'Sony strikes back'
 Developer:Polyphony Digital
Publisher: Sony
Category: : Racing
Multiplayer: 1 - 16 (PSN)
Official Site
Platform: PlayStation 3
Might look like: Gran Turismo 4 ?
Date posted: 13 May 2008
Written By: Ian
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Demo or Delight?
I am always pretty suspicious of GT prologue games. The previous game was basically just a collection of license tests, and was a total rip-off. Since "GT HD concept" had offered up a reasonable amount of content for free, "Gran Turismo 5 Prologue" (GT5P) has to offer up quite a bit in order to beat this, so can it live up to both the hype of the series and my own expectations, and most importantly, can it beat 'Forza Motorsport 2' (Xbox 360), which has set new standards?
Gameplay
Within a couple of races, you realise that there is something seriously wrong with GT5P. Compare it to GTHD concept, and you'll see it within seconds. The sense of speed has totally gone.
With a fast car, its not too bad, but for the first 5-6 hours, you'll be slogging through with underpowered cars, taking forever to go round the tracks, and it all feels painfully slow, even when you take the camera angle closest to the ground. Talking of the camera, the options are terrible.
The in-car view is excellent, and a bonus over Forza, but the 3rd person view is awful. Not only does it appear that the cars uses an old school centre axis for turning, but the speed is even worse. The collision detection also looks off from this view. It's a shame, because the cars look excellent, and it also provides the best view of the other cars, which again, look great.
There is, on the upside, more content than many full games, which makes GT5P excellent value for money.
  
The 16 player races are also excellent, having this many cars on track is a big bonus too, especially as the AI is excellent, as they can both make mistakes, and give you a run for your money, but frankly, the positives fail to outweigh the negatives.
Graphics and Sound
GT5P has to be the year's most stunning release yet. If you own a 1080p TV, and PCM 5.1/7.1 setup, you are in for a stunning audiovisual experience.
Developer 'Polyphony' claim that the game runs at this res at 60fps, and whilst the sense of speed can be pretty poor, the frame rate, even with 16 cars on track, is rock solid. The 'London track' is simply stunning, even blowing PGR4's iteration out the water. The in-car view is also stunning, with each dash faithfully recreated.
The cars are very well modelled, and have extremely detailed lighting effects on them. The front end of the game is also very prettily designed. Aurally, the game is perhaps even better, with lovely engine notes that have also been recorded individually.
The music is a bit hit and miss, but the engine noises will keep any petrol head happy.
Multiplayer
Muliplayer options are hit and miss in GT5P, but the developers are on to the right track, if nothing else. The game supports 16 players per race, and the TV options are also pretty cool.
However, finding a match, getting into the lobby and the like is far more difficult and time consuming than it should be.
Like many PS3 games, hardly anyone uses voice chat, which is a shame. Once you are in a game, it can be pretty fun, with 16 players and pretty much no lag, but the lack of options and no damage often means that there is no incentive to drive properly, and many people will just shunt you out the way.
Conclusion
"GT5 prologue" has a lot to do before it catches up with Forza. Yes, the graphics are good, and the in-car view is another good feature, but the sense of speed is abysmal. Worse still is the handling model, especially in the third person view. It looks and feels rubbish in comparison to Forza, and don't even get me started on the physics.
The collision detection is poor, and the lack of damage is also upsetting.
There is a pleasing amount of content, 16 player races, and reasonable online, but ultimately, unless a lot is done before the full release, GT5 will lose its crown to Forza as king of the driving sims.
-Ian
Ratings
Manual:
85 % |
Graphics:
89% |
Music & Sfx:
84% |
GamePlay:
72% |
|
This game scores
 
on our 5-point Rating System
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