Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4 features a new graphics engine with anti-aliasing, environment mapping, and cars with 3000+ polygons each. Over 30,000 photos were used during production to help ensure realism, and the pit crews have been created with the aid of motion capture photography.

The computer car AI has been improved, with driver error and stress taken into account. Global positioning technology helped make the game courses copy the real-life tracks, and the physics engine allows drivers to feel the traction as they round sharp corners. While most racing games are forgettable, others are revolutionary, and some -- such as Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix line -- push the realism envelope so hard they can be downright alienating.

To be sure, Grand Prix 4 is a souped-up version of its predecessors with no major innovations, but this is about as close as you can get to the real thing without being scraped off the pavement. There are the standard quick race, quick laps, and practice options, each just a couple of clicks away. Depending on how many of driver aids you've enabled (auto-brakes, auto-gear, indestructible, etc.), this will come pretty close to an arcade-like racing experience, with the major distinctions being that you'll most likely spend a good chunk of time spinning out in the gravel pits, playing with the many impressive camera angles, wishing you could catch up with the competition. Virtual dj numark idj3 serial number. Even the most casual modes will require some work on your part before you reap the real rewards. There are, however, many rewards of which to speak. Rookies should spend a chunk of time watching each of the tutorials in the 'GPaedia,' which details the step-by-step basics of tweaking vehicles, familiarizing oneself with the dynamics of each track, and so forth. It may all seem a bit daunting at first, but once you've learned the importance of shifting your wing tips, switching the springs in your car, altering the front and rear anti-roll bars, and so on, you'll find yourself spending less time in the gravel pits and more time competing with other cars on the track.

As the dynamics involved become increasingly familiar, gradually disabling the driver's aids and upping the ante on car realism is the best way to proceed towards that pure adrenaline rush. Seasoned pros may opt for maximum realism settings from the get-go, but until you've really learned the ins and outs of this game, it's best to ease into it, lest you find yourself in a Jason Priestley-esque wreck moments after leaving the pits. Once you're good enough to go head-to-head with the pros, you're treated to a superior racing experience. Graphically, this is the best PC racer around. The level of photorealism (with the exception of the pixelated crowds and other minor details) is literally jaw-dropping. Droplets of water hit the camera lens during rainy races, convincingly refracting the images in motion.

Heat waves rise from overheated engines. Every object in sight, from individual members of the pit crew to the surrounding architecture, competing cars, and flag-waving masses, will realistically reflect in both side-view mirrors during a race. When you shift camera angles, you'll find that everything is realistically reflected (in distorted chromatic form) on every portion of your vehicle and helmet. I was so initially distracted by the overall clarity of these effects that I almost failed to notice the subtle reflection of the cars on the wet track itself.