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Almost Entirely Disappointing

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I won't sugar-coat your expectations here; this game is bad. It's almost worse than bad, and it's no wonder Sega had to resort to giving copies of it away with the Xbox in the winter of '02. It just wouldn't move on its own, the entire package is so shoddy and second rate. Your expectations for a pack-in game are already a little bit lower than they would have been if you'd spent an extra fifty dollars on it, but even with those downgraded standards I can't fathom how word about this game's ugliness didn't quite reach me before that fateful day when I finally decided to give it a shot. It's so bad, I'm surprised I didn't notice a foul odor coming from the clam shell.

Where the average racer does a good job of giving you the sensation of control, the feel of horsepower underneath your thumb and a fair idea of how most cars respond to such insane acceleration, Sega GT accomplishes none of these. Its use of vibration, an oft-overlooked key component of the experience, is slim at best and often amounts to nothing more than a quiet stir, should you happen to drive over a huge patch of rocks. Acceleration feels more like a ride on the ferris wheel than a moment behind the wheel of a earthbound rocket ship, as your car will join four or five others in ever-so-gently building their way up from a standstill to a moderate speed. It's like jumping into the body of a sixty year old woman, mildly confused behind the wheel of her Lincoln Continental, and racing against similarly-maligned spirits in one of the most anticlimactic experiences I've ever put myself through. Turning is a slow, arduous process and more closely resembles a series of soft, graceful slides on a toboggan than precision cornering. I'd assume that the idea there was to emphasize a rally-style drift racing not unlike that of Rallysport Challenge, since that seems to be an ongoing obsession of Sega's, but it really doesn't work right in this instance and the quality suffers because of it.

One unique, surprisingly cool add-on to most of GT 2k2's races is the inclusion of a post-race replay editor and photo system. The photo editor, in particular, is something that sounds completely stupid at first but becomes extremely cool in action. After an important race on one of the career mode's circuits, the game will automatically jump right into a replay of your efforts, but rather than sitting back as a mere spectator, you're given the ability to change angles, zoom and capture up to six different in-action shots. After you've used up all of your film, you're taken to a screen to review the shots and select your favorite of the bunch, which is then displayed on the wall of your in-game garage, right above the trophy case. It's a fresh way of giving the player a sense of personal accomplishment, visually identifying your achievements with the actual act of achieving them, and is one of the few aspects of the game that's an unbridled success.

Sega GT 2002's variety of differing modes for game play are conspicuously similar to those of Sony's Gran Turismo series; you've got a straight "day in the life of" career simulation, the standard "try to beat my best time" so-called arcade setup, a head-to-head competitive racer with support for a maximum of two players, and a mildly interesting storyline option dubbed "chronicle mode."

The career mode, officially titled "Sega GT Mode," certainly aspires to be a Gran Turismo killer, but opts for a more straightforward, linear path in contrast to Turismo's famous free-form career progression. Sure, you start in the same place: a couple thousand dollars in your pocket, a dream, a knack for the track and endless amounts of free time to dedicate to your craft. The similarities, however, really end once you've chosen a bottom-of-the-line car with which to begin your journey and actually start to take part in a few races. The staggering scale of Gran Turismo's world and that game's amazing ability to project a feeling of awe directly onto the player is a big part of what makes it so highly respected, so iconic, among gamers. In the world of GT 2002, you'll buy your starter car, perhaps spend a few minutes tuning and improving its performance, and head out into a world filled with a stiflingly narrow career path and maybe one or two choices to make along the way. You won't even take your first "license test" until you're already three races into your career and the tests themselves are as bargain-basement as they come.

