The two games highlighted in this post don’t really have much in common besides being sequels and allowing your character to get behind the wheel of a car. Gran Turismo 2 is the super popular and well received sequel to the original Gran Turismo for the PlayStation. Released in 1999, this racing title offered two different play modes (each with it’s own disc), simulation and arcade. In simulation, you have to earn your license, buy cars, upgrades and unlock content based on your performance in the racing part of the game. You have a variety of cars to choose from and a nice selection of race tracks across the world to test your driving skills on. The simulation mode appears to be a very cool feature but I never really spent any time with it. Instead, I typically found myself playing the arcade mode thanks to my short attention span when it comes to racing games. When I want to play a racing game, if I’m not actually driving a car within the first few minutes then I lose interest. The simulation mode requires you to earn your license before you can even race and this is the game’s version of the tutorial which generally speaking I don’t care for in video games. I respect everything Gran Turismo 2 offers a true racing game fanatic including the licensed music (Garbage, yeah! Rob Zombie, boo!) and understand why it was an enormous seller and one of the best games for the PS. Not being as huge of a racing game fan as others, GT2 was never a must play for me. It probably belongs in every PlayStation collector’s library though.
Grand Theft Auto 2 was the sequel to the original PS title and the last of the top down 2D versions of this franchise. As anyone familiar with the franchise knows, GTA/GTA2 are the earliest incarnations and don’t bear much of a resemblance to the game changing PS2 offerings. You still start the game as a low level thug trying to work your way up the criminal ladder by successfully completing missions for various mob bosses. You can run over pedestrians with a bloody splat, shoot whoever you want and cause general violent mayhem all while evading the police. The graphics are nothing to write home about but my biggest complaint about GTA2 is the controls. Moving your character around the environment is a chore (directional pad + button just to run) and the driving controls aren’t much better. For me, this aspect of the game is broken to the point where I can’t stand playing it. Sorry Rockstar, but this game is unplayable in my eyes and it’s only in my collection as a showcase for the origins of one of the most popular video game franchises of the 21st century.
Currently in my collection:
Gran Turismo 2 – game, manual, case B+
Grand Theft Auto 2 – game, manual, case D
Cartridge Corner 