GT4, Publisher: Sony. Format: PS2. Price: £39.99. Family friendly? Nothing to worry about: WHEN I tell people that part of my job entails testing cars, nine out of ten can't disguise their envy.

It must be great, the thinking goes, to spend part of your working day evaluating new cars. And what about those track days when you're invited to a circuit and instructed to rag round some of the best sports cars available to mankind? How cool is that?

I'd be lying if I said it was hard work. Of course, for most folk, the dream of becoming a road tester is destined to remain just that - a dream. But now there is a way you can enjoy a lifestyle that even Jeremy Clarkson would find hard to emulate.

Gran Turismo is now in its long awaited fourth incarnation and, thanks to an obsession with realism, already has a vast legion of fans. Despite a garage-full of imitators, GT has always managed to stay ahead of the pack. I must say, though, that I had my doubts this time, mainly because I lost count of how many times this game has been delayed. Release dates have come and gone with monotonous regularity.

Sony did it's best to whet our appetites by releasing the odd level or teasing us with "in-game footage" but the delay was so long I began to feel uneasy. Had the GT team reached the limit of the PS2's powers? Did the delays mean the gameplay would be awful? Now GT4 is finally here we can judge for ourselves.

Polyphony - the ace group behind the GT series - hasn't spent its time idly waiting for the game to be finished. The sheer amount of cars and circuits (more than 50) is absolutely bewildering. Fancy blasting around Germany's legendary Nurburgring circuit in a Ferrari? Then this is the game for you. There's also a photo mode for you to record your precious efforts, realistic car models and ultra realistic locations, meaning GT4 is a major step forward over its predecessor.

Incredibly, the graphics are smoother and better looking than ever. Polyphony has really dug beneath the bonnet of the PS2 and found extra muscle I'd scarcely believed possible. The cars are perfect recreations, the movement glassy smooth and the circuits just like the real thing. Heck, even the graffiti is said to be true to life.

This extracts a penalty, though. The graphics' prowess makes each level a hefty chunk for the PS2 to digest. Loading times will test your patience to the limit but, as the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait.

As with previous GT games, you have to qualify in order to race the more powerful cars. This isn't a game where you select a hot motor and take to the track. First you have to show what a good driver you are. Casual gamers will find this infuriating; the fans see it as an essential part of the GT experience.

The cars behave faithfully to their real life counterparts. Some need zillions of revs to give of their best, others need a "slow in, fast out" cornering technique, and some are such pigs they won't go fast, no matter what you do.

The only thing lacking is the indefinable "feel" that you get through your fingers and toes when driving a real car. Even with an expensive steering/pedals set-up, there's a feeling of artificiality that the game can't escape. Having said that, it's a darn sight better than many other video racers.

The constant striving for reality extends to the soundtrack as well. Polyphony religiously sampled the exhaust note of every car in the game. Piped through a meaty sound system, it's great.

As a value-for-money proposition GT4 is a winner. The number of cars and circuits means you could play for months and still have something else to discover. The need to have "just one more go" is so strong that I suspect thousands of petrol heads will do exactly that.

Unfortunately, the cars still don't sustain realistic damage - perhaps the last great hurdle this series needs to address before it can truly be hailed as the perfect driving game. Until then, GT4 will do nicely.

Published: 10/06/2005