Gran Turismo 5 Prologue PS3 Review

Gran Turismo is Sony’s premiere racing series, a game focused primarily on emulating all the aspects of driving high end cars. In the past, other territories have received Prologue releases before the main game comes out, as a way of giving gamers a little taste of what was to come in the final version. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue marks the first time that the U.S. has received one of these releases. It has much more content than a demo, but much less content than a full Gran Turismo game. While the graphics are stunning and the gameplay is a refined version of what has come before, this may not be enough for racing fans to go out and buy the game.

GT 5 Prologue contains far less content than the previous retail releases. It has about 70 cars and 6 tracks, though these tracks have some alternate versions which technically brings the number of tracks up to 12. This is a solid amount of content, but not all that much for a GT game. Gran Turismo 4 had 50 tracks and 700 cars, so the disparity is pretty remarkable. Prologue doesn’t take nearly as much time to complete as the older releases. A die-hard GT fan could probably complete the game in a day or two. Rather than using the open event structure of previous games, here the single player mode consists of a list of challenges. As you complete the challenges, you’ll unlock access to new cars, and more difficult challenges. There’s also the requisite other options like a time trial mode, but the single player offering is a little bit thin. It does offer full online leaderboards and the ability to save replays.

For the first time ever, this version of GT has online multiplayer. However, it’s a pretty basic multiplayer mode. Rather than allow players to create their own races and invite their friends in, the game has a playlist of sorts with a series of pre-defined races on it. You can only enter races for which you have the right car, meaning you’ll need to play through the single player mode in order to unlock all of the multiplayer content. Once you pick the race you would like to enter, the game goes into automatic matchmaking mode and puts you into the game with other random players who also picked the same race. That’s right, you can’t play the game with your friends unless you get lucky and happen to get matched up. For what it’s worth, the online racing does perform pretty well with little lag, though there’s no way to communicate with other players. The online mode is fun and functional, but hopefully the full version of GT5 will include more fleshed out modes.

Handling wise, the game still plays really well. Two handling models are offered this time, one for beginners and one for fans of the series. They both feel great, and the easier mode is surprisingly forgiving while still maintaining a good level of challenge. Plenty of driver assist options also exist to help ease new players into the game. Also, the dreaded license tests of previous GT games are nowhere to be found here, which is a welcome change in my opinion. The interface is clean and fun to move around in, and on the whole the game is accessible to all racing gamers.

Graphically, GT 5 Prologue is absolutely gorgeous, among the best looking games available today. The car models are photo-realistic, and feature fully modeled interiors for a great first person experience if that’s something that appeals to you. The game supports resolutions up to 1080p, and has a smooth fast framerate no matter what resolution you play it in. The tracks aren’t quite as stunning as the cars, featuring a few blurry textures and crowds that look like cardboard, but they’re still fairly clean and impressive looking. Unfortunately, the game still does not have any kind of damage modeling, meaning you can bounce off the cars when going around turns to your heart’s content. The tires can warm up and wear out, but this is nowhere near the full damage modeling of Forza 2.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is a great looking and great playing game, but when compared to previous entries in the series, the amount of content doesn’t quite stack up. The game is available for $40 dollars both at retail and as a download on the PSN store, and I think this is about $10 dollars too expensive. The disc version does include a neat retrospective on the GT series that the download version does not have. If you’re looking for some smooth, great looking racing, this is worth checking out, though be aware it’s not the longest game out there. If you’re looking for some real meat, you might check out Gran Turismo 4, which is only $20 dollars. Otherwise, wait until the full version of GT 5 comes out, or check out Forza 2. This game is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. For more info, check out www.gran-turismo.com.


	Gran Turismo 5 Prologue PS3 Review... 3 out of 5 by Alex Rowe Gran Turismo is Sony’s premiere racing series, a game focused primarily on emulating all the aspects of driving high end cars. In the past, other territories have received Prologue releases before the main game comes out, as a way of giving gamers a little taste of what was to come in the final version. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue marks the first time that the U.S. has received one of these releases. It has much more content than a demo, but much less content than a full Gran Turismo game. While the graphics are stunning and the gameplay is a refined version of what has come before, this may not be enough for racing fans to go out and buy the game. GT 5 Prologue contains far less content than the previous retail releases. It has about 70 cars and 6 tracks, though these tracks have some alternate versions which technically brings the number of tracks up to 12. This is a solid amount of content, but not all that much for a GT game. Gran Turismo 4 had 50 tracks and 700 cars, so the disparity is pretty remarkable. Prologue doesn’t take nearly as much time to complete as the older releases. A die-hard GT fan could probably complete the game in a day or two. Rather than using the open event structure of previous games, here the single player mode consists of a list of challenges. As you complete the challenges, you’ll unlock access to new cars, and more difficult challenges. There’s also the requisite other options like a time trial mode, but the single player offering is a little bit thin. It does offer full online leaderboards and the ability to save replays. For the first time ever, this version of GT has online multiplayer. However, it’s a pretty basic multiplayer mode. Rather than allow players to create their own races and invite their friends in, the game has a playlist of sorts with a series of pre-defined races on it. You can only enter races for which you have the right car, meaning you’ll need to play through the single player mode in order to unlock all of the multiplayer content. Once you pick the race you would like to enter, the game goes into automatic matchmaking mode and puts you into the game with other random players who also picked the same race. That’s right, you can’t play the game with your friends unless you get lucky and happen to get matched up. For what it’s worth, the online racing does perform pretty well with little lag, though there’s no way to communicate with other players. The online mode is fun and functional, but hopefully the full version of GT5 will include more fleshed out modes. Handling wise, the game still plays really well. Two handling models are offered this time, one for beginners and one for fans of the series. They both feel great, and the easier mode is surprisingly forgiving while still maintaining a good level of challenge. Plenty of driver assist options also exist to help ease new players into the game. Also, the dreaded license tests of previous GT games are nowhere to be found here, which is a welcome change in my opinion. The interface is clean and fun to move around in, and on the whole the game is accessible to all racing gamers. Graphically, GT 5 Prologue is absolutely gorgeous, among the best looking games available today. The car models are photo-realistic, and feature fully modeled interiors for a great first person experience if that’s something that appeals to you. The game supports resolutions up to 1080p, and has a smooth fast framerate no matter what resolution you play it in. The tracks aren’t quite as stunning as the cars, featuring a few blurry textures and crowds that look like cardboard, but they’re still fairly clean and impressive looking. Unfortunately, the game still does not have any kind of damage modeling, meaning you can bounce off the cars when going around turns to your heart’s content. The tires can warm up and wear out, but this is nowhere near the full damage modeling of Forza 2. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is a great looking and great playing game, but when compared to previous entries in the series, the amount of content doesn’t quite stack up. The game is available for $40 dollars both at retail and as a download on the PSN store, and I think this is about $10 dollars too expensive. The disc version does include a neat retrospective on the GT series that the download version does not have. If you’re looking for some smooth, great looking racing, this is worth checking out, though be aware it’s not the longest game out there. If you’re looking for some real meat, you might check out Gran Turismo 4, which is only $20 dollars. Otherwise, wait until the full version of GT 5 comes out, or check out Forza 2. This game is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. For more info, check out www.gran-turismo.com.