Gran Turismo

Well, Gran Turismo 5 is finally here! After 5 long years of waiting for a GT on the PS3 I am finally able to get back to real racing! Although it's a bit of a dissapointment, but that's not to say that I still love this game and I see myself playing it for a long time.

Physics - INCREDIBLE! I mean really, absolutely amazing level of detail. Every race, with every car, there's something different, something unexpected, special and totally satisfying because that's what I think would happen in real life. Like drifting around a sharp turn in a RWD car, coming out of the turn and my rear tires slip onto the gravel just as I gear down and my rear end just spins out. It's beautiful.

In GT4 and earlier games, it was very easy to rush around a course, ram into cars to slow down and just plain abnoxious driving was just too easy to win. Now, it's a whole 'nother level. Yes, there is some damage, on premium cars, but there really is no damage system (more on damage later), but with the vastly improved physics wiping out is easier and more time costly than before.

I tested this out last night, I came around Trial Mountain's tunnel straight away and slammed into the leader car at full speed. In GT4, the other car would of careened into the wall and I would have just sped up past him. In GT5, I slammed into him so hard my rear end lifted up and to the left as my front end got caught up on his rear sending us both to the girder and me facing the wrong way. I lost 3 spots because of that.

On the same track I was able to take the chicane at the end of the track over the dirt and gain about 4 seconds on the AI in GT4. My first lap in GT5 I overturned my vehicle; second lap I hit the warning bumper at a weird angle and I spun out losing 2 spots. Third lap I almost spun out but was able to keep control, but I only gained about a second. This exploit and others like are still possible, but now much more dangerous and costly if you don't use it perfectly.

Graphics - Overall this is a beautiful game but some things just really detract from the visuals. Like the standard cars (GT4 cars), they seem to have just imported the car models from GT4. The premium cars are incredible, but there are only 200 of them. And the shadows on anything moving are just butt ugly!

Control - Pristine, of course this is Gran Turismo we are talking about here. Drifting and slipstreams make huge headways in this game and add much needed tactical realism in this game. Playing with the Standard PS3 controller is just fine and very responsive, the variety and depth of the vibration feels very intricate. I was able to feel the difference between my rear wheels losing traction around a turn, and losing traction while accellerating, and both feel very different depending on the drivetrain. This helps tremendously when "listening" to your car and adds a whole 'nother level to this game.

Sound - Dopplar effect makes huge strides in this game, everything sounds perfect. Every car has it's unique sound, revving, etc, and it all sounds excellent. Unfortunately I don't have my surround sound hooked up, but even through the TV I get an excellent range of accoustics. Can't wait to turn this up on a good sound system.

Damage - Well, there is, and there isn't damage. There is physical damage, but only on the 200+ premium cars, HOWEVER, damage is completely visual only and has no detrement to the way your car handles. You can run 150mph into a wall and all you might see is a dented bumper, eh.

If you advertise damage as part of the main features of a game, you better go the distance. I want the fear of going around a turn and running into the rear of the car in front of you and damaging the radiator taking you out of the race, or busting a CV joint causing your car to wobble and lean, or another car running into your rear causing abnormal turbulence at high speeds, or busting your trunk so bad it blocks your rear view mirror. Hell, even if it isn't cosmetic, but "simulated" engine/frame damage would be a nice addition.

Those are the kinds of real-racing dynamics that I long for in a racing game. And I don't think I'm going to get it on this generation consoles.

Anyways, bottom line, GT5 is awesome and I will be playing it regardless for a long time.