I'm addicted to a video game...and it's not Grand Theft Auto III. It is a driving game though. I'm so totally hooked on Gran Tourismo 3: A-Spec. I have no idea what the "A-Spec" stands for but I don't really care. I got this game for the PS2 for like $20 at Target and when I first got home and played it, I thought. Damn, I'm gonna hate this. Why? Because, it's like totally realistic driving, not arcade driving. In most driving video games, you can take turns at like 100 mph and the car just goes around th corner. With GT3, you take a turn too fast and your car reacts realistically, from skidding off the track and into the barrier, spinning or whatever. And the cars in the game are totally cool too because they're real. They've got like 250 cars, all production models. You can get cars from like 11 different countries like Japan, USA, UK, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy and more. You can also race Supers or Specials, whatever you want to call them. These are actual race cars that are out there on the circuts. Like rally cars and grand prix cars. They're very tough to handle though because you have to be like 2 turns ahead of the car. They're almost too fast to handle.

My favorite part of the game is Simulation Mode. In this mode, you start out with 18,000 credits and no licenses. There's "My Home" where you have your garage that can hold up to 200 cars, and you can also save your game and check your game status there.

There's the "Car Dealer" where you can purchase your next racing machine. They're pretty pricey, unfortunately, so you're stuck with a low end model to start the game.

Then there's the "Tune Shop" where you can modify and tune up your car to make it lighter, faster and easier handling. Next is the "License Center" where you take your tests to get your licenses. Later on when you race, you'll need these. There are 6 different licenses: B, A, IB (international), IA, Super and Rally. You have to perform 8 different tasks and score at least a bronze before you can obtain the license. If you get gold for all 8 tasks, then you win a car, but some of them are extremely tough to master...at least for me they were.

After that is the "Machine Test". It's where you go to test your new vehicle or your newly modified vehicle. You can check it's Max Speed, it's time/speed over 400m and it's time/speed over 1000m. It's actually rather handy to see if the modifications that you've made will actually help you or hurt you.

Next is the "GT Auto" shop. This is where you take your car to get it washed, get the oil changed and buy new wheels. Apparently, if you use the same car for a lot of races, it gets "dirty" and needs to be washed. It will actually affect performance until you do. I haven't had to do this yet. It's the same with the oil. After so long the oil light will come up on the screen and you'll need to go get the oil changed. This will affect performance until you get it done, I've learned first hand. The wheel shop is pretty cool. You can get wheels from Dunlop, OZ, Speedline, BBS, Enkei and more. There's nothing real "fancy" though. Some of them are quite cool, but there more of a function item than a looks-cool item.

Lastly is the "Go Race" area. This is basically, well, where you go race. There are 5 categories or leagues: Beginner, Amateur, Professional, Rally Events and Endurance Races. Each league or event has a number of series or cup races. For example, the first set of races in the Beginner League is called "The Sunday Cup" and consists of 3 races at 3 different tracks. If you win all 3 races (get the gold), then you win a new car. Each cup has it's own prize car. As you progress in each league and then to the next league, the number of races goes up and so does the difficulty. This is where you earn your money to upgrade your cars or to buy new ones. In fact, there will be times when you will have to buy a new car because there are vehicle specific races. There's one cup called the "Stars and Stripes Challenge" and you can only use American cars. There are others for only Mercedes, or Hondas or what have you.

The game also keeps track of how many days have passed since you started the game. Basically, you start off with nothing. You only have 18,000 credits so your automobile choices are pretty slim. Basically, you're stuck with a Japanese car or the PT Cruiser. Yes, you can race a PT Cruiser. It comes in at around 17,000+ credits. I haven't driven one yet, so I'm not sure how their performance is. Your best bet is to start off with one of the Mazda Miatas. They're probably the fastest of the cars you can afford. And you're better off with the fastest car you can get. Once you have your car, if you have any money left over, it's a good idea to go and blow every dime you can on modifying it. You can modify a car in 6 different areas: Suspension & Brake Parts, Engine & Air Management, Drivetrain, Turbo (if you have a turbocharged car), Tires and Stability Control/others. You can basically start out by putting lighter, tougher race parts in your car and making it lighter. After you've won a race or two (or ten), then you can come back and get a tune up to boost horse power, or upgrade the suspension or the turbocharging.

Then, after you have your car and have tuned it up as best you can, you should go to the GT Auto shop. If you have enough money, get the oil changed right off the bat. Not sure why, but I read an FAQ that said that this will boost your beginning hp somehow. Anyway, you can also get a new set of wheels if you don't like the ones that came on your car. Then, it's off to the races. Your best bet would be to pick the first set of races in the first cup, the Sunday Cup. With each race, it lets you have a preview of the race to kind of get an idea of what types of cars you'll be up against and what the track looks like. Then, when you enter the race, you're given the choice of just starting the race (you'll always start 6th in this instanc), or qualifying to see if you can move up in the order. You can also change your vehicle settings if you have that type of stuff, i.e. change the stiffness of the shocks and so on. It's always best to qualify first. You're much better off starting a race from the pole than you are starting last...unless of course you know for sure that your car will smoke whatever's on the track.

Then it's just racing for survival. Or upgrades in my case. So far I've won like 11 cars and I've bought 4 or 5. I've gotten addicted to the upgrading. I saved up enough money to buy a Chevy Camaro SS which starts out at 325 hp. After winning a few races, for 3,500 credits each, and pooling my money, I quickly boosted that number up to over 412 hp. I've got a few cars that have about 3 times the hp they did when I got them. I was going to make it my goal to get one of every car in the game, but there's like 250 (or was it 215?), but there's more cars than I can hold in my garage. Besides, I've already sold a couple of cars that I knew I wouldn't be using because I have ones that are better.

But that's basically what I've been doing with every free minute I have. I'll take MonkeyBoy to school, come home and fix Icebear Jr. some breakfast and have a little bite to eat. Then, right to the game and racin' racin' racin'. Then we'll have lunch. Then a bit more racin'. Then it's time to get MonkeyBoy at school so the racin' has to wait while we look over homeworkd and practice words and stuff. Then, after all homework is done, racin' racin racin' until it's time to fix supper. That's usually the end of the racin' for the day because by then I'll have work to do, if I didn't do it sometime during the day. Some nights, however, like tonight, I'll get to do a bit more racin' after supper, while the kids are bathing. But, I'm addicted. I never thought I'd be addicted to a game like this, but I am. And I don't really know why. It's not because I like the game. Sure, I like it, but there have also been times when I've wanted to throw the controller against the wall and rip the damn thing off the shelf. There are also times when I feel like I've actually won one of these damn races. Maybe that's what I love about it. A feeling of accomplishment. And I've got the garage to prove it.

Well, this rambled on much much longer than I had planned. Just wanted to mention that I was playing a cool game and got way too detailed. 1000 credits to anyone who made it this far. Well, take care kiddies and I'll see you next update...hopefully sooner than this one.