PARTING SH T
Revving your engine
Gran Turismo 3’s three-and-a-half-minute marvel
Celebrating PlayStation’s finest moments
P
icture this: it’s 2001. A
mere 16 months after the
original PlayStation was
creaking at the seams
to deliver the grainy-textured
Gran Turismo 2, PlayStation 2
was running riot playing Gran
Turismo 3: A-Spec at 60fps. And
all anyone needed to see was its
three-and-a-half-minute intro to
know the simple truth: the console
generation was won. Listen... you
can almost hear Sony’s hands
being dusted off.
But the game teases you,
beginning with an ephemeral blue.
You don’t know it yet, but you’reinside the Toyota Supra’s engine.
The fuel is injected in slow motion
before a synthesiser chord cuts in
and it ignites, forcing the pistons
into motion. It’s the fundamental
principle of everything you’re about
to enjoy: pure motor racing.
The engine revs, drum sticks
click... one... two... one-two-ba-
badaow and Feeder’s Just A Day
comes crashing in. The guitars
are ferocious and the snare drum
sounds like it’s actually burst in
that brief pause before the main
vocal. And then, as the huge ‘3’
blazes onto the screen, so does
the game. Oh goodness. The game.This ultra-sharp Mazda RX-7
with its back stepping out is
emblazoned into our memories
because when we first saw it, we
were looking at the future. We first
saw this scene 17 years ago and it
still looks spectacular. Imagine how
it looked back then to people who
had an N64.
The series grew up (with some
growing pains along the way) and
matured into the FIA-recognised
GT Sport. Times have certainly
changed. But it’s still a blast to
watch GT3’s intro every now and
then, to crank up the volume, and
enjoy PS2 purring like a tomcat. QFORMAT PS2 / PUB SONY / DEV POLYPHONY DIGITAL / RELEASED 20 JULY 2001 / SCORE 10/10
No.77
Final
Fantasy X
The man at
the back said
‘everyone
attack’ and it
turned into
a Blitzball
match...Next
MonthSPOILER
ALERTLOOK AWAY!
Portal 2
Learning the
true meaning
of friendship
- and betrayal
- from robots.
We thought
we were
friends!
Last
Month