There are many different kinds of racing fans. For the most part, these can be split, for Arcade racing fans, and fans of Racing simulations. Some people are happy to tinker at their vehicle in real life, tuning to get just that last bit of power out of her, and some just want bragging rights of pure unadulterated racing. The gaming world recognises this, and has implemented "the arcade racer" and the "racing simulator" accordingly. But never has racing simulations gone this far to providing an authentic racing simulation.

Gran Turismo feels perfect. From the moment you put that disc in your Playstation and the intro plays, accompanied to some rocking music, you know you're in for something special. Gran Turismo is such a game.

Crunching the numbers, there are over 150 glorious cars here for your racing approval, all licenced and looking like the real thing. This is a car enthusiasts wet dream come to life, as their are cars from such respected car makers like Toyota, Honda, Dodge, Mitsubishi, Aston Martin and Cheverolet. There are cars from Japan, America and Europe all itching to be raced.

The best thing though, is that the cars all drive like their real world counter-parts. Whether it is an old Cheverolet, to a high performace Japanese car, they look and more importantly, feel real. This means that each car has been individually created, making them all unique.

This helps make the game stand out from competitors, but then it goes deeper. For instance, you can tune up your cars. Over 15 customiseable options from the Exhaust to the engine can be changed, tuned and upgraded. It's up to you whether with the money you earn from winning races will be used on upgrading your existing car, or simply buying a new one.

And then it is time to race! Gran Turismo has a smattering of well created and well designed tracks that run the gamut in pushing your car (or car's) to the limit. They are testing and even at times frustrating, but give a real sense of victory upon completion.

One word of warning though. You can not race all the tracks as you see fit as soon as you enter the game. You must gain the Licence to race on these tracks, and not only are these a good distraction from the main mode, they will get you competent in all the varied racing conditions you may find yourself in.

The look and sound of Gran Turismo is amazing. The cars sound like the real deal, the music is well crafted and fits the mood, and the graphics make you glad that you are a racing fan. This is even better upon viewing the replays (of which you can save) which shows you in action, and creates a professional looking Television style replay, complete with multiple camera shots.

In all, racing fans would be stupid not to pick this up. It is a competent well crafted game that suceeds on ever level, and will give you a good long gaming experience at the same time. I advise anyone who doesnt own this to get it now.