I’ve been a Gran Turismo fan since the early days of the PS1. While I played the first one a good deal, it was Gran Turismo 2 that really got me hooked. I can remember spending a few days freshman year of college doing nothing but playing the game with my roommate. From that point on, I’ve always enjoyed the series. While Sony has teased the PSP version since the handheld’s inception, Gran Turismo will finally reach the PSP this October. I spent some time with the game on the show floor at E3 and loved every second.

I was very impressed with the graphics in the game. Over the course of five races on various tracks, I’d say this looks just as good Gran Turismo 3 on the PS2. It was running at a full 60 frames per second and the controls were spot on. There was very little loading time on the digital download version being shown (I can’t speak for how the UMD version will perform).

Sony and Polyphany Digital are not currently saying whether the game will include any online play other than 4 player ad-hoc car sharing and multiplayer. I would have to assume online play will be included; I’d be disappointed if I can’t burn past friends online.

With 35 tracks in a total of 60 variations, 800 cars to unlock, and multiple races in the career to participate in, this will be a main stay on my PSP when it’s released October 1st. Day 1 p