Gran Turismo 2

Genre: Motor Racing

Players: One to Two

What's it about then? Well, put simply, it is the same as the original Gran Turismo, just with a few extra bits and bobs.
However, this is a totally different animal to the original.
In this game you have two discs, Arcade Mode and GT Mode.
Arcade mode is the place to drive the really cool cars on a number of different tracks with or without a buddy.
GT Mode is the real meat of the game though. This is a kind of motor racing RPG where you start off from the bottom, 10,000 credits and no car. To race, you need a licence and there are six licenses to gain. If you were lucky enough to play through and save your old data from GT then you can import that info and not have to bother with passing the tests all over again.
The licenses vary in difficulty and depth. The Class B and A licenses are the simplest. From starting and stopping in a given time to driving around a left hand bend. Quite simple. However, it does give you practice at doing some of the simpler things in the game and paves the way to racing glory.
Once you have your license(s) you can head off to buy a car. There are over 500 different cars in this game, so you have a wide variety to choose from. However, to start off you will have to settle for a second hand car from the East City (Far East manufacturers).
Hint: There is a large selection of second hand cars to choose from. I suggest either the Honda Prelude or the Nissan Primera GT. Both are around 5,000 credits and can handle themselves in your first race.
After you have your car, you can do anything you want from here on. Head off to race in one of the leagues around the world or take part in special tournaments and events. Either way, you need to earn some more cash, get upgrades and better cars to progress through the game.

Summary: This is one hell of a game. Quite possibly the best ever racer on any platform...ever. The two player action is spot on, with no slowing down of the action or break-through on the screen shots. This is quite literally gaming heaven. Even people who don't know much about racing or have little interest will find themselves enjoying it.
My girlfriend who is not the keenest of motorsport fanatics plays it and loves it, because she can be whatever car she wants, MGF or Mini Cooper, Toyota Yaris or Diahtsu Move, they are all here and all fun!

Rating: 10/10