Gran Turismo 2

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Gran Turismo 2

Developer(s)	Polyphony Digital
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer(s)	Kazunori Yamauchi
Release date(s)	December 11, 1999 December 17, 1999 January 28, 2000
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (E) PEGI: 3+
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Media	2 CD-ROMs

Gran Turismo 2 (commonly abbreviated to GT2) is a 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, selling 8.5 million copies worldwide and scoring an average of 93% in Metacritic's aggregate.

1 Gameplay
2 Development
3 Reception and criticism
4 Original Sound Track
- 4.1 OST disc 1: "Gran Turismo 2"
- 4.2 OST disc 2: "Gran Turismo 2: Extended Score Groove"
5 Trivia
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Gameplay

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 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 no longer needs to "qualify" for each race entered.

[edit] Development

After the unexpected success of Gran Turismo, lead developer Kazunori Yamauchi planned to make Gran Turismo 2 "an even better product".^[1] 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".^[2] 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".^[3]

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.^[4]

[edit] Reception and criticism

Gran Turismo was well-received critically, achieving many positive reviews.^{[citation needed]} GameSpot rated it 8.5 out of 10, recommending it to any gamer, car enthusiast or not.^[5]

There were a few glitches in some early copies of GT2 that could interrupt gameplay and corrupt saved games. 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.^[4] A reference to drag racing in the game's manual, and the fact that there are 3 drag racers — 2 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".

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.

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 Subaru Impreza can enter in the first race of the tournament for light weight cars, or a 640 horsepower Vector W8 can enter the last MR Cup race, which is limited to cars under 591 horsepower.

[edit] Original Sound Track

[edit] OST disc 1: "Gran Turismo 2"

Moon Over The Castle(The Theme Of GRAN TURISMO 2)
Blue Line
Never Let Me Down
Blame
Call Of The Wild
Blowing Away
Hot Tin Root
Get Into It
Blue Line(インストゥルメント)
Moon Over The Castle(type-R)〈Scene of GRAN TURISMO〉
Welcome Back,G.T.
Windroad
Poker Face
Gold Rush
The Drift Of Air Ver.2
Soul of Garage
Get Ready?
You Made It!
From The East
The“Real”Motorious City

[edit] OST disc 2: "Gran Turismo 2: Extended Score Groove"

Moon Over The Castle [prologue]
Moon Over The Castle
Never Let Me Down
From The East [vocal Version]
Call Of The Wild
Blame
Blowing Away
Welcome Back, G.T.
Get Ready
Get Into It
You Made It!
Blue Line [piano Version]

[edit] Trivia

The reverse lights do not work on any car
Many secret cars can be unlocked by using a GameShark, such as a Mercedes CLK race car, some of the specially modified drivers test cars, and others
On the Seattle circuit, the Kingdome, previous home of the Seattle Mariners, is visible next to their current stadium, Safeco Field. Kingdome, which has since been demolished, was still standing at the time of the game's release
It is possible to receive a 100.4% completion status by finishing all the races, including constructor's events, and then switch the language from English to German where the Vauxhall store will change to an Opel store with its own constructor's events
The PAL edition of Gran Turismo 2's simulation disc has a "scratch and sniff" cover, which attempted to smell like a Pit Lane. This however disappeared in the Platinum release.