Gran Turismo 2

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 Mode and Simulation Mode (Gran Turismo Mode in PAL and Japanese versions). In the arcade mode, the player can freely choose vehicles they wish to use, and can enable damage, while the simulation mode requires the player to earn driver's licenses, pay for vehicles, and earn trophies in order to unlock new and returning courses. Gran Turismo 2 features nearly 650 automobiles and 27 racing tracks, including rally tracks.

Compared with Gran Turismo, the gameplay, physics and graphics are very similar: the only real noticeable difference in vehicle dynamics was the brakes, which became much less likely to lock up and cause the vehicle to oversteer. The major changes are the vastly expanded number of cars, tracks and races in simulation mode. Other differences include that the player can race events separately, if they do not want to enter the whole tournament. The player is no longer able to "qualify" for each race entered.

The Drag Racing mode button as it would have appeared in Arcade Mode, found within the game data

After the unexpected success of Gran Turismo, lead developer Kazunori Yamauchi planned to make Gran Turismo 2 "an even better product".[4] 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".[5] 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".[6]

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.[7] For example, in version 1.0 of the NTSC-U version of the game, the maximum attainable completion percentage was 98.2%. Another glitch was that no matter what, even if a player saves the game, cars can disappear from their garage.[8] A third glitch was that certain cars would appear in the wrong races. This was most significant in the 30-lap Trial Mountain endurance race, where a 680 bhp Vector M12 LM edition may appear despite a 295-horsepower entry restriction, effectively making the race nearly impossible to win.[9] The reason for the maximum completion percentage falling short is due to a planned drag racing mode that was never implemented.

The Lotus Esprit was one of the new road cars in the game

The Nissan R390 GT1 was one of the Le Mans race cars introduced to the game

At the time of its release, GT2 featured one of the largest lists of then new and historic cars available in a single computer game, tallied at nearly 650 cars. GT2 contained 36 manufacturers, ranging from Acura (NTSC-U version only; other versions used the Honda brand name), BMW, Peugeot to Venturi. In comparison, the original Gran Turismo and GT3 A-Spec had fewer than 200 each. For the first time in the series, manufacturers from France, Germany, and Italy were added, in turn allowing for a global Gran Turismo championship. Certain notable manufacturers, such as Ferrari and Porsche, were not featured since the required licenses could not be obtained. Ruf was added as an alternative to Porsche: Ruf is a separate manufacturer from Porsche under U.S. and German law. Certain cars, such as the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, were also cut from the game due to licensing issues.

Gran Turismo 2 was the first game of the series to feature the Vauxhall/Opel brands. In the NTSC-U (Americas) and NTSC-J (Japan) versions, the Opel brand was used, whilst the PAL (Europe) version featured Vauxhall when the game is set to use English language, with Opel being available in other languages. This led to a loophole in which the player could complete the one-make races for both Opel and Vauxhall, giving a completion score of 100.91%.

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 93/100[10] Review scores Publication Score AllGame [11] Edge 9/10[12] EGM 10/10[13] Eurogamer 9/10[14] Famitsu 34/40[15] GamePro [16] GameRevolution A−[17] GameSpot 8.5/10[18] IGN 9.8/10[19] Next Generation [20] OPM (US) [21]

Gran Turismo 2 received critical acclaim from review aggregator Metacritic.[10]

GameSpot rated it 8.5 out of 10, recommending it to any gamer, car enthusiast or not,[18] while IGN rated the game a 9.8/10.[19] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 34 out of 40.[15] Gran Turismo 2 was a bestseller for two months in Japan,[22] and for two months in the UK,[23] and has sold 9.37 million copies worldwide. Official UK PlayStation Magazine listed the game as the 4th best of all time.[24] It received a "Double Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[25] indicating sales of at least 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[26]

Dan Egger of Next Generation rated it four stars out of five, and stated that "The rushed production of this game botched what could have been a near perfect sequel. As it stands, Gran Turismo 2 is still the best racer ever made. Imagine what it could have been if Sony hadn't bungled the release".[20]

• Official website
• Gran Turismo 2 microsite
• Gran Turismo 2 at MobyGames