not too long now for the US release of gran turismo 3, just wondering if anyone's playing the import and what you thought of it.

I played a demo a few months ago. It looked good but controls were hard.

I love the import version. I don't own it but the local Gamefellas has a bunch of copies and I played it on their import ps2... excellent game!!

oop. Time to head down to Gamefellas.

from what i've seen, it looks so good, but i've hear a lot of stories of the AI really cheating to keep it close, even if you're in an F1 and they're driving hondas civics. anyone comment on this?

I imported GT3 and let me tell you.. the races are incredibly tough... the licenses are harder than ever. But like all games, with determination.. beating a desk.. and some skill, I beat them all. it took time but I've passed the licenses. The AI cars no more cheat than the AI cars did in Ridge Racer 4. If you just barely brush a wall or go up on the skirts, it's over.
Let me say this, despite the inherant toughness of the game. It rocks. I was mad at myself for picking up the Import PS2. Mainly because I bought into the hype and when the games didn't come, I was pretty angry. I still am to a degree. I only own 4 PS2 games (GT3, Z.O.E., Konami Powerful Pro Baseball and MDK2: Armageddon), but GT3 made it all worth wild. The other 3 games I mentioned helped alot. But GT3 is the one that will sell systems again for the PS2. The only way to play the game is with the Logitech Racing Wheel. I HIGHLY recommend this for this game. The feedback in the wheel is realistic, the turning ratios are good and give resistance and the pedals are pressure sensitive. It's well worth the 120 I paid for it. a MUST BUY for this game. :)