Gran Turismo 3: A-spec
Description official descriptions
This is the third game in the Gran Turismo series of racing games.
The game is now an even more realistic driving experience with lighting now having an effect on the game, such as buildings blocking the sunlight. There are smoke effects caused by skidding and even heat rising from the road.
Groups +
- Automobile: AC Cobra
- Automobile: Aston Martin DB7
- Automobile: Aston Martin Vanquish
- Automobile: Audi A4
- Automobile: Audi TT
- Automobile: BMW 3 Series
- Automobile: Chevrolet Camaro
- Automobile: Chevrolet Corvette
- Automobile: Citroƫn Xsara
- Automobile: Dodge Viper
- Automobile: Ford Focus
- Automobile: Ford Mustang
- Automobile: Honda Accord
- Automobile: Honda Civic
- Automobile: Honda Integra
- Automobile: Honda NSX
- Automobile: Honda S2000
- Automobile: Jaguar XJ220
- Automobile: Lamborghini Diablo
- Automobile: Lancia Delta
- Automobile: Lister Storm
- Automobile: Lotus Elise
- Automobile: Lotus Esprit
- Automobile: Mazda 787B
- Automobile: Mazda MX-5
- Automobile: Mazda RX-7
- Automobile: Mitsubishi GTO
- Automobile: Mitsubishi Lancer
- Automobile: Nissan R390 GT1
- Automobile: Nissan Silvia
- Automobile: Nissan Skyline
- Automobile: Opel Astra
- Automobile: Pagani Zonda
- Automobile: Panoz Esperante
- Automobile: Peugeot 206
- Automobile: Renault Clio
- Automobile: Subaru Impreza
- Automobile: Subaru Legacy
- Automobile: Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak
- Automobile: Toyota Celica
- Automobile: Toyota Corolla
- Automobile: Toyota GT-One
- Automobile: Toyota MR2
- Automobile: Toyota Supra
- Automobile: Volkswagen New Beetle
- Console Generation Exclusives: PlayStation 2
- Gran Turismo series
- PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits releases
- PlayStation 2 Platinum Range releases
- Setting: City - Monaco
- Setting: City - Rome
- Setting: City - Seattle
- Setting: City - Tokyo
- Snoop Dogg licensees
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Credits (PlayStation 2 version)
541 People (379 developers, 162 thanks) · View all
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[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 92% (based on 47 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 107 ratings with 10 reviews)
The Good
Everything. There is a wide variety of cars, from compact to sports, including some '80s cars. There are lots of tracks, and all of them appear to have been worked on extensively, with detailed buildings, environmental effects and sun glare. In Rally races, they've even included believable dirt tracks, which when played in two player mode, can really distort the view of a trailing car.
The Simulation, or Career mode, is outstanding. You can only buy a few cars with your measley starting credits (cash), and you use that car to win races to earn money to buy upgrades to improve your car. It has been really thought out and was implemented nicely.
The Arcade mode, which lets you play two-player battles, free run, and other races is also done nicely. Not only is it there for people who don't want to start a career, but some areas of this mode MUST be completed to get a 100% completion rating for the entire game.
The iLink battle is astounding. If you have the hardware to set this up, you are guaranteed one of the most exciting nights of your life. You can hook six PlayStation2's to each other, each connected to a separate television and race each other, all at once, just like you would find in a video arcade.
The Bad
I can't really find anything bad to say about GT3:AS, but one thing I was disappointed at was the fact that they didn't include any '80s muscle cars, especially from Dodge, which were readily available in GT2. Other than that, the game is, well, perfect.
The Bottom Line
Any fan of racing games should pick this up no doubt. If you loved the previous GT games, you will adore this incarnation. People who aren't into racing would probably get bored of this game really fast, so I'd recommend it as a rental to non-race fans.
PlayStation 2 · by JPaterson (9502) · 2001
The biggest, cutest, most fun racing game available on any platform, EVER.
The Good
Incredible Graphics - On first inspection you think, "Yeah, they're not bad", however after a bit of play you really appreciate how great they are. There are heaps of subtle touches - heat haze, track glare, smoke, environment mapping, shadows... it's all there. It amounts to something that could almost pass for real life video at some moments and really good computer graphics the rest of the time. Still impressive after a year or two out of the box!
Size - This is one big game, LOTS of tracks, LOTS of cars, LOTS of options and multiple modes of play. This game is the best value for money I've ever gotten from a game (maybe with the exception of 'Doom'). If only all games were this size we could justify the high cost!
