Gran Turismo 4 Prologue

Gran Turismo 4 Prologue is the simulation racing game from Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, and was released in 2004. Surprisingly, the game was not released in North America, and could only be found in Europe and the Asian markets.

Gran Turismo 4 Prologue was released before the full Gran Turismo 4 game, and features most of the same game mechanics as the full game (in terms of graphics, sound and how the game feels), but very little of the same substance. Some people have described the game as a fleshed-out demo of the full game. Fans were rewarded for completing the game (i.e. by winning all of the arcade mode races and by completing all of the license tests) by being given a special save file that they can then use in the full version of the game to give themselves a head-start.

It was thought by many that GT4 Prologue was released as many fans were so desperate for another Gran Turismo game, and Sony hadn’t finished the full game yet (and didn’t want to release it prematurely). These claims are substantially backed up by the fact that the game was released right before Christmas (in December) to get the most sales possible.

Gran Turismo 4 Prologue features 50 different cars and 5 courses, so it’s hardly a match for the amount found in the full GT4 game (or even in GT3), but it is a great preview for those that can’t wait for the full game. It’s also a great game for those that don’t like playing the simulation mode (where you must start from the bottom and work your way up to the top through buying different cars), as the game focuses on the arcade mode more, where you play stand-alone races and try to better you lap times with each go.