Gran Tursimo has been a staple of the Sony brand for years, almost as popular as the GTA franchise. Yet the PS3 has yet to see either franchise come and fight its corner, that is until now. There can be no doubt that GT5 will be a system seller. Driving nut developer Yamauchi has been promising that GT5 will break new ground and offer players a true next-gen experience. Until that time comes however we have this teaser ‘game’ to tide us over. Make no mistake, GT Prologue is a demo, albeit one with a few more bells and whistles than your average demo.
2008 is looking to be the year that the PS3 finally starts taking off, more and more games are coming out of the woodwork and we’re really seeing what the machine is capable of. Running on the PS3 there is no doubting that Polyphony Digital has crafted one good-looking game. Running at 1080p the HD vistas presented are nothing short of breathtaking, you’ll be racing through London’s packed streets, screeching across Daytona’s sun drenched strip and careering through the mountains of Eiger Nordwand.
Cars, which have always been stunning, now look ultra-realistic. Each one is presented with loving care and an attention to detail that goes way beyond anything in the previous iterations. A new racing perspective is available, you can now race inside the car itself for the ultimate ‘Stig’ experience. This new viewpoint adds immensely to the realism of the racing, there is only one small problem.
In fact the only jarring experience, which will jolt you back to reality is the time old omission of damage. Once again the cars will merrily bounce around the tracks with glee without sustaining so much as a scratch. Which is immensely frustrating and there really is no excuse for this, other games have licensed cars and damage, so that argument doesn’t hold up anymore. The Internet however has been rife with talk of a patch via the Playstation network that will finally correct this. Which would really help the game.
GT5 Prologue offers a substantial online package. Not only does it give you a direct news feed from car manufacturers but you also get Gran Turismo TV. Here you can download videos from trailers to Top Gear episodes. At its heart though are the online races, and they do not disappoint.
Racing online is an absolute blast. It has been missing from the franchise and now finally we get the chance to face off and test our racing skills against drivers the world over. This element of the GT5 Prologue suffers from the same issue that the rest of game suffers; it is just a taste into what will be a huge online game.
What this game offers is a tantalising glimpse into what GT5 will be like. You get a taste of the HD racing, catch an idea of the tracks (you only get 6), and also try out the new online elements. And this is where the future of GT lies. If you are a fan of GT you really must pick this up. But remember, it is just a demo of what is to come.
