Corporate line:
Gran Turismo 5: Prologue features over 60 stunning cars – including vehicles by Lotus, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Ferrari for you to race on seriously realistic, real-life tracks: including the Eiger Nordwand, the London City Track and Suzuka – all rendered in incredible High Definition graphics. There’s also all-new driving physics for the most lifelike driving experience ever and new, improved opponent artificial intelligence for the toughest race challenge yet.But that’s not all – for the first time ever in the history of Gran Turismo, players will now be able to race online. Up to 16 players will be able to go head-to-head on some of the world’s best racetracks on PlayStation Network. All you need to get racing is a broadband connection and PS3. Once you’re up and revving, Global Online Rankings and the My Garage homepage feature will leave the world in n o doubt as to just who is the best at Gran Turismo.
And then there’s the Online Dealership, providing a wealth of information on cars and manufacturers and also Gran Turismo TV – a dedicated online channel available exclusively from PSN and packed with some of the greatest content that Motorsport, car manufacturers and TV has to offer.
Gameplay:
This version of Gran Turismo is much like the previous where you must unlock events in order to move forward. Typical of a GT release the game gets progressively more and more difficult. And fans will be able to buy different cars–but you won’t be pimping your ride.
In terms of driving, GT5 is difficult. The controls never feel sloppy–which is important because its not easy to conquer. The fifth version of GranTurismo is the closest the franchise gets to become a full on race simulator. The camera views aren’t anything new to the franchise except the nice view from the seat. Still the bumper view is the best as the inside view is little more than a bonus feature. You can also modify your vehicle’s suspension, tires and gears.
The competitors are phenomenal. They occasionally make mistakes but it often feels like you are racing a robot and not a human–which is to say the AI isn’t realistic enough. The competitors are too close to perfect.
There are over 60 cars from a massive amount of auto companies. This is a huge drop from the cars that were available in GT4 however. I know some people are complaining about the lack of cars but truth is I always felt like it was a hinderance to have so many cars and trying to figure out what to drive. It wasn’t something that made me want to come back and drive those cars–instead it was a bit overwhelming. As with previous versions, the cars are as they should be. Cheaper cars suck and expensive cars are great. And it still takes a lot of work to unlock all of the cars.
You can compete on 6 tracks with 12 total layouts, including Fuji Speedway, Suzuka Circuit, and Daytona International Speedway.
Graphics:
The Playstation 3 hasn’t come close to proving its worth until now. GT5 looks amazing. The tracks are some of the most amazing things you’ll have seen yet on the PS3. This is the way hi-def gaming should look. Everything from the mountains to the clouds are visually stunning. The game renders in 1080p at 60 frames per second with crisp, realistic lighting and camera effects (replays rendered in 1080p 30fps).
Audio:
The soundtrack is top-notch with all kinds of musical styles. The sounds of the game are brillant as any simulator should be. It’s not hard to imagine yourself there as the car revs and tires screech.
Finally:
“Gran Turismo 5” is a great game but not as good as “Dirt.” Even though “Dirt” isn’t meant to be a sim its far more fun. There are occasions when “Gran Turismo 5” feels too stiff and not fun. It’s a bad thing when fun takes a backseat to realism.
Watch a cool trailer for GT5:
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.