Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

Review from Samo - Tuesday, 24 June 2008 @ 2:25pm

Episode V.

Prologue.

A long time ago in a land far, far away....

....a discount gym membership was bought by a lowly and exceptionally unfit critic that a few people knew as S. For a time, it was good and the gym membership brought happiness and wellbeing to the budding scribe. However, the time passed and the gym membership faded into obscurity and became hidden under time’s disarray. S’s life became a sea of apathy and mediocrity, a black and white cardboard facade with little to no substance.

Time passed, clouds turned to grey and the writer became an uninspired, restless cliché. Much like the start of this article. It was completely by accident that, while sifting through the disorder of time, S discovered a long lost relic the local tribe of Tasmanians that had taken up residence in his back room called the Keyring of Gymnasia. On the keyring was scrawled a mysterious inscription. Some have likened it to a barcode; others say it bears the exact time and date of the apocalypse in Ephemeris time. The relic itself held the power but could only be used by one possessing the motivation. Some say the motivation is found within, others that it takes time to develop within the holder of the relic. Upon discovery, the motivation within S rose to new heights and since then S has used the relic to great effect, brining upon a new age of health, wellbeing and fitness to the possessor.



Alright, alright. To cut it down, I’ve had a gym membership for ages and I haven’t used it. However, I rediscovered it in the last couple of weeks and have been going to the gym regularly since and its amazing how much better I feel. Seriously, it’s incredible, wish I had the motivation to be doing it before. It’s a bit like the difference between Forza 2 and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

See, before I got back into my gym habit, I felt flat with low energy levels and such. I didn’t feel bad, just sort of coasted along without really knowing how much better I could have been. I also had plenty of time on my hands, which meant that I spent more time doing idle things. Like gaming. A lot like Forza 2 then. Comfortable in a middle of the road type way with enough variation to keep the player busy for a while.

Now, I feel better. More vital, sharper, healthier and slowly but surely, I’m probably getting a fraction better looking too :D. With my new, healthier lifestyle, I’m also sitting on my arse less, which means I have less time or interest in details and prefer a shorter, richer experience. Much like Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, then.

In many ways Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is simply a taster of what is to come from the full fat Gran Turismo 5 that is coming probably next year. Or if you go by Polyphony Digital’s usual release date promise accuracy, sometime in 2015. More to the point, it’s easy to liken it to a demo that you have to pay 60 bucks for. Yeah sure, that’s one way to look at it but from the other side it’s more like the Bruschetta preceding the Penne Napoli. It still tastes bloody good, it doesn’t cost as much yet they complement each other nicely.



Either way, GT5:P is pretty much like every GT before it. Just better. It’s just as accessible and realistic as before. The graphics are a major step further in the ‘oh my god I just creamed my pants over the realism’ stakes, except for the anti-aliasing which seems to have been left out altogether. Interesting how Sony can create the biggest, muscliest of consoles yet its flagship racing game forgets a technology from mediaeval times. It doesn’t ruin the experience but it’s nearly as disappointing as an over-hyped video game derived movie. Except for the Super Mario Brothers movie which was so bad that it went full circle and was good because of how bad it was.

Aside from the new cars, tracks and the shiny new visuals the real thing about the gameplay in GT5:P is the new and improved professional physics setting. As opposed to the normal physics, in professional mode the cars come alive, they understeer and oversteer and will lock up the brakes realistically like no other game I’ve played. Coupled with one of the Logitech wheels that were designed for Gran Turismo, GT5:P is now at a level of realism where the skills you learn driving in the game really do translate to real life. Sure, there’s no sensation of speed or G-Force like there is in real life but I’m utterly serious when I say my driving is smoother and my car control is sharper on a real racetrack because of the time I’ve spent playing Gran Turismo.

This time around there is an online component, finally, which is good and bad. It’s good because we can finally get away from the dreary and predictable AI, which I might add is vastly improved now. It’s bad because the matching is rudimentary at best and lacks the outright customisability of Forza. It’s also a new lesson in frustration when you’re braking at the last minute into the first corner and the douchebag following you decides that using your brakes is better than using theirs and you find yourself crawling out of the gravel trap watching the rest of the field disappear into the distance. Not fun.



The comparison to the other this gen racing game, Forza 2, is inevitable so I put it like this: “The people who created Forza 2 were told by someone else what it is like to love cars and they lost something in the translation. GT5:P was made by people who truly love cars and as a result the passion for what they’re doing is translated into the game.” GT5:P is THE only racing game you need to care about if you’re a car enthusiast, all the others are simply also-rans.

So Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is a bit like GT that’s been in the gym for a while. It feels good, looks great and is a bit more tucked and polished than before yet it’s still good old faithful underneath.

Summary

Gran Turismo has been in the gym working out. While this might be just a ‘demo’ of what is to come, GT5:P is beefier and better than any racing game before it, even if it isn’t bigger.

Pros

Physics simulation in professional mode is a simply sublime benchmark in realism; standard physics are just as accessible yet just as challenging as before, graphics are oh so real, GT finally has online, GT TV is a great idea.

Cons

Online matching and events feel a bit underdone. Gorgeousness partially ruined by complete lack of anti-aliasing. Real, full fat GT5 still to come.