10. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
The Gran Turismo series may have gone a little stale since the convoluted release of Gran Turismo 5, but it is a truly brilliant franchise that has managed to sell millions of copies of each game despite making minimum changes over the last fourteen years. Developers Polyphony Digital will probably have to alter certain aspects of the core basis of the franchise for the next entry in the series due to criticism of Gran Turismo 5 but they have shown the gaming world that you do not necessarily have to constantly re-brand the racing genre like Test Drive, Need For Speed and the Grid/TOCA series' have attempted to do. Polyphony have always gone for the approach that 'bigger and beautiful means better' and this was certainly the case with Gran Turismo 3. The game boasted ground-breaking graphics which came to typify the PS2 and rival consoles despite the fact that GT3 was released only a year into the PS2's lifespan. There was also a new physics engine which meant the series was truly worth of their self-proclaimed tag as 'The real Driving Simulator' . The game may have had less cars than its predecessor but these were minor criticisms as the game had an almost endless supply of content. The fact that the game is the second best-selling PS2 and received full-marks from most reviewers at the time is testament to how great this sequel truly was.
What can be learned: Content and great graphics can make or break a sequel.
Honourable Mention: Gran Turismo 4 As great as Gran Turismo 4 was, it perhaps didn't have the immediate effect of GT3. It was also the first example of people becoming rather tired of Gran Turismo's flaws and outdated games mechanics such as the lack of vehicle damage.