Instead of slowly working your way through each important aspect of racing a high-performance automobile, (showing the judges that you know how to accurately brake, to turn without nipping some off-turf terrain, to pass without ramming your opposition into a stationary object) you drive a game-specified car around a game-specified track for one lap. If you don't finish with a time that the judges deem to be acceptable, you fail. For the purposes of license testing, you're also granted a strange sort of "failure meter," which quickly drains if you nudge a wall, allow your wheels to leave the track at any point, perform a power slide around a corner or potentially turn your head the wrong way. If the meter hits empty, you guessed it, the test is over and you automatically fail. So, in addition to timing you on your run, the judges also expect you to drive like a grizzled veteran along the way, which is cute because there's no sort of training module to introduce you to the title's flipped-out physics engine. Hope you like flying blind, because Sega is here to dispense the blindfolds.

While the head-to-head mode is your standard split screen affair and the "Quick Race" option is run of the mill, the "Chronicle Mode" seems to have its heart set in the right place, even if the results are less than spectacular. Aiming to fill gamers in on the history of circuit racing, as well as the trends in car manufacturing that have come and gone, "Chronicle Mode" asks you to climb behind the wheel of one of a dozen different '70s muscle cars and race against opposition from three historical decades. You'll work your way through the historical ranks by racing it against cars from the 70s, early 80s, late 80s, early 90s, late 90s and "21st Century," observing as its early strengths are surpassed by the rapid progression of technology and toiling as the older model's inherent weaknesses become harder and harder to ignore. Before each race, the game gives you a little historical lesson in the form of a three or four paragraph essay, explaining what advances had been made in the automotive industry over the five years in question. It's a great concept, but the historical essays seem to have been written by someone with only a passing knowledge of the English language and considering the inherent flaws in the standard game itself, the last thing you're going to want to do is handicap yourself by racing an antique against a souped-up 21st century monster.

As far as visuals are concerned, this isn't really a game that you're going to want to show off to friends. It's mediocre at best, topping the visuals of its immediate predecessor, Sega GT on the Dreamcast, but failing to live up to the standards established by its direct competition. The car models look oversimplified, the environments are lacking in detail and the spectators are blatantly two-dimensional, animated cardboard cutout fare. Even the pre-renders featured on the front cover of the DVD casing are sub-standard, attempting to simulate the brilliant reflections, glares and textures later accomplished by Project Gotham 2 and failing spectacularly in the process. This is a game that could've benefitted tremendously from a few additional months of focused concentration and development in the graphics department, but for whatever reason that potential was never realized and we're left to deal with yet another visually unimpressive also-ran.

I know it's tough to compare a game like GT 2002 to such a well-established, universally-praised behemoth such as the epic Gran Turismo series, but by positioning itself so directly as a supposed competitor to the industry-leader, Sega leaves me little choice. It's like passing around a platter at a huge social gathering where tiny slices of two-week-old baloney sit right alongside flawlessly steamed slices of ham and gorgeous, mouth-watering hunks of turkey. When all of the good meat has been picked over, the slower-moving guests who find themselves stuck with the smelly, discount-brand baloney to snack on will be complaining. Loudly.

Fun At First....

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The game is a lot of fun at first but after two days or so, it gets really boring. The racetracks are pretty much all the same and after a few hours of playing, you get sick of seeing the same one over and over again. The graphics are kind of good but definitely not anything to gush over. And in Sega GT 2002 mode, what is the deal with the lack of complete specs on cars? One car pretty much drives like the next anyway (with a few minor differences) so I guess that doesn't really matter. After a while, you really don't care enough to keep playing. I'd rent this one from a video store, have fun with it for a few days and then return it because it definitely is not worth having on any consistent basis.

