Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec



Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec is the third game in the Gran Turismo series. It is the first in the Gran Turismo series to be released for the PlayStation 2 video game console. Gran Turismo 2000 was the working name used when demonstrated at E3 2000/2001.

Gameplay
As with its predecessors, the basic aim of the game is to win all the provided races and championships, complete license tests, and achieve 100% game completion. Every 25% of the game completed results in the player being awarded a car as a special prize.

Changes from previous games
Gran Turismo 3: A-spec underwent many changes over the previous Gran Turismo 2.

The Arcade Mode is reorganized in "stages"; these stages are made up of 5 or 6 tracks pooled from all available tracks in the game, including both road and rally races. To get to the next stage, all tracks on a stage must be completed on Easy difficulty or higher. By beating the stage on Normal or Difficult, additional cars are unlocked as well for play in any mode of Arcade Mode (including two-player battle and time trial).

The Simulation Mode has a reorganized layout, with a more structured and progressive arrangement of races and challenges. Races vary from short beginner events to multi-hour endurance races and also rallying events against an opponent. In addition, the car shops are now organized by country and then by manufacturer, which some find to be more intuitive than the East/West City method used in its predecessor. On the downside, far fewer vehicles are available in Gran Turismo 3: A-spec (just over 150 in total) than Gran Turismo 2 (around 650). This is attributed largely to the work needed for the more detailed graphics, providing detailed statistics for all the cars and the game's release being early in the PlayStation 2's lifespan. This was eventually amended in Gran Turismo 4 (with 700+ cars, the exact number depending on the game's region). In GT3 European Version, two special F1 spec cars can be unlocked by winning endurance races or championships. These cars are labeled as the Polyphony 001 and 002, as opposed to being named after actual F1 car manufacturers. In American Version of the game is available six F1 cars labeled as F094/H, F094/S, F686/M, F687/S, F090/S and F688/S which the letter makes mention to driver of the F1 car model. As expected, they perform significantly better than the other vehicles featured in the game. The only liability of the eight cars is that they wear out tires in less laps than usual. Players cannot buy harder tire compounds to fit on them (except on dirt).

Other changes were the omission of the ability to "race modify" or add down force to production cars, removal of suspension damage and also the removal of torque limits to races.

DIRT CITY MAIN Tracks

 * Apricot Hill Raceway
 * Côte d'Azur
 * Deep Forest Raceway
 * Grand Valley Speedway
 * Laguna Seca Raceway
 * Midfield Raceway
 * Rome Circuit
 * Seattle Circuit
 * Smokey Mountain
 * Special Stage Route 5
 * Special Stage Route 11
 * Super Speedway
 * Swiss Alps
 * Tahiti Circuit
 * Tahiti Maze
 * Test Course
 * Trial Mountain
 * Tokyo Route 246
 * Complex String (Time Trial, and Free Run only)
 * Deep Forest Raceway II
 * Grand Valley Speedway II
 * Seattle Circuit II
 * Rome Circuit II
 * Trial Mountain II
 * Tokyo Route 246 II
 * Special Stage Route 5 II
 * Special Stage Route 11 II
 * Smokey Mountain II
 * Swiss Alps II
 * Tahiti Maze II
 * Apricot Hill Raceway II
 * Midfield Raceway II

Soundtrack
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec featured twenty different songs on its soundtrack. These songs ranged from classic rock to rap. Below is the list of songs featured in the US version of the game. Much like Gran Turismo 2, the PAL version has a different soundtrack, and the song in the PAL intro is Just A Day by Feeder.
 * Are Your Gonna Go My Way? (GRAN TURISMO Remix) - Lenny Kravitz
 * Satisfied - 8 Stops 7
 * Stop the Rock (Mint Royale Mix) - Apollo Four Fourty
 * Mad Skillz - Mic Chekka - BT
 * Break In - CiRRUS
 * glowl - daiki kasho
 * mirage - daiki kasho
 * obscure - daiki kasho
 * sky scraper - daiki kasho
 * strike breaker - daiki kasho
 * Go Gran Turismo - Dave Aude
 * Call It Brisco (And Why Not?) - Elite Force
 * 99 Red Balloons (Adapted from '99 Luftballons) - Goldfinger
 * As Good As It Gets - Grand Theft Audio
 * Champion - Grinspoon
 * Stone Free - Jimi Hendrix
 * Turbo Lover - Judas Priest
 * Def Beat - Junkie XL
 * Crash - Methods of Mayhem
 * Kickstart My Heart - Mötley Crüe
 * Never Enough - Papa Roach
 * Super Nova Goes Pop - Powerman 5000
 * Determination - Raekwon
 * Dogg's Turismo 3 - Snoop Dogg
 * She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
 * Again - Lenny Kravitz

Logitech Steering Wheel
The developers collaborated with computer and game peripheral maker Logitech for the game, which resulted in the GT Force steering wheel, which featured force feedback and was highly fitted to the game.

Reception and sales
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec is considered a commercial success for Sony in Japan, Europe, and North America. The game is highly praised by game reviewers and players as one of the finest racing games ever made. IGN awarded it a 9.8 and Gamespot awarded it a 9.4. GT3 also received a platinum award from Electronic Gaming Monthly. Gran Turismo 3 has a 94% on Gamerankings as of September 6, 2008. It frequently appears on 'top 100 lists', such as IGN's Top 100.

As of April 30, 2008, the game has shipped 1.89 million copies in Japan, 7.14 million in North America, 5.85 million in Europe, and 10,000 in Southeast Asia for a total of 14.89 million copies. It is a part of the PlayStation 2's Greatest Hits.

Gran Turismo Concept
Due to GT3's good reception, three short versions titled Gran Turismo Concept were released in various parts of the world in 2002, except North America. It included new models unveiled during famous Asian and European Motor Shows.

Trivia

 * By accessing the game code, a Porsche 911 GT3 can be found, along with the Lancia Stratos which were both cut from the game.
 * A Lamborghini Diablo can be obtained in an NTSC U/C version of the game through a Gameshark.
 * All of these cars were completely removed in the PAL version & defaults to a Daihatsu Mira/Cuore.

