I briefly mentioned this game while talking about an underrated game called Enthusia. I said that this game was good and never got the attention it deserved. I digress. This game IS FREAKIN' AWESOME!......and also never got the attention it deserved. This is Sega GT 2002 on the original XBOX. This game predates the first Forza installment by about 3 years and about 2 years for GT4. Sega GT got it's start on the Dreamcast as Sega's version of Gran Turismo. Sega GT on the DC was massively disappointing in for many reasons, but one reason stands above all. The play control sucked! After Dreamcast thankfully went 6 feet under, Sega released Sega GT 2002 on the PS2's sworn enemy, the XBOX. The game however didn't seem to make a dent in Polyphony Digital's profits since GT3 came out first and was simply amazing looking and playing at the time that Sega GT just seemingly got lost in the crowd noise. Anyway let's get to this game. So far from what I can see this game has no real life tracks. This is ok since the original tracks are great. However all the cars are licensed vehicles and much like Enthusia on the PS2 there are no cars that don't belong.......like A TOYOTA PRIUS! The graphics are kinda in between the Dreamcast and PS2 more than XBOX quality. It has the plain looking, low contrast textures of the Dreamcast with a few PS2 like reflective effects. In short, GT3 wipes the floor with Sega GT in the visual department. But this game isn't about graphics. The game play is where this game really shines. The physics are in between GT3 (thankfully not GT4) and Enthusia. More forgiving than Enthusia, much better than GT3, and worlds better than GT4. The sounds are sort of a mixed bag. The engine sounds are ok, but not the greatest. The tire sounds are very good and the music is better than any racing sim out there. This is the only racing sim where I leave the music on during the race. The thing that most sets this game apart from other sims is the great sense of speed. 120 mph feels very fast as it would in real life as where it may take 150+ in other sims to get the same feeling. Unlike the career mode in any Gran Turismo, racing with your first car isn't a painful experience that you must endure until you finally get a fast tuned or super car. Right out the gate Sega GT 2002 is fun. Also the A.I. is very much wanting to win and it can be very aggressive by shoving you into a wall when trying to slip past it on a hairpin turn. Also what makes this game great is the damage meter (only in career mode). No, there is no physical damage that can see, but it does effect your prize money up to 1,000 bucks. It just stings a little, but not crushing like Enthusia's Enthu points. It definitely discourages you from slamming into opponents in order to make impossibly fast turns like in Gran Turismo. The people who made the first Forza Motorsport obviously took some notes from this game as many aspects of this game feel very Forza like. Forza further improved this game's formula by adding real damage, and more real cars and tracks. However unlike Gran Turismo, this game will never be dated given the fact that it has all original tracks that shouldn't be missed by any racing game enthusiast. This is another great game to use the Mad Catz MC2 racing wheel. This game is ultra affordable these days considering it's lack of popularity combined with the awful resale value of XBOX games in general. I got this game for $1 when Gaystop was clearing out all their XBOX stuff. I would have gladly paid $2.
