode to unlock many of the vehicles for the career mode. Spend some time in here to really enhance your career-mode experience.
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