Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

[RaychelSnr]

We have just posted our first hands-on impressions of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Check them out here.

"I have a small confession to make, I'm once again addicted to a Gran Turismo game. This one being Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Even though the game still plays very similar to all the previous incarnations, the beautified graphics and intense racing action is still there and it all still makes for one heck of a fun time."

[labguy]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

Does anyone know if GT5 the full version expected out next year will have damage to cars? The review of Prologue said you could still "bump" your way to victory. Is this something they plan to address?

[mgoblue]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

Does anyone know if GT5 the full version expected out next year will have damage to cars? The review of Prologue said you could still "bump" your way to victory. Is this something they plan to address?

I doubt they'll address it...the entire point of this game is to drive, not race, and collect cars...

I don't know how Sony is getting away scot free releasing this Prologue for way too much and making people wait years more for the "real version"....EA gets absolutely killed for Madden and stuff yet GT gets a complete pass?

[Tomba]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

I doubt they'll address it...the entire point of this game is to drive, not race, and collect cars...

I don't know how Sony is getting away scot free releasing this Prologue for way too much and making people wait years more for the "real version"....EA gets absolutely killed for Madden and stuff yet GT gets a complete pass?

yes and no. the hardcore crowd just WANTS something so they'll get it. the gamer that likes or maybe loves driving games esp GT WILl at least "think" of picking it up. It's a very QUICK play IMHO though this prologue version. the courses are VERY few and really don't look THAT much diff than what was een in the demo that was released earlier.

[labguy]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

This is just my opinion so don't flame me to bad...but to answer the earlier question about Sony getting a pass and EA getting beat up, I think because GT is not an annual release that Sony decided to put out a portion of what they had (fewer cars and tracks) and give the people a taste. Now we can argue price (40 bucks does seem steep), but really if I were them I would set the price high too. If the demand is there it will sell and if not they will reduce the price. The consumer is not being cheated though because they know going in what they are getting. Now if it has a bunch of bugs then that is another story.

EA on the otherhand puts out Madden for instance and it is missing a lot of features that previous versions had (formation subs, O-line blocking shifts, etc) and it also has a defective franchise mode. The game had flaws great enough that a patch was released. So the consumer thought they were getting a completed product. That is the difference in my opinion.

[labguy]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

One more point I wanted to make. Also the GT designers have made a pretty big leap in this edition of the series. Here are the big changes:

1080 graphics
60 fps frame rate
cockpit view mode
online racing for first time (big feature)
other online extras (tv programs)

Madden added gang tackling which was cool but that was about it. Framerate was slow on PS3. Madden still does not have an online league feature. So if they don't plan to drastically improve the game each year then just charge me 5-8 bucks for a roster update. And maybe only put the game out every other year.

So I think the reason GT gets the pass is because they are honest up front with the consumer. EA hipes the sh*t out of their games and then stick their head in the sand when the game draws criticism. When people drop 60 bucks they expect to have a BETTER experience than the last version of the game.

Ok I will get off my soapbox now. I don't want to hijack this thread. My initial question was just to inquire about car damage since it was commented on in the review.

[mgoblue]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

One more point I wanted to make. Also the GT designers have made a pretty big leap in this edition of the series. Here are the big changes:

1080 graphics
60 fps frame rate
cockpit view mode
online racing for first time (big feature)
other online extras (tv programs)

Madden added gang tackling which was cool but that was about it. Framerate was slow on PS3. Madden still does not have an online league feature. So if they don't plan to drastically improve the game each year then just charge me 5-8 bucks for a roster update. And maybe only put the game out every other year.

So I think the reason GT gets the pass is because they are honest up front with the consumer. EA hipes the sh*t out of their games and then stick their head in the sand when the game draws criticism. When people drop 60 bucks they expect to have a BETTER experience than the last version of the game.

Ok I will get off my soapbox now. I don't want to hijack this thread. My initial question was just to inquire about car damage since it was commented on in the review.

Yeah, don't want to hijack. I just expect more than this when they've had like 4 years to develop a game, you know? But I don't think GT will ever have damage due to car manufacturers not letting them...at least that's what I've always heard online...

I don't blame Sony one bit for milking people who will pay for this...just seems like people take it up the arse and smile when it comes to GT, but bitch about the cost of DLC, games in general, etc at other times. All this is for another thread though, sorry...

[labguy]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

Well according to the recent article posted on the site, car damage is on the way. If they found a way to put that in for next year's release of GT5 I would be one happy gamer!

[bkfount]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

Well according to the recent article posted on the site, car damage is on the way. If they found a way to put that in for next year's release of GT5 I would be one happy gamer!

I somehow doubt it will be in GT5 or the interview would have been more specific. They've even said in the past that even if they had the permission from the car companies in the past, they would have still spent way too much time getting the damage models right. They even say how Forza 2 just does it to have it, while it really isn't done right.

It's just something that I don't see them throwing out quickly.

[Blzer]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

1080 graphics
60 fps frame rate
cockpit view mode
online racing for first time (big feature)
other online extras (tv programs)

That's just not very many things. Three or four years of development and this is all they could get in? I don't think Halo deserves a pass either.

Look at what Rockstar is doing with Grand Theft Auto IV. Now they really set the bar.

[Spectre]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

Ugh, I can't play GT anymore. It sounds like you can still nudge your way through turns by using the AI's cars as a barrier. Online in this game will be a mess. Don't get me wrong, the game looks gorgeous and that was an impressive upgrade but I need more now.

I think I've been spoiled by the Forza realism- keep in mind I played GT religiously from GT1-3 and didn't even sample the first Forza on the Xbox.

[Flawless]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

These comments from the IGN UK review are turning me off. I may just wait for the real GT5 in hope of better things from this series.

Unfortunately, the grind that's required to unlock the car, and indeed to progress through the game, is one of the major flaws of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. It's here that the identity crisis the game is clearly having comes to the fore, straddling something between a demo and a full blooded title, as as a result it seems overly restrictive and artificially protracted. Only cars won in the main thrust of the game can be used in the arcade mode, and subsequently this is true for multiplayer as well, so out of the box there's an unnecessary limitation to cars from the lower end of the pecking order. Soon enough there's the opportunity to get hands-on with a car with something a little more substantial under the bonnet, but key to progressing through the 30 events on offer is grinding through the same race multiple times.

And it's here that the over-prescriptive routines of opposition AI can really frustrate. A bugbear of the Gran Turismo series has always been the somewhat redundant AI of opposition drivers, and while admittedly some baby steps have been made in this area it still falls seriously short of what should be expected of a title of this calibre. It's still a viable tactic to pile into a hairpin full throttle and use the side door of an opposing car as a brake, which in this day and age just feels wrong. Also, when grinding an event, as necessitated by the game's archaic structure, you can't help but feel a serious sense of déjà vu overcoming you, as the same Nissan Skyline spins off on the same corner and obstructs the same piece of tarmac. It gifts driver's foresight that would have even Nostradamus choking on his cornflakes, and goes to prove that if it's racing you're after it maybe best to look elsewhere.

[Spectre]

Re: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

It's still a viable tactic to pile into a hairpin full throttle and use the side door of an opposing car as a brake, which in this day and age just feels wrong.

Wow, it seems like they haven't changed their engine at all. I hoped the game would have progressed. The brain-dead, redundant and non-strategic AI seems to still be there.