Every time there is a new Gran Turismo release, their is a huge amount
of hype to go with it. Polyphony Digital's brought their baby onto this
generation, with Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and it hasn't been any
different. Fans of the series, and even newcomers, expect top notch
visuals and driving gameplay. The question is if Polyphony was able to
deliver. The absolute only answer to that is yes, and in fact, Gran
Turismo 5 Prologue is the best game on the Playstation 3.
Now, you may be looking at my score and saying to yourself
'WHAAAAA????", but the score doesn't match the words because this is
just the prologue to a possibly better, and bigger, full GT experience
that spare any tragedies, will undoubtedly be worthy of that illusive
10 from me. It would be the first to do so. So, you may be looking at
the score I gave this, but if I gave this a 10, I'd have to give Gran
Turismo 5 a 17.
The first thing you'll notice about Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is the
visuals. There are times where the game looks like a screenshot from
real life. The car models are all impressively detailed, and the
lighting effects are stellar. Your driver's eyesight adjusts to the sun
when you enter or exit dark areas, such as tunnels. It's this kind of
detail that makes you appreciate just how great a game looks. The
tracks are also immensely detailed and realistic, the reflections in
the cars look superb, and simply put, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is one of
the best looking games around. There are so many little things that
constantly amaze you and will have you saying "Wow, I can't believe
they took the time to do that."
If you've played any Gran Turismo games before, you know that they have
great, realistic controls. Let me get this out of the way first: GT 4
has nothing on this. It's hard to put into words just how great that
this game drives. Turning is much more smooth, as is braking, traction
has been "next-gen-ified", and the new first person view adds something
special to the experience. Every car drives differently, and every car
is actually fun to drive. Now, the 63 HP Suzuki Cappuccino actually
feels like a car, instead of a tin can, like in previous games. Some
people will say that Forza has the most realistic feel, but you really
need to play this game for more than 10 seconds to realize that you've
never seen anything like this before. Every car in the game feels
unique. Every last millimeter of the car reacts realistically to
gravity and the actual track you happen to be on. It really makes it
feel like you are actually driving the car. Burnout is the only racing
game that's more fun than this, which is a huge increase from other
titles in the series' past. Now, this really is The Drive of Your Life.
The new first person view is perfect. Every interior is done with
superb accuracy and realism, the driver animations are great, and
everything reflects on the windshield. It's really well done, and is
only rivaled by the same view in DiRT. Also, borrowing an idea from
Forza, and making it better, there is a driving line available for use.
It's deadly accurate, and if you follow it properly, races can become a
breeze. It's solid.
There are just over 70 cars and 6 tracks in Prologue, which may not
seem like a lot, but it does have more cars than Need for Speed
ProStreet, and more courses than the latest Hot Shots Golf. So, if you
think that the game is bare boned, think again. The 6 tracks are all
very unique, ranging from the Eiger Nordwand from HD Concept, to the
Daytona Oval. London, Suzuka, Fuji, and the series favorite High Speed
Ring also make appearances. Each track feels great to drive.
The 70 cars all range differently from the Suzuki Cappuccino, to Kiki
Raikkonen's F1 Ferrari. You can unlock a few cars by winning races, but
most are attained by being bought. I was able to finish all the
challenges and races using just a handful of cars. It will take anybody
a lengthy time to obtain every car in the game.
There are 3 classes full of races and challenges, but anybody can fly
through all of them in about 10 hours. None of the races are
particularly challenging, but there are a few that will test your skill
pretty well. In addition to that, there is a complete online mode,
where you can race others for credits. It's a little laggy in some
parts, and some racers will try to make you crash, but it does work
well, and you'll play it a lot. Gran Turismo has always had great split
screen, and that's no different in Prologue. 2 player split screen is
available, and it can get really competitive if you can pick the right
cars and tracks.
There's also a pretty great soundtrack, and the engine sounds are top
notch. There's no other racing game that does this better, and Gran
Turismo 5 Prologue really sounds great.
That's about all there is to say about Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. It
drives perfectly, looks perfect, sounds perfect, and has some pretty
good tracks and game modes, and has a better sense of speed than any
other GT before it. Even if you aren't a die hard GT fan, you need to
pick it up. It's worthy of a 10, but then what would I give the REAL GT
5? Buy it.
