Gaming Generations :: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

Fungo · Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 7:54 pm Post subject:

GRAN TURISMO 5 PROLOGUE

Publisher: SCEA, Polyphony Digital
Official Website: www.gran-turismo.com/gt5p/index_en.html
Release Date: 4/15/2008
Genre: Racing
Number of Players: 2
ESRB Rating: (E) Everyone
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Overview

Gran Turismo was the first Sony franchise racing simulator that not only simulated, but replicated everything down to the molecule for the supreme experience. Now, with GT5 Prologue, it is almost impossible to discern real-life from videogame. GT5 has a development team that poured perfection into every little aspect of the car design and physics, inside and out. For the ultimate driving and racing experience, Gran Turismo 5 is a big winner.

I had the opportunity to playtest the Japanese import copy of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (Set to release in the US on April 17th) and I had a great experience despite the fact that I cannot read Japanese. My inability to read the car descriptions, settings, and race information is making it extremely difficult to progress in the game, but I actually got through several races and tried all five of the available tracks. There are a total of 32 cars to buy at the Dealer as you gain cash, or Credits (Cr.), through the Event races. But to get some of the nicest cars, like the 2006 Ferrari 599, be prepared to shovel out 32,030,000 Credits. Speaking of Credits, this may translate to Yen, the Japanese currency, but I hope pricing ends up being more realistic in the US version.

Besides going to the Dealer to buy cars, and going to Event to race, there are also a bunch of other menu options. There is the Garage, in which you can review, sell, or equip your cars, the Arcade, where you can take your selected car and race among the 5 different tracks, which all have alternate versions. Arcade is a quick race in which no Credits will be won. Among the main menu there are also News, GT-TV, Replay, Option, Manual, and Save.

As for the graphics, they are beautiful. In some instances I cannot tell the difference between game and reality, so I get even further involved. The lighting effects could be better, but are near-perfect. The courses are full of detail, with tire marks on the road, crowds or realistic people with all of their own animations, beautiful mountains, detailed buildings, but even more notably, super-realistic looking cars.
While racing there are several different display modes, you can do a first person view which puts a speedometer, RPM, gear, and rear-view mirror Heads-Up Display. There's also a third person view, which puts less clutter on the screen, but is prettier to look at. Also included is a view from the top of the car, which is similar to the third person view. The best and most technically impressive view mode is the cockpit view. The cockpit view is amazing in widescreen and High Definition, as it replicates real driving so well. In the cockpit view you can see through the eyes of the driver, also viewing the completely detailed interior. The dashboard has all the meters in plain view and easy to read, just like in real life to the car model, not to forget you can watch everything that is going on around you with the side view and rear view mirrors! On your HUD you can also view the race map, with the location of you and all of your drivers, and race specific information.

The controls are flawless â€“ you can set any button to do whatever you want! Currently, I have the R2, X, and Right Stick Up buttons all set as accelerate and the L2, Circle, and Right Stick Down all set as Brake. There's an E-brake, a button for looking behind you, and I'm sure there's more, but I cannot read the Japanese text in the Options menu. I hope a better camera feature will be added, which allows you to view every angle. The left and right sticks are very sensitive and serve well for a realistic driving experience. The Dual Shock 3 works perfectly in this game, as well, and rumbles in sync with a bump, or when another driver hits you. There is also peripheral support of almost every USB steering wheel controller ever made in the options. There are many different meters in the game, one being the Speedometer, others being the RPM, and gear, but notably, one meter showing the turning force of the wheel and the other showing you how much braking/acceleration is being done.

As far as damage goes, I have not seen anything to do with damage yet. Maybe this is a feature of the game in which they are still in development. Realistic damage is a crucial part of the game â€“ let's just hope that it is there, but somehow turned off in the unreadable options. I unknowingly tested the damage by crashing a lot, but soon realized there's not even a scratch on the cars body. And when another car hits you really hard, it just bounces your car back, makes it blink, and resets the car to the proper course. This wasn't anything particularly disappointing, but I do hope for realistic damage in the final game.

The music in the game is very fitting, and is traditional to the other games in the series. The menu music is jazzy, classical, house, and lounge -- all very relaxing to listen to as you idle or browse the menus. The in-game music has more of a rock flare with some metal and it seems to be in English, but I have not yet recognized any mainstream artists. The sound in the game is great, and isn't overdone with the engine roars, really. You can hear the engine of each car passing, and the cheering fans, but there's not much to it other than that.

The game turned out to be what I expected. This is the most realistic driving simulator to date, with beautiful graphics, gorgeous cars, amazing controls, and an uber-sense of realism, that has not been felt on a console before. There should be damage in the final version of the game, because that is what makes the game even more challenging â€“ there is nothing more rewarding than barely placing first place after busting an axle, that is hindering your car to drive straight. I also would like to see imperfections in the other drivers AI â€“ they all seem to enjoy doing the same things over and over without taking a chance to possibly get a lead. Whatever it may be, what they change or not, I have high expectations on the US release coming soon.
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Pictures courtesy of GameSpot.com
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FUNGO
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