Greycap
Flame if you want to, but we have to remember that Gran Turismo was virtually the first game to put you behind the wheel of a real-life grocery getter and so on. Forza and Enthusia are, if better than the GT, still kind of copies of it.
And my 318i is a mass-produced 4-wheeled automobile powered by an internal combustion engine, just like the Ford Model T was many years ago. Does that mean my car is a copy of the Model T? One could argue, "yes, it does." Does that mean Ford now makes the best cars, or that we should all thank Ford for our Hondas or BMWs or Hyundais? Many people would disagree. I don't mean to be rude, but it doesn't matter who created the genre, the genre
is a genre now, and we must compare the latest and greatest from all competing developers, equally.
Also, there are people here who keep on going on about "no game can be perfect, GT5 will be just as disappointing, I'd like to see you go out and make a better game," etc. Now, I don't necessarily agree that all of the suggestions/requests here are necessary, or even plausible on a mainstream racing game. But there is still one thing that we should all be concerned with here, and there are others who will agree with me on this -- GT4 failed to provide realistic driving physics, and failed to improve the core gameplay mechanics.
Things have changed since 2001, when GT3 came out; GT3, unrealistic as it was, held the title of "the sim king." Any PC simulations worth their salt were limited to specific racecars, and mostly featured mildly impressive, numbers-based physics that were only marginally better than PD's then-latest masterpiece.
The bar has now been raised. Live for Speed, a racing game developed privately by
three english guys (only
one of whom is a programmer), features a physics model that is arguably better than
any racing game of
any kind, console
or PC, and, though lacking manufacturer licenses, features roadcars ala the GT series. GTR, Simbin's first foray into the retail computergames world, is impressive, but fails to match LFS with its driving model, and only features racecars. Needless to say, however, it's a more realistic sim than GT3. Richard Burns Rally is another unforgivingly realistic sim. Even average, every-day racing games like Mercedes Benz World Racing or Rallisport Challenge 2 have started featuring impressive driving dynamics that exceed the standard set by GT3.
What does PD do in response? They give us GT3 with slightly prettier graphics and the
same driving model, with the understeer and counter-steer effects jacked up, the limited-slip effects removed, and a few gimmicks, like the photo mode, B-Spec driver, and some "tweaks" to the gameplay such as the ridiculously unrealistic seesaw-like nose dive under braking. Of course, there's the incredible 700+ cars available, which can be cut by nearly 200 if you exclude the 3D-model repeats and the cars that the game won't really let you drive.
While the disappointment of this was still sinking in, Konami and Microsoft stepped up to the plate with Enthusia and Forza.
Enthusia is more realistic than anything out there, with the close, yet noticable exception of Live for Speed. Tack on the fact that Enthusia has a GT-like selection of cars -- as opposed to Live for Speed's generic knock-offs -- and you've got yourself a winner. The only problem is that some odd choices in gameplay and menu design render Enthusia as somewhat difficult to deal with, and no better than GT4 when it comes to anything other than physics.
Forza's driving model is an utter joke, as are its renditions of real tracks; especially the Nürburgring. However, it has plenty of cars to choose from, it features visual and mechanical customization, there are plenty of real-world tracks to romp around on, and Forza is the only game out of the big three that allows you to play online. So, Forza is a better
"game," even though that's all it is. A
game.
GTR, RBR, and various other games upped the ante on physics. LFS and Enthusia hit homeruns. Forza and the PGR series have shown us that you don't need realism to make a great GT clone.
GT4, in my opinion, fell way short. I was the very first one at my local EB to purchase GT4. I think I'll
rent GT5 first...