Channel 3 Reviews

I may need to change the name of this blog title to GT2 Dairy.  After a few races, and considering the Skyline I started with exceeded some race regulations, I went on a used car hunt. I'm 20 days in game time at this point and then races I'm after are in the Gran Turismo banner.  Here you can pick tracks based on location but each series of races under those has restrictions. I needed a car with at least 195 hp or less. First stop...Nissan.

In found a few of interest but at 175 up to 190 hp for a Silvia K and Q series cars would not leave much room for modifications.  At those HPs a single mod could put the car over the 195 limit.  Next stop Mazda.  And, nope, as much as I like Miata the car is just not one I've had much luck with in the past. And that was about the only ones there.  I thought I would try Suzuki next and boy was I surprised. Every car there seemed like the size of a smart car with only 68 HP.  Naa...I'm good. Moving on.  Toyota.

Let's see.  A few Celicas, a really nice Supra but had too much HP.  Half way down I found a MR2. Pretty blue and limited edition with a super charger.  Had 142 hp and was barely over 4,000 CR.  SOLD!  Got a few mods for it, sitting at 150 HP, and it's already tearing up the tracks and I have yet to get any engine mods for it other than a computer chip.

Nice little car but with the mid engine setup the rear end gets a little too happy.  Still, nice find for what I need it for.  Now to go get those 195 HP races.

 

Another update. I just obtained my International C license.  IB and IA left to do.

For the life of me I could not remember how a friend of mine and myself spent so much time with this game and accumulated what seemed like an endless stream of cash and cars.  I finally figured it out.  I remember now.

GT2 gives first place drivers a new car in the more advanced races.  If you find a race early on that gives a decent amount of cash plus a car with a decent value you can repeat the event, accumulate cash, and sell off all the prize cars to build up credits.  It's time consuming but a great way to build up credits for better cars or to hop up cars already in your garage.

 

There is one thing I realize about this game and that is how it changed the racing genre of gaming.  

Your entry here made me think of something to try.  I have a PS2 steering wheel, but haven't ever tried it on PS1 racing games (played on the PS2).  I should give this a try, as it would give some of these older games a new life. 

 

Another update.  This is my progress so far.

I just finished all Special Event FR races and won a new RX-7!

Geez, playing for a week and only at 9%?  I've got a long way to go.  Then again repeating a certain race to get money for upgrading a car to race in another race takes time.  I'm actually having fun and happy to play this game again.

11 hours ago, RickR said:

Your entry here made me think of something to try.  I have a PS2 steering wheel, but haven't ever tried it on PS1 racing games (played on the PS2).  I should give this a try, as it would give some of these older games a new life. 

 

I never thought of that. Cool idea. Let me know how it turns out.

Wow.  I don't remember this car I just won.

 

Why don't I remember this?

I hope I'm not boring any one with this.  This is my favorite racing game and I have not seen it since its initial release.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Atari 5200 Guy

This is the steering wheel I had. If I remember correctly it was not that expensive.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Naki-Steering-Wheel-For-Playstation-2-Red-Grip-Tested-And-Working-/264763068156?chn=ps&pageci=f246b7db-7366-4ddc-9c28-e96f9f158e32&redirect=mobile

Here is the steering wheel I have.  It works nicely. I like the rumbling effect. 

Dang!  You don't like NFS do you?

I see Most Wanted!  That one is a lot of fun.  I had carbon for GameCube and OG XBOX.  Beat it both times.  A lot of fun. The Burnout series is a blast!  I still say Revenge is best in series.  My cousin had ATV Fury 1 & 2.  I almost grabbed all four before I settled on GT2.

Cool steering wheel!

It's been a while since my last update so here it is.  It has taken me time to remember a few tracks and races. It also took me a while to earn my IA license. I forgot how tough those were for me. I didn't care about getting all gold in the tests, I just wanted the license so that everything was available.

Tonight I ran my Skyline 280 in a 50-Lap endurance race on Autumn Run. After a few pit stops and almost 1 hour and 16 minutes later I crossed the finish line.

FIRST PLACE BABY!!!  Yea!  And the prize?

500,000 credits and a new car added to the garage.

My current standings.  Not too impressive but, hey, not bad either.

You earned it!  Nice job.

 

9 hours ago, RickR said:

You earned it!  Nice job.

 

I forgot how mentally and physically challenging those endurance races can be.  To sit there lap after lap, concentrating so hard you get in a zone and sort of become a zombie. Everything else around you becomes blocked out.  Nothing else matters except finishing those races.  That's why I don't do endurance races that often.

Thank you!