It's so bad, it hurts...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: September 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Cars are my passion. In fact, I have my X-Box installed in my car. I've been waiting for a supreme racing game for the X-Box since it came out. Everything else was all pretty typical, graphics aside. So when I heard the hype about Sega GT 2002 rivaling GT3 for the PS2, I actually believed it since nothing else comes close. Upon first play I was IMMEDIATELY turned off. After the opening video, which is actually cool, the menus and music are hidious, like it was designed 15 years ago. My major gripe is this: NO DAMAGE!!! There's ONLY Damage in the Career Mode and even then, it's monitored by a power meter, like in Street Fighter or MK. Your actual car doesn't get a scratch on it, even if you plow straight into a wall, and it doesn't drive any differently either, unless you blow a major engine part, which happens from wear and tear, not crashing. The cars are supposed to be customizable but I'd hardly call it that. You buy upgrades for various area's of a car (i.e. Engine, Brakes, Suspension & Handling) but you can't REALLY customize the car, no increasing the cam profile or altering the Air/Fuel ratio or anything remotely similar to a realistic experience, just some very minor tuning. They give you hardly any stats either (only displacement, hp, torque, and drivetrain). I mean, how hard is it to type in car stats? That's just lazy. The cars all drive somewhat similar but you do kinda get a sense that they're different (maybe it'd be better with a steering wheel) but it could certainly have been better. One of the most annoying features of the game are the replays. There's no option of seeing a replay or not, they just force you after every race, even races you quit before finishing. To quit the replay you have to hit FIVE buttons. (Start, Down, Down, A, A)
This game is tremendously disappointing, and there are more things wrong than right.

Can somebody make an honestly good racing sim for the X-Box PLEASE???

half crap, half FREAKING GOOD GRAPHICS!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: June 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

GT 2k2 is some what of a half baked game THE GRAPICS ARE FREGIN GOOD DONT GET ME WRONG but the gameplay is CCCCRRRRAAAAPPPP

Example:

I Was driving a fully tuned ,1228 HORSEPOWER,
1000 KILOGRAM, FORD GT 90, 0 to 60 time: 1.5 seconds!,
In a drag race against a mildiy tuned subaru wrx with
415 horsepower, weighing 1200 kilos, 0 2 60 in 4-5 seconds
AND DRUMROOL PLEASE

I LOST BY ONE SECOND ( which is like one minute in circuit racing ) the suba-ricer finished in 8.5 seconds which shaters the real life record set by a 1227 hp skyline GTR from sweeden by like .3 seconds

Anyway its a crapy game that i recommend only to those who enjoy drooling over superb grapics for hours and hours on end

and thats the end of my review peace out,L33T

A wannabe that isn't...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: December 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

For those of you thinking that xbox finally has an answer to GT3, they don't. The game isn't all bad and does offer a few thing I hope to see in the next GT, but for the most part this game just doesn't do it for the GT fan. First off, the driving is more unrealistic than most games put on the easiest arcade level. It is actually harder to lose control of the car than to hold perfect lines. Second, the parts you buy for the car have to be "unlocked" before you can buy them. Yes, most parts you can buy right away, but others you have to wait for. Then, once you buy the parts, you have practically no fine tuning capabilities. Yes you can increase your boost or adjust your camber, but what about fine tuning your gears...nope. You just get to chose between close or wide gears. There are several more annoyances like the fact that the game is to easy and you have to do all adjustments to the car before you head out to the track. Actually, the list of problems would take to long to go over so I'll just switch to the good.

I like the fact that damage to the car takes away money you win in the race. I also like that fact that your tires don't last forever and that you have to replace them every few races. Last, you can set the price you want to get for a car you are going to sell. Not that you will always get that price, but it's a cool feature.

All in all, I probably would have liked the game had I not known what a racing simulation game is suppose to be like.

This game is a HUGE dissapointment!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: January 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was looking forward to this game so bad that it was all I could think about for days before it came out. Well, I was greatly dissapointed! The graphics are BLAH at best. The game play is choppy and bumpy. The XBox processor can do much better than this. When are game designers going to utalize the XBox's true potential? This game looks like junk and is NOT fun...this makes me sad. I really wanted to like it. RENT IT FIRST!

Sega GT's problems, listed A-Z

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: February 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

When Need for Speed Hot Persuit 2 failed to deliver, I turned toward the X-Box Sega GT 2002. After 2 straight hours of playing this game in the store I was hooked.

