Tim Ling
It's a million-to-1 chance, but it just might work
When the PS X first came out, I bought Gran Turismo and played it to death. I love the cars, and I absolutely adored the tracks. So when I was looking through No Grip the other day, and noticed a track called Trial Mountain I had to download it. And while I was there I thought I'd have a look to see if there were any other Gran Turismo tracks. In the end I found three: Hill Bay Road (a Trial Mountain remake), Trial Mountain and Grand Valley Speedway. The question is, are they any good? (Disclaimer:I have no idea how to make tracks and have great respect for those that can)
Hill Bay Road:
this track was created by Frankie. Unfortunately, Frankie has obviously never played Gran Turismo. He has taken a track map he found online, and created it in the style that he thought was best. Is it any good? Well this track reminds me less of Trial five That Mountain in Gran Turismo, and more of a track out of Stunt Racer. A very narrow track surrendered on at least one side by a large drop protected by Armco means this track reminds me nothing at all of the original trial Mountain. While I appreciate the effort that Frankie went to to create this track, it's not for me. I actually think that passing would be easier in Monaco or on the Hungaroring. Sorry Frankie. but
Trial Mountain:
this tract was created by Konori, and he obviously has played Gran Turismo. I have to say that he has made a reasonable job of recreating trial Mountain (disclaimer:I have no idea how to make tracks and have great respect for those that can). There are a couple of corners that aren't the same, especially turn 4 under the bridge, but that isn't the big problem. The glaring issue is the back straight. If you played Gran Turismo you will know that the back straight is a glorious downhill to a difficult 180° corner. In the GTL version you're going uphill. Despite this, the track still retains a lot of the difficulty of the original trial Mountain. As a recreation I'll give it 5/10. As an individual racetrack I'll give it 7/10, though I think it will suit the more agile cars rather than the muscle cars.
Grand Valley Speedway:
this was originally created for rF by Ewan Chalker, and converted to GTL by DutchDevil. The track contains both Grand Valley Speedway and Grand Valley East, and the reverse versions of both. After the disappointments of the previous two tracks, has Grand Valley put a smile on my face? Oh yes! While GTL cannot recapture the beauty that Gran Turismo brings to its tracks, it does bring the fun. And Grand Valley is a great track. A lot of attention has been paid to making sure this track feels right. From that awkward little left-hander between the first two tunnels, to the tiny right-hander in the third tunnel, Grand Valley Speedway just feels like the original. The same attention to detail has been paid when creating Grand Valley East. As a recreation of the Gran Turismo track, I have to give this 9/10. It is superb. Ignoring its connection to Gran Turismo, as a pure racing track, I'dgive it 10/10. For some reason, this track reminds me of Imola, I have no idea why. However this track will support muscle cars and agile cars, and give both a good chance of getting the win.
I hope you've enjoyed reading this review, and I'd urge you to try Grand Valley if you haven't already.
Hill Bay Road:
this track was created by Frankie. Unfortunately, Frankie has obviously never played Gran Turismo. He has taken a track map he found online, and created it in the style that he thought was best. Is it any good? Well this track reminds me less of Trial five That Mountain in Gran Turismo, and more of a track out of Stunt Racer. A very narrow track surrendered on at least one side by a large drop protected by Armco means this track reminds me nothing at all of the original trial Mountain. While I appreciate the effort that Frankie went to to create this track, it's not for me. I actually think that passing would be easier in Monaco or on the Hungaroring. Sorry Frankie. but
Trial Mountain:
this tract was created by Konori, and he obviously has played Gran Turismo. I have to say that he has made a reasonable job of recreating trial Mountain (disclaimer:I have no idea how to make tracks and have great respect for those that can). There are a couple of corners that aren't the same, especially turn 4 under the bridge, but that isn't the big problem. The glaring issue is the back straight. If you played Gran Turismo you will know that the back straight is a glorious downhill to a difficult 180° corner. In the GTL version you're going uphill. Despite this, the track still retains a lot of the difficulty of the original trial Mountain. As a recreation I'll give it 5/10. As an individual racetrack I'll give it 7/10, though I think it will suit the more agile cars rather than the muscle cars.
Grand Valley Speedway:
this was originally created for rF by Ewan Chalker, and converted to GTL by DutchDevil. The track contains both Grand Valley Speedway and Grand Valley East, and the reverse versions of both. After the disappointments of the previous two tracks, has Grand Valley put a smile on my face? Oh yes! While GTL cannot recapture the beauty that Gran Turismo brings to its tracks, it does bring the fun. And Grand Valley is a great track. A lot of attention has been paid to making sure this track feels right. From that awkward little left-hander between the first two tunnels, to the tiny right-hander in the third tunnel, Grand Valley Speedway just feels like the original. The same attention to detail has been paid when creating Grand Valley East. As a recreation of the Gran Turismo track, I have to give this 9/10. It is superb. Ignoring its connection to Gran Turismo, as a pure racing track, I'dgive it 10/10. For some reason, this track reminds me of Imola, I have no idea why. However this track will support muscle cars and agile cars, and give both a good chance of getting the win.
I hope you've enjoyed reading this review, and I'd urge you to try Grand Valley if you haven't already.
