DESCRIPTION

Gentlemen, start your engines!

Feel the power of authentic sports cars as you race over 140 American, Japanese, and European cars in SCEA's Gran Turismo for the PlayStation. One of the earliest adopters of the Dual Shock controller, Gran Turismo was in development for three years before its release in the middle of 1998. The game introduces actual real-life car performance, throttle response, handling agility, drive train and real engine sounds. It also features a new real time, reflective showroom shine effect on every car. One or two players can race over 11 unique tracks plastered with recognizable brand name billboards scattered about.

The game gives you the ability to customize your car any way you like. You start off with 10,000 credits and must select a desired car manufacturer to purchase your favorite car. Some of the manufacturers include Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Mitsubishi, Chevrolet, Acura, Honda, The New Dodge, Mazda, Subaru, Aston Martin and TVR. There are more than a hundred cars to choose from, new and used. In the Tune Up Shop, you can upgrade them with: more horsepower, better wheels and brakes, a new muffler, tweaked transmission, gear ratio, downforce, tougher suspension, an air cleaner, replaceable intake and exhaust parts, and even a turbo package or better spark plugs. And you can also save up and go for broke with special edition cars!

Remember your first driver's exam? With the License Test Center, you can take it for a spin when you challenge yourself in some brutal driver's license exams that train you to remember when to start and stop, survive sharp turns, and stay on the pavement. If you pass your exam you'll not only earn your driver's license, but also some hard cash. Enter the various races that require your type of license to drive whether it be international or Laguna Seca. If that's not enough, keep it going by earning two more class licenses.

If you'd rather race right away, go for the Arcade Mode for one or two players. And then review your replays in the Replay Theater. Choose from automatic or manual transmission. There's even a Time Trial mode where you can race your own "ghost car", or challenge a friend in two-player Battle Mode. You can save your status and settings on any memory card from five to 15 blocks. In Simulation Mode, having a clean car doesn't affect its performance but it does affect the value of your car if you need to sell it! For just 50 credits you can go to the Car Wash menu and take care of the whole shebang. Make sure you check out what your true acceleration and top speed is in the Machine Test menu.

With all these features and options, including a pit stop and multiple camera angles, Gran Turismo gives you an encyclopedia of cars and promises a visual and audio experience of the real thing. "The Real Driving Simulator." Buckle up! ~ Cal Nguyen, All Game Guide