If it's true what they say, that absence makes the heart grow fonder, we would expect to be very fond of Gran Turismo for PSP. Presented years ago as if it might be a launch title for the new system, we now have in our hands the product of years, months, weeks, and certainly many hours of hard labor. Expectations, either from old gamers like myself or newer gamers fresh off the streets of Midnight Club or Test Drive Unlimited are obviously high. The immediate impressions you'll have of the game are likely to be positive; the opening video and credits are incredibly high energy and look amazing. The problem comes when you realize that the most attractive three minutes of Gran Turismo are over after the credits roll. The second-place trophy goes to the replays available to watch after every event, with the option to adjust your viewing angle or decide on which car the camera will be trained. Third place unfortunately is the sound of your vehicle and the surrounding race. Little details are impressive, such as the change in engine noise from a whine to a throaty roar as you switch from front to rear view, as if to acknowledge the difference between noises inside and outside the driver's cabin.

But wait, you may say "What about the actual racing action?" Well, the sad news is that Gran Turismo presents from inside the cockpit as less than stellar looking, and the stock music soundtrack is atrocious. The option provided to listen to your own soundtrack, pulled from MP3s you've loaded on your PSP, is more of a must-have here than in most games. Viewing the action while driving is versatile enough to get Gran Turismo over the bar, providing you with a dashboard view, a front-window view, and multiple outside perspectives. The backgrounds and window dressing outside your vehicle are good enough at a glance, but repeated viewings when you've played for a few hours show an overall lack of detail. Mountains and hills are positively jaggy, and textures are flat or non-existent. Car models have the highest level of care paid to them in terms of design, but it's hard to get excited about the cars when you are racing in Dullsville. The fact that Rockstar can make dirty old Los Angeles look better in Midnight Club than Polyphony Digital can make Tahiti look in Gran Turismo tells you there is something wrong under the hood...

Before we move too far away from Midnight Club: Los Angeles it bears mentioning that even with some quirks, Rockstar's last racing game for PSP still counts as the best overall racing action we've seen this year. The sheer variety and scope of the game provided a high-water mark that Gran Turismo fails to match. The failure here isn't due to lack of ambition. Gran Turismo includes 800 (yes, that's no typo) vehicles to buy and race, as evidenced by the filter provided in your Garage to just view the last 100 cars acquired. You read things like that and know you are in for a long ride. The ride itself is best started through a series of interactive tutorials that grant you more than skills, since you earn money to buy new cars and take what you've learned on the road. Cornering and advanced driving techniques are taught here, culminating in actual races that test your skills. You'll spend time looking at new dealers featured each day, reviewing the stats and history of each car while weighing whether to add it to your garage. Color choice is available, along with a tuning feature that lets you tweak about a dozen settings on the vehicle such as suspension, tire choice, and transmission.

Racing in the Single Player mode is all about testing your ability on one of 35 tracks, with variations on some tracks that extend the actual unique layouts you can race above 50. It's neat to see real-tracks in the patterns they had from various years, giving a good historical perspective. Once in the groove, you'll choose between a single race against competition, a race against the clock, or a drift trial. Only racing against four other cars is a bit of a let-down, and this carries over to the Multiplayer mode. Racing in Ad Hoc wireless is already a strike against, but the limitation on players is odd considering how many games now offer six or eight-player action. Only having the choice to race one track at a time creates a start-stop cycle that makes you wish for more of a "career" or free-drive approach that Gran Turismo just doesn't have. Multiplayer does provide a better balance for player ability, but retains the limitations of the Single Race gameplay. Winning races and buying cars is all you really have to do, apart from testing your braking and steering touch in Drift Trial. Opening up those 800 cars will come sooner than you might think, but not many players will have the patience to lather, rinse, and repeat their way to this goal.

The opponents you'll face in Gran Turismo consistently drive straight lines, but seem to just drive a little slower at the more entry-level challenges. The basics of Gran Turismo are that you'll start each track at a "D" level and work your way up by winning first place. The initial level is a complete joke, barely worth attempting for all but the most novice gamers. As long as you are pressing the accelerator and not driving the wrong way, you'll win first place and proceed to the "C" level of challenge. This means driving the exact same track, but you'll immediately notice a difference in the A.I.-powered drivers. By the time you reach "B" you'll have a real challenge, with drivers that will overtake you and drive nice, fast corners without error. There aren't any penalties for running into other drivers, so a very real strategy in Gran Turismo that runs counter to the idea of a "driving simulator" is just bullying opponents off the road. The lack of damage or any limitation on fuel make things like the garage and the pit-stop lanes quite irrelevant. For a racing game that prides itself on simulation, it's strange to see such basic things omitted. Without the realism or a wide range of interesting challenges, Gran Turismo becomes a grind that may provide challenge at the higher levels, but doesn't adequately reward players for their effort. The most fun you'll have is likely to be the initial tutorial, where basic driving skills like braking and cornering make for a series of interesting challenges.

The racing action is governed by pretty simple controls and some fairly complex physics. Everything to control your car is on a front button, with the e-brake mapped to the (R) shoulder button and the rear-view camera on the opposite shoulder button. For masochists that like to use manual control, the up/down face buttons control gear changes. The heads-up display shown in the stock interior view has everything you need, including a boost gauge for vehicles that support boost. There is an optional guideline you can turn off, showing optimal braking spots and driving lines for each track. This line becomes a bit of an obsession, but there's no doubt it can help novice players find the best line. Once you select your vehicle, you'll be able to customize critical elements. Choosing between racing, normal, or sport tires makes a huge difference in performance, plus each tire comes in several varieties. Traction Control and Stability Management is a toggle that helps on certain track types, while Active Steering helps correct over- or understeering. Other tweaks that are possible for each car include engine tuning, weight, aerodynamics, and height. Various suspension changes like spring rate, damping force, toe, and camber angle can meet the handling requirements of the most discerning racing fans, but much of the difference in handling can be addressed by simply picking a new type of car.

The net feeling we got from Gran Turismo for PSP is that we were playing something that was pushed kicking and screaming out of production and onto store shelves before all the great ideas were fully developed. Graphical polish should be better, gameplay should be more varied, and multiplayer should be bigger. All the tracks and cars are great when you're going by the numbers, but our hands-on experience of playing Gran Turismo left much to be desired. At the outset of the PSP system, we'd have greeted this exact title with joy. So many years later, the bar is much higher and games like Midnight Club have come along in the interim to define what high-powered racing excitement looks like and feels like. There's a market for everything, but not in the past tense. Gran Turismo for PSP missed its window and just can't make up for all the lost time.