Review: Gran Turismo 5

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Since 1998, Kazunori Yamaguchi and Polyphonic Digital have been gracing our consoles with Gran Turismo. The Gran turismo series has held Guiness World Records (See Here) and became platinum on PS1, PS2 and PS3. Gran turismo 5 on the other hand has been delayed many time and for some time it was even unsure as to wether or not it was coming out at all! On November 24th, Gran turismo 5 was finally release to the masses. Did it live up to its predessors? Was it worth the wait?


Gran turismo 5 has been released in 3 editions; Standard, Collectors and Signature. Each with varying DLC and Bonus stuff such as Books, Keyrings, Wallets, etc, etc. There's 20gb of data on the disk and a full install will take 10gb up of your hardrive space. It also noteworthy, that GT Now has finally introduced custom soundtracks!

All up the game has 1,061 cars, only a small portion of these are 'Premium' cars. Premium cars have more detail than the standard cars, have internal cockpit views, can be visually tuned more (Will explain this later in the review), have more detailed damage, working Windscreen wipers (for weather enabled tracks) and horns. The standard cars still do look very good, though premium cars look even better. The differences don't stop there, only premium cars can be used in the Photo Travel mode in the game (Standard cars can be used with the replay photo mode though). Lastly, premium and standard cars have two separate tabs in your garage to separate them. While these differences are fantastic, having the two groups separated can be frustrating when purchasing the cars (Standard cars can't be purchased brand new) and searching through your garage.

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There are 27 (Though there are many variations) tracks that feature in the game, from original classics such as the High speed ring and Trial mountain to some new tracks. GT5 also features some realworld tracks such as the Nurburging and the Top Gear test track. Some tracks feature different weather and times of day, which doesn't sound much but it truly brings out new facets and challenges! Using the course editor, you can also make your own custom tracks. The tracks look fantastic, the ambience,models and textures are all well done though the Sky and Road textures could use with some tweaking.

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So you've heard about the cars and tracks but what about the gameplay?

If you've ever played any of the other games in the series you will have come to know the overall structure of the game. You start with $20,000 which will get you an OK Set of wheels from which you will have a good number of cars to choose from. Once you choose your ride you can choose to do some basic races or start working your way through the licenses.

There are five categories of races which will all require certain levels (The more races you win the more levels you gain), certain licenses (B, A, IC, IB, IC) as well as certain cars. As well as races there are also special events which you unlock as you play through the game . There's such a variety of types you can do! Rally, Nascar, Go Kart and F1, it's all there.

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Obviously, one of the core features of the game is the car tuning. Gran turismo has always been all about the mechanical tuning scene and this game takes care of that very well! Though, two crucial things are missing, what about Brake upgrades? Engine Swaps?

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GT5 Has introduced some extra visual tuning options. You can now Change your cars colour, change rims, add Aero upgrades (Spoiler, Bodykits, Hoods) and also add a racing livery (Albeit Preset liveries) to your car. Naturally some only some cars can have certain upgrades done.

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Like the previous games in the series, you can tweak the finer points of your car such such as the ride height and gear ratios.


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Now the reason why everyone buys the game; The driving experience. The Gran Turismo series has always touted the catchphrase: “The Ultimate Driving Simulator”, and GT5 Certainly delivers! Driving smoothly, cleanly overtaking and winning by the skin of your teeth in Gran turismo has always been rewarding, the same goes for GT5. The physics side of things has been tweaked since GT5 Prologue for the better, in previous GT Games the cars have felt like they have a perfect center of gravity and never showing any signs of rolling even though, in real life, you'd be screwed! This time its different! It's now possible to roll the car, no more pinballing down the last two corners at trial mountain!

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The AI has largely stayed the same, they still have perfect skills,there unresponsive (Though this has improved slightly) and unemotionless. I Think AI Has a big impact in racing games because the way AI Acts can stir emotions in the player, for example, in Forza 3 if you were to tailgate an AI Player enough, they would eventually stuff up, wether it mean coming off of the track,smashing into another car or just spinning out, it would stuff up. In Need for Speed Hot pursuit, the AI Players tend to bump your car around, while GT5 is designed to be more realistic , real racing sometimes involves cars coming into contact! What im trying to say is, that the AI should have Personality, in GT5 they don't. There like Slot cars.

