Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (PS3)

Polyphony Digital has always been the king of simulation racing. Gran Turismo, the highest selling game for the PlayStation hit the stores in Europe 8^th of May 1998 - nearly 12 years ago. Ever since then it has become the best selling games series ever, putting it into the Guinness World Records selling a staggering 55 million copies. This series revolutionised what racing games could, and should be like. At the time of release Gran Turismo, especially Gran Turismo 2 on the PlayStation 1 pushed the boundaries even further.

Like Gran Turismo 4: Prologue, GT5:P offers a sneak peak at what is to come from the real full on game due for release later this year. Even though this game is, in a sense a paid demo Polyphony does not want you to describe it as a demo, but as a first look preview of what you can expect from GT5. GT5:P does offer plenty of content for the money with six tracks, some of which have different routes which completely change the track putting it closer to 10 tracks to pick from and roughly 70 cars (with more being released with free updates), more than other racers such as latest (at the time) Need For Speed game.

You have the option of single player, where you will find a range of events to compete in giving different rewards such as money and exclusive race-only cars which you can win. Unlike other Gran Turismo games, you do not have the license tests which for everyone, from novice to experienced drivers, gives invaluable tips on how to perfect your racing line and reduce lap times. So the way that you are limited from entering top class events is by the cars you have as the higher the class, the more expensive car you need to be able to enter. To be able to buy all buyable cars, except for the Ferrari F1, you need 9.686.320 credits (yes, I was bored enough to add them all up), and you will be there for quite some time since the highest payout for a race is 45k credits - only 216 races! The Ferrari F1 is two million credits alone, so you are not going to be lacking play time. One of the biggest complaints from previous games was the stupidity of the AI and how it just pretended you never existed on the race circuit. This has been fixed and the AI now acts human, noticing you are there, overtaking to your side and not sticking to a line and the computer can have the odd mistake and spin off the circuit or in to each other to make it seem more realistic, although it is still far off a decent real life human opponent.

There is also the option, of course, of multi-player and online gameplay. Split screen multiplayer can be a laugh if you mess around with big engined cars, no traction control and rubbish tyres, online on the other hand is much more serious. There are staged events setup by Polyphony ever month or so, changing the prize money, conditions, cars etc and you can race with up to 16 people on one circuit which is all jolly nice - but it takes much too long to connect to one race. If you are playing at a busy time it might only take 20 seconds to load the race, otherwise it can take well over 2 or 3 minutes to connect to a race which is quite simply unacceptable. Online (once you connect) is excellent, I have not found any lag and they have a created a great anti-collision system to stop other racers from ruining your race.

Circuits are copied directly from the real world with 3D digital imagery and every circuit feels very different to drive, from the sounds of the crowds to the quality and grip the tarmac gives each car. Even the simple circuits like High Speed Ring can be a wonder to drive round but the most astounding circuit is the London circuit. Apart from the photo realistic scenery the lighting on this circuit is breathtaking.

Something that any car lover will appreciate is the driving mechanics in the game. The realism of the cars is simply astonishing and the physics, graphics, sounds and lighting are excellent. There is a choice of two simulation levels, arcade for those who would like a Need For Speed feel / can’t drive or and realistic, for those who can. In the proper mode you can really tell that each car has its own distinct feel to it. In other games cars may simply have tighter cornering, better top speed or acceleration or better braking but in GT5:P every car has distinct and unique characteristics, you can feel the car changing from hard or soft braking, the temperature of the tyres, how worn the brakes are and you get a sense of how the car is built and the weight distribution just from driving it. The detail you have in each car is unparalleled, everything in every car is copied straight in to the game like the speedometer colours, honda’s unique rev counter, that BMW iDrive pie dish looking thing, the nissan GT R screen, just everything and you can see all of this when viewing from inside the car - you really must play it to even remotely understand how good it feels to drive each and every car and the unrivalled effort Polyphony has put in to the game.

Closing comments

I have played all the Forza games, most of the Need For Speed games, various other Mac or PC racing games and this just hits the spot - this is by far the best game and is simply spectacular. For anyone who likes racing games it is a must, and you must not miss out on it.

Images - http://eu.gran-turismo.com/gb/gallery/d4513c55.html

Video - http://eu.gran-turismo.com/gb/news/gt5/d4122.html

By Carlos