However, when I bought the X-Box and came home with the game, I found that after many more hours of play, the game can become very, very frustrating. Once inside career mode you can buy a cheap car and upgrade it for a slight performance difference. Once you've won a few races you can buy other cars or maybe you want to play in the Official Races.

The Official Races were a complete mistery to me and after getting my B Licence, I wish I would have never played them. All the Licence's seem to do is make the difficulty go up as well as the cash for winning a race. However, the rate at which difficulty goes up is not matched by the money. By the time you hit B Licence, you'll find the CPU Car's shooting way ahead of you from the beginning of the race and cornering at speeds you'd never be able to, even though they may have the same car as you with the same spec's. This is a very cheap way of making the game harder. The worst part about it is once you gain licences, your screwed and can't go back to old licences (difficulties) unless you start over.

One thing that you learn early in this game is that research doesn't help much. After researching the best car to buy out of all the cars available for $27,000-30,000 price range, I found that the Camero was the best buy. Sure enough it ran well in the races, about as well as any of the other cars.

Oh and did you know, Damage is inexistant! No damage modeling in this game what so ever, atleast none that I can see. The only form of "damage" is a meter in the top right of the screen that says how much health the car has left before you hit "max damage". What max damage means, I have yet to find out, since you can race with max damage on just as well as you can with perfect health. Also physics are pretty nill when it comes to bumping around with other cars. Bumping against another car will make your health go down just as fast as if you plow straight into a wall. Yet the car still appears to be untouched.

In short I was ready to chuck my new X-Box out the window the day after I bought it because of this game.

However, if you are able to look past these problems, you will find beautiful graphics and a fair sound track. The game interface is only mediocre.

Yet I pledge my word that on the [money] I spent on this system, I will attempt to see only the good side of this game, in which case this game is a small piece of heaven, very very small.

SOW_Scarface

GT 2002

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: February 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Ok, Sega GT 2002. When I started playing this game it looked good. Good graphics, decent sound,and thats about it. Getting deeper into this game in career mode, I bought a Vette and maxed it out. After going through with a breeze, I begin racing at a new license level. After frustrating experiences with the license test, I finally beat it (with a not smiling controller.)
So I enter a race and race. I take off with my 733hp going. But oh no, a little less that 200hp Honda Civic that sounds like bees in a can comes roaring past me. Speechless, I try again with the 6 speed takeoff trick. Killing it off the line, but after the 3rd turn, you can hear the bees in a can coming, along with other ... ECONOMY CARS. This game is very unrealistic, there are not enough tuning options for gearheads like me, and good lord, unless you make saves like me of every car you get ready to sell, the car selection in quick start is very limited. I wouldn't have this game if it didn't come free, and the game is little more worth than the price I paid for this game. If your a rice, and you think Honda/Celica/Mitsubishi is fast, buy this game. But for true car lovers/muscle car lovers/or someone who justs wants to race, avoid this. Hope this helps :)

No Grand Turisimo

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It starts off great and has potential, but the fact that their are only two seasons of races and not much challenge at the higher levels really let me down.
If you are looking for the Xbox GT keep looking.

Almost . . .

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 01, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The game has great potential but it just falls short. Great physics, well-detail classic cars and decent graphics weren't enough to save this release. My main problems are, firstly, that the tracks seemed to be created at random . . . meaning that they just didn't make any sense; placing corners here and there just for the sake of having turns. Whoever created this title probably hasn't ever seen an actual track. Even as something as simple as a racing oval was screwed up by having the pitting area on the backside instead of the front straightaway (a moot point, however, as there is no pitting in this game. On top of that, there are only eight tracks or so and all of them quite short. Second, the game can be finished within a day or so. There is about twenty events, but you seem to be doing the same ones over and over again to make enough money to buy different cars. All of them which need to be upgraded to even have a chance at winning.

As I said, not terrible. But when one becomes used to benchmark titles such as Gran Turismo 3, Project Gotham Racing and Rallisport Challenge it's hard to accept a seemingly casual effort like this one.

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