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Arcade mode is simple, choose a track, a car and a mode. Unfourtunetly, the selection of cars in arcade mode is restricted to a specific set of cars, though you can still use your favourited garage cars. It would be great if you could use any car in arcade mode, wether your owned it or not, like Gran Turismo 4.


Online mode is where this game has some fantastic features. They have really though out the social aspects of the game. Every player has there own wall where you can post comments, and other people can comment on them (Kinda like a facebook wall), you can also post pictures of your cars here. Online multiplayer can support up to 16 cars and works quite well. You can setup events and even restrict the entrant cars' power and weight, make and mode. One thing missing though, is incentive. Sure, the self gratification of beating a Sunday driver feels good but once the race is over no-one will no of that awesome win, theres no ranking or point system at all. One feature which is really a test of skill is shuffle mode for the races, it makes it a little more interesting seeing which car you will get for the race. There are still improvements to be made in online mode but only time will tell whether they will make those improvements or not.

In Gran turismo 4 there was a new photo mode that was introduced into the game, while it didn't feature in Gran turismo 5 prologue, it has been brought back in Gran turismo 5. This mode allows you to take photo's of your favourite cars, in some stunning locations such as Japan, Germany and italy. Interesting enough though, you can only use this mode with your premium cars. If you want to take photo's of your standard car, you can do this through the replay photo mode.


In final – to answer the two initial questions;
Yes. It's a worthy adition to the series, keeping the original set of features and style that GT fans have come to know and love, while adding some new features and tweaks to the game.
Now, Was it worth the wait? Yes and no.
Yes, the game has some fantastic graphics and effects and has been polished up nicely but some of the smaller things have been looked over. The separation of the premium model cars and standard cars is quite annoying, the lack of brake upgrades, the fact the AI hasn't changed in 12 years and lastly the fact that the game was delayed for quite some time.
All in all, this game is a fantastic addition to anyones game library and GT fan's will NOT be disappointed, though some drawbacks, the game has been well put together.
I'll give the game 7/10.


I'd like to thank tommy boy for his input for this review!
 
To be honest, with all the hype I was going to buy a PS3 to get this. However, my roommate at college got the game, and I'm largely unimpressed when comparing it to my beloved Forza 3 (keep in mind, this is coming from someone who, before purchasing an XBOX360, was the biggest PS2/PS1 fan ever). There are just things that I feel should not have been skimped on for as long as it took them to release this game. I'm tired, so if I remember, I'll touch on them tomorrow.
 
On the racing forums I browse, they say the cars have terrible suspension feel, and it's not that great. I don't think I will be buying this game if I get a PS3...
 
On the racing forums I browse, they say the cars have terrible suspension feel, and it's not that great. I don't think I will be buying this game if I get a PS3...

I've been hearing the complete opposite from everyone that's been playing it. I guess I'll have to judge it myself when it comes in.
 
I like the feel. I have only been playing with a controller so far. The cars feel realistic and the only problem I have so far is the damage. But it's going to back patched up soon to be more realistic. I feel like people are picking at this game way more than they should. It's way better than Forza and it's feel.
 
I like the feel. I have only been playing with a controller so far. The cars feel realistic and the only problem I have so far is the damage. But it's going to back patched up soon to be more realistic. I feel like people are picking at this game way more than they should. It's way better than Forza and it's feel.

To each his own, but I strongly disagree after playing my roommate's copy of GT5. I'll try to explain later. I've been short on time lately.
 
I started to play my copy, and it's fun. Well worth the $30, I think it might be worth more if there wasn't the whole standard/premium car thing.
Also, I like how I can play my music when racing, but I prefer how Forza does it.
Another thing I don't like is how I gotta unlock the damage. Right now, it seems like I am playing bumper cars.
Gameplay overall I think comparing to Forza 3 is pretty much the same. Maybe when I play more I will start noticing the difference.
 
I started to play my copy, and it's fun. Well worth the $30, I think it might be worth more if there wasn't the whole standard/premium car thing.
Also, I like how I can play my music when racing, but I prefer how Forza does it.
Another thing I don't like is how I gotta unlock the damage. Right now, it seems like I am playing bumper cars.
Gameplay overall I think comparing to Forza 3 is pretty much the same. Maybe when I play more I will start noticing the difference.
$30? How did you manage to get GT5 for $30? :confused:
 
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