Sound - Again, awesome. Sound effects are good, and each car has it's own growl. While not exactly the same as the real things, it's close enough, and closer than most other games have ever come. The music is also a good rock selection and while none of it is really well known, it all fits in with the atmosphere of the game and furthers the adrenaline rush.
Engine - The car handling is great and feels very true to life. At the same time you don't have to find tweaking minor details and studying stats and lap times fun, to do well - the emphasis is on the racing (as it should be!) - other games take note!
The Bad
Not Much - There's not much wrong with the game at all. All I would say is that the "Gran Turismo" (career) mode could have been balanced a little better. By that I mean that it is very easy to work into a corner where the only races you are likely to win are ones which you don't quite have a car that meets the criteria. This requires you to repeat previous races in order to get the money for new vehicles and/or parts. After a while this becomes a drag - but this is only a minor thing, and better that than have the whole thing mapped out linearly for you.
The Bottom Line
A game worth buying a PS2 for. Simply awesome.
PlayStation 2 · by Tibes80 (1542) · 2003
Best racing game ever, but not without some flaws.
The Good
When this game was released it was without question on of the beautiful racing games ever seen on any console. Being the first Gran Turismo on the PS2, the graphics department is one area where this game certainly didnāt disappoint.
The amount of details in each car was astonishing, and the little touches like glowing brake discs under heavy breaking was a nice inclusion.
Engine sounds were great in this game, except the V8 engines (good news is that GT4 has some beaut V8 engine sounds).
The Bad
GT3 was a great game, and although it looked the best in the series, it really missed some features that the original oneās had. One set back was the lack of cars/variety of cars. There were 120+ cars in the game, but GT1 had about 150, and GT2 had 300+ cars, the 120 presented in GT3 did seem small. But the number wasnāt really the problem, it was the variety. For instance there is something like 6 different Mitubishi Lancers all practically the same.
Another drawback to the game was the sense of speed. Or lack of it actually. There are situations where you find yourself driving a car at 150+ and it feels like your just cursing around at 20kph.
But the biggest drawback to this game, in my opinion anyone, was the computer AI. The computer controlled cars were to too stupid and offered no challenge.
The Bottom Line
Even with it's flaws, this still is the best racing game (Until GT4 hits our shelves). This game (series of games) is the sole reason I ever bought a PS2 (and PSX/PSOne). The game still offered some of the most realistic handling and physics ever, without sacrificing playability too much.
If you're a serious racing fan/car nut, go out and grab this game (should be budget priced now). Or you can just wait for GT4. (I have played GT4:Prologue. And it is great)
PlayStation 2 · by gozilla (66) · 2004
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Development
Although Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec is more advanced in the graphics department than Gran Turismo 2, GT2 featured around 500 cars and 27 tracks. GT3 has 19 tracks and around 150 cars. This was due to time constraints; the extra detail that developers went to when developing vehicles and tracks for GT3 made the scope of GT2 an unrealistic goal.
Sales
According to developer Polyphony Digital, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec sold 14,890,000 copies worldwide since its original release, making it the best selling title in the franchise at the moment of writing.
Awards
- 4Players
- 2001ā Best Simulation of the Year
- GameSpy
- 2001 ā PS2 Racing Game of the Year
- Retro Gamer
- September 2004 (Issue #8) ā #94 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)
Analytics
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Related Sites +
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GT Planet
Covering the World of Gran Turismo -
GT3Times.com
A site for submitting your race/lap/licence/time trial best times and see how you compare to the rest of the world. No driving up against walls or off-track allowed. -
Gran Turismo 3
Sony's official portal for Gran Turismo 3. -
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
Official website -
IGCD Internet Game Cars Database
Game page on IGCD, a database that tries to archive vehicles found in video games. -
Racing-Line
A lap times database. No wall-riding or off-course times are allowed, but there IS a specific hybrid section -
The House Of GT
Online racing centre. Also the source of mk's GT3/GT Concept garage editor.
Identifiers +
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Brolin Empey.
Additional contributors: Macintrash, Matthew Bailey, Tibes80, Famine3h, Zaibatsu, CalaisianMindthief, Patrick Bregger, Titan10, Pedro Cunha, Victor Vance, FatherJack.
Game added July 14, 2001. Last modified February 5, 2024.