Gran Turismo 5 Prologue - ATP Review

Hello Wii Network, my next review is going to be one of the games in the infamous series, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue only on the PS3. I will comparing this game to GT4 because it's a basically improved version of GT4. I have tons to talk about this game (good things), hope you guys enjoy, so lets get started.

If you have been living under a rock ever since the Playstation One came out and haven't heard of the game series, you need to smash your head into that rock until your brain oozes out of all your holes. It's one of the most popular racing simulators that does it right. GT5P is a basic smaller version of all previous GT's, that's what the 'Prologue' stands for, it's basically showing off what GT5 will do when it comes to the PS3 this summer (in NA). And from what I've played, I will be sh*tting bricks when GT5 hits shelves.



Gameplay: It's based off the GT4 engine, but fixes the feel of driving like a robot in GT4 to an actual realistic movement on what a real car would do in GT5 (trust me, I've done real racing before). The mechanics are very advanced and feels fantastic, it's much more enjoyable to race around in GT5P than it was in GT4, especially in the 'slower' cars, it's actually fun to race them.

Graphics: They are absolutely horrible.....NOT!!! This is a game that you must have a HDTV 1080p 240MHz in order to truly see what the PS3 was made for (damn lack of money D=<). But don't worry, it looks absolutely great on just the good ol' SDTV. Everything from the last detail down to the soot of the skid marks looks superb and that's one of the reasons why the GT series is spectacular. Every car has its own cockpit design to it based on real life, and wow, this camera view option is by far my favourite view of all racing games I've played (check out the demo to see what I'm talking about). It's very stable, excellent view, beautifully looking and functions brilliantly. As well it makes you feel like you're hauling a$$ and that you're actually racing in a real car.


[Image in GT5P - Interior view of the Lotus Elise]

Online (yes, there's actually online): This is where the game needs major work and thought. The online will make you bust-a-nut over. Most of the players that are online are very dirty and cheap racers. Polyphony have incorporated a penalty system, but still rather pointless cause it ends up penalizing the wrong person and can be frustrating. I've had several races lost because somebody bumps me into the wall at a ridiculous speed and causes me to spin out and finish in the bottom of the pole list; but this only happens in the most popular race that goes around Daytona Speedway. I haven't been able to play against someone I know yet cause nobody else has it and I'm sure that friendly competition would be more fun than racing against a bunch of random people. I don't even know if the friend list is incorporated with online play. One good thing about the online is that there's little lag and isn't a factor for deciding a winner in some cases. Lucky this is only 'Prologue' and isn't the final online version, thank god!



Content & Sounds: Like I said in the introduction, it's a very small version of what a typical GT actually is. There are about 76 cars total, but for the first time ever in the GT series, vehicles from Ferrari are in the game, along with some concept cars from Nissan and Ford. There are 6 different tracks, with 12 different layouts. The list of the real life tracks are: Fuji Speedway, Daytona Speedway and Suzuka Circuit. There are also tracks based in real areas, but they're not actual tracks in real life; the places are London and Eiger Nordwand. For the sounds of the game, they are greatly improved, the skidding sounds are much better and each car has a very different sound to it based on the actual cars in real life. The music list is great as well, just a couple of bad songs, the rest are good to enjoy at high speeds (my personal favourite is by Thin Lizzy - The Rocker). But an option that should have been in the game is to be able to play your own music, the Xbox 360 can, why can't the PS3? But that's a whole other topic.


[Image from GT5P - I believe its a straight stretch on Suzuka Circuit

Overall: This game has greatly improved on its predecessor GT4, the graphics are amazing, the game mechanics are absolutely flawless, the sounds are great, but there's just one thing that hurts it really badly, the online. It needs a lot of work and hopefully Polyphony capitalizes on it when time comes to releasing it to the public. If you are a die hard racing fan, even without a PS3, it's a must 'Buy It' rating. If you're not big on racing, I would highly recommend the demo just to see what the game feels like (note* the 370Z isn't the best car for a beginner). But still, I give it a 'Buy It' rating even if you're not the biggest hardcore racing fan, you can pick it up fairly cheaply for about $25.

My personal favourite car is between the Dodge Viper SRT-10 or the Nissan GT-R. My favourite track is between Suzuka Circuit or Fuji Speedway.

Well, that my review on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, hope you guys enjoyed it and will check it out. Till next time, Happy Gaming.

Ok was this game a tech demo?

Darrien wrote:Ok was this game a tech demo?

mmm, you could say that but its basically a mini GT game, everything u expect in a GT game is in it, just there's not as much content. Idk its hard to explain, but you still get lots of satisfaction playing the game