Gran Turismo 2

Gran Turismo 2

Developer	Polyphony Digital
Publisher	Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer	Kazunori Yamauchi
Engine	Custom
Platorm	PlayStation
Release dates	JP December 11, 1999 NA December 23, 1999 EU January 28, 2000
Genre	Racing
Modes	Single player Multiplayer
Ratings	ESRB: Everyone PEGI: 3+
Media	2 CD-ROMs
Input Methods	Dual Analog DaulShock

Gran Turismo 2 (commonly abbreviated to GT2) is a driving simulator / racing game for the Sony PlayStation. Gran Turismo 2 was developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in 1999. The games serves as a sequel to Gran Turismo. It was well-received publicly and critically, shipping 1.71 million copies in Japan, 20,000 in Southeast Asia, 3.96 million in North America, and 3.68 million in Europe for a total of 9.37 million copies as of April 30, 2008, and eventually becoming a Sony Greatest Hits game. The title received an average of 93% in Metacritic's aggregate. Gran Turismo 2 was also the first PS1 game to be emulated on the Dreamcast via Bleemcast.

Gameplay

Gran Turismo 2 is fundamentally based on the racing game genre. The player must maneuver an automobile to compete against artificially intelligent drivers on various race tracks. The game uses two different modes: arcade and simulation. In the arcade mode, the player can freely choose the courses and vehicles they wish to use. However, the simulation mode requires the player to earn driver's licenses, pay for vehicles, and earn trophies in order to unlock new courses. Gran Turismo 2 features nearly 650 automobiles and 27 racing tracks.

Unlike its predecessor, the player can race events separately, instead of a tournament with multiple races. The player is no longer able to "qualify" for each race entered. It also featured an all-new rally racing in which winding dirt tracks are challenged. One of the tracks is the winding Pikes Peak, which has 2 modes: Hillclimb and Downhill. It is basically a sprint race, point A to point B.

Development

After the unexpected success of Gran Turismo, lead developer Kazunori Yamauchi planned to make Gran Turismo 2 "an even better product". SCEA's marketing director (Ami Blaire) had high hopes, stating "the overwhelming and continuing popularity of Gran Turismo clearly positions Gran Turismo 2 to be one of the hottest titles available for the holidays and beyond". Jack Tretton (sales vice president of SCEA) had similar enthusiasm, expecting Gran Turismo 2 to "fly off the shelves faster than the original, continuing the momentum of this incredible franchise".

Upon the game's release, players shortly found various errors and glitches. SCEA did not ignore the outcry, and offered a replacement if any problems occurred.

Reception and Criticism

Gran Turismo was well-received critically, achieving many positive reviews. GameSpot rated it 8.5 out of 10, recommending it to any gamer, car enthusiast or not.

There were a few glitches in some early copies of GT2 that could interrupt gameplay and corrupt saved games (e.g., A player's entire garage getting erased after a Machine Test). Sony later openly admitted that the game was rushed to the market to be on shelves in time for the holiday rush, and arranged to exchange some games for newer bug-free versions.

Due to the rushed release, it is only possible to complete 98.2% of the game in the earliest North American version. A reference to drag racing in the game's manual, and the fact that there are three drag racers — two which can be won from races, and the last one by race modifying a Dodge Intrepid — strongly suggest that drag racing was to be included, and, though the racing aspect was removed, the record-keeping aspect was not. The name of the removed drag strip (Palm Strip, which Polyphony Digital misspelled as 'Plam' Strip) is shown in the intro movie.

In the English-speaking PAL version, players can reach 100.9% completion, due to the presence of both Vauxhall AND Opel manufacturer races, absent in any other version.

A minor error can be found in the manufacturer's competition for Dodge cars; the test race contains the misprint "Viper Festibal" instead of "Viper Festival". There is also another error in the Japanese version - the Luxury Sedan Cup (or Luxury 4-Door Cup if you have the PAL version) is misspelt "Luxualy Sedan Cup".

In only the earlier versions of the North American release, Mark Martin's #6 Ford Taurus Valvoline NASCAR stock car is available by race modifying a Taurus SHO in simulation mode; in later versions a more generic "race modification" is substituted. (The Valvoline scheme is still playable in Arcade mode though; the player must race modify a Taurus in Simulation mode, then choose it from their garage in the Arcade mode).

Should the player enter all of the Gran Turismo League races, up to the Pacific League events, upon entering the Midfield Raceway event the player receives a Nissan 300ZX GTS FedEx car.

GT2 is also unable to correctly identify a car's class because users found that cars can enter competitions which they should not be able to enter. For example, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution can enter in the first race of the tournament for light weight cars, a 305 horsepower Ford GT40 can enter the second race of the Historic Car Cup (limited to cars under 295 horsepower), or a 640 horsepower Vector W8 can enter the last MR Cup race, which is limited to cars under 591 horsepower.

Original Soundtrack

The Original GT2 Soundtrack

1. Cold Rock the Mic Apollo Four Forty 4:30
2. My Favourite Game Cardigans 3:45
3. Now Is the Time [New Millennium Mix] Crystal Method 5:33
4. Use Once and Destroy Hole 5:13
5. Unforgiven Creed 3:36
6. Sex Type Thing Stone Temple Pilots 3:39
7. Bodyrock [B&H's Body Rob Mix] Moby 4:41
8. Dragula [Hot Rod Herman Mix] Rob Zombie 4:44
9. Cars Fear Factory, Gary Numan 3:33
10. I Think I'm Paranoid Garbage 3:37
11. Push Eject Boom Boom Satellites 5:39
12. Hey Man, Nice Shot Filter 5:15
13. Super Bon Bon Soul Coughing 3:32
14. Playable Demo 42:40
15. Exclusive Downloadable Codes 5:20
16. Cool Moves/Tips from the Pads :05
17. Sneak Preview of Gt2000 for Playstation 2
18. Interview With the Gt2 Production Team

OST disc 1: "Gran Turismo 2"

1. Moon Over The Castle(The Theme Of GRAN TURISMO 2)
2. Blue Line
3. Never Let Me Down
4. Blade
5. Call Of The Wild
6. Blowing Away
7. Hot Tin Root
8. Get Into It
9. Blue Line(インストゥルメント) (The Japanese text means "instrumental")
10. Moon Over The Castle(type-R)〈Scene of GRAN TURISMO〉
11. Welcome Back,G.T.
12. Windroad
13. Poker Face
14. Gold Rush
15. The Drift Of Air Ver.2
16. Soul of Garage
17. Get Ready!
18. You Made It!
19. From The East
20. The “Real” Motorious City

OST disc 2: "Gran Turismo 2: Extended Score Groove"

1. Moon Over The Castle [prologue]
2. Moon Over The Castle
3. Never Let Me Down
4. From The East [vocal Version]
5. Call Of The Wild
6. Blade
7. Blowing Away
8. Welcome Back, G.T.
9. Get Ready!
10. Get Into It
11. You Made It!
12. Blue Line [Piano Version]

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