Gran Turismo 5 Prologue<\/em><\/a> is just a demo. I\u2019ve heard that criticism so much it makes me ill. Let me set the record straight right now, dammit! GT5P<\/em> is NOT a demo, and to characterize it as such is a grave undervaluing of what the game has to offer. Sure, it\u2019s not the full-blown Gran Turismo 5<\/em> experience that\u2019s still to come \u2013 hence Sony\u2019s addition of Prologue<\/em> to the title and reduced asking price \u2013 but with 70 cars, six tracks (each with either a mirrored or alternate layout), 16-player online, a host of offline modes and some other cool features like GT-TV (an online portal delivering various behind-the-scenes video content), it\u2019s far from being just a flimsy demo.<\/p>\n

To further illustrate my point, take a look at Gran Turismo HD Concept<\/em>. Do you remember it? It had like one track, 10 cars and a barebones mode lineup. Now that was a demo, folks. See the difference?<\/p>\n

Okay, now that I\u2019ve got that little rant out of my system (sorry, I\u2019ve just grown so tired of hearing everyone rip the game for being a \u201cdemo\u201d), let\u2019s move on to the game itself. Overall, GT5P<\/em> is typical Gran Turismo<\/em> through and through. If you\u2019ve played HD Concept<\/em> in particular, you\u2019ll notice numerous similarities in the interface design and some of the modes.<\/p>\n

GT5P<\/em> offers quite a bit of material to take in. Modes include Arcade, which houses Single Race, Time Trial and Drift Trial modes, 2P Battle for head-to-head split-screen racing, and the two headliners: online play and the Events mode. The online mode is without question the main draw here considering this is the first game in the franchise to feature such functionality, and for the most part it doesn\u2019t disappoint. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While the online model is pretty basic \u2013 there are no lobbies, you simply log on, choose an event type and you\u2019re automatically matched up \u2013 it performs very well and finally gives GT<\/em> nuts a chance to prove their automotive skills against real competition. After a rocky start around launch time, the online performance has proven to be rock-steady. I\u2019ve been racing online almost daily the past couple of weeks and haven\u2019t seen even a blip of lag or been disconnected a single time. I think that\u2019s an impressive feat given the game\u2019s astounding graphical fidelity and support for simultaneous 16-player races. What\u2019s more, racing online rewards credits for use in purchasing new cars while offline, which is an extra bit of incentive I personally appreciate. I hate online games that offer no reward for your time investment. I have to be earning something to make it worthwhile, and thankfully GT5P<\/em> fulfills this demand.<\/p>\n

Offline, the main play mode is Events, a tier-based career mode of sorts taking you through four progressively difficult tiers. Each tier consists of 10 events, and by earning bronze, silver or gold trophies in each event the next tier of events becomes unlocked. Completing every event is a challenge (the AI is clearly a step up from past games) and takes many hours behind the wheel to do, and that\u2019s all you can really ask for.<\/p>\n

The actual racing in GT5P<\/em> is, as expected, truly sublime. The physics and controls are unmatched, and the level of immersion provided by the new cockpit camera perspective is downright awe-inspiring \u2013 the game would be completely forgettable without it, frankly speaking. Teamed up with a nice HD display, surround-sound, and the new Driving Force GT wheel from Logitech (read my impressions here<\/a>), GT5P<\/em> is the most realistic, immersive console racing experience money can buy. Seeing the amount of care and authenticity Polyphony Digital put into recreating each and every car\u2019s dashboard and body design shows an attention to detail you just don\u2019t find any many other games.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That said, one glaring flaw that has always been a banana in the franchise\u2019s tailpipe is now more prevalent as a weakness than it\u2019s ever been. I\u2019m referring to the lack of damage modeling, of course. When you\u2019ve got such realistic physics and incredible graphical quality, not having damage modeling becomes dramatically pronounced, especially when every other racer this generation has it in comparison. Because there\u2019s no fear of denting up your ride, barreling full speed into a tight corner crowded with other racers actually turns into this sort of bumper-car tactic that can be utilized to get an advantage.<\/p>\n

Another element that\u2019s missing from Prologue<\/em> is a car part upgrade system. After completing the third tier in the Events mode, a new Quick Tune feature becomes available for you to adjust various performance settings before a race, but it just doesn\u2019t deliver the same satisfaction of customizing your cars with actual parts.<\/p>\n

But other than these shortcomings, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue<\/em> is a masterful production. It\u2019s got plenty of content and value to justify the $40 price and is just plain superior to any other racing sim this generation, even if it is \u201cjust a demo\u201d like so many critics keep saying.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pros:<\/strong>
\n+ Though basic, the 16-player online is good fun and runs smoothly
\n+ Benchmark-setting graphics and audio
\n+ New cockpit camera is unbelievably immersive
\n+ Still the best simulation racing physics and controls in the business<\/p>\n

Cons:<\/strong>
\n– Lack of damage modeling more noticeable than ever
\n– No parts upgrading and customization<\/p>\n

Game Info:<\/strong>
\nPlatform: PS3 (in both Blu-ray and PSN downloadable forms)
\nPublisher: SCEA
\nDeveloper: Polyphony Digital
\nRelease Date: 4\/15\/08 on Blu-ray, 4\/17\/08 on PSN
\nGenre: Racing
\nPlayers: 1-16<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is just a demo. I\u2019ve heard that criticism so much it makes me ill. Let me set the record straight right now, dammit! GT5P is NOT a demo, and to characterize it as such is a grave undervaluing of what the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[379,49,180,3,61],"tags":[6224,6145,696,737,699,755,6100],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3163"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3163\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}