It's G[rrrrrrrrrrrea]T!
The first Gran Turismo was a sensation, appealing to petrolhead Max Power readers and casual arcade racer fans alike – as detailed in our History of GT feature. Such was its success that the series has endured for over a decade, spawning three fully-fledged sequels, several spinoffs, a host of imitators – and now Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, a comprehensive teaser for the full version of next year's Gran Turismo 5.
This isn't the first time we've seen a Prologue title, but unlike the one for GT4, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is a content-packed piece of programming that can be considered far more than an expensive demo.
A content-packed piece of programming that can be considered far more than an expensive demo.
But we'll begin with visuals. They're the first thing you'll notice from screenshots of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue – but seeing it in motion is something else entirely. From the intro to gameplay, lighting to car models and trackside detail, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is an incredible, eye-bulging, graphical tour-de-force for Sony's hardware, setting the graphical standard in the way GT games always did on PlayStations of old.
That content, though. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue lacks GT's usual expansive career mode, but still presents a lengthy singleplayer experience, with wins in first Class C, then Class B and class A Events earning you credits with which to buy new cars at the in-game Dealerships and tinker with them at the Garage. There's 71 in total, with unlockable mirrored versions of the five default tracks taking the total courses to ten. It doesn't sound much, but by the time you've gotten round to Gran Turismo 5 Prologue's 10 uber tough S Class races, you'll have enjoyed over a good twenty hours of gameplay.
A far fresher challenge
Arcade is the other main singleplayer draw, and two-player splitscreen is also welcome, but it's nonetheless Gran Turismo 5 Prologue's online play that fans will be most looking forward to. Unfortunately, we've got both good and bad to report here.
While it plays fantastically well, and racing against 15 real-life opponents feels a far fresher challenge than facing computer AI, the actual implementation is underwhelming. Online, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue gives you listed events (many of which you won't initially have the right car to enter), and matches you with random racers. No custom races. No friends list. They can fix it in due course, but at the time of writing it's not a patch on Xbox 360 Forza 2 – with even online leaderboards, and the novelty of GT TV (offering downloads of Top Gear, amongst other motoring TV content), not entirely making up for the disappointment. Shame.
An incredible, eye-bulging, graphical tour-de-force for Sony's hardware.
The other big criticisms of Gran Turismo remain, too. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue's racing is simulation to a tee – AI follows the racing line, refusing to acknowledge your existence, and rarely reacts to prevent overtaking manoeuvres. The lack of vehicle damage also feels entirely at odds with this realism, and cornering at a snails pace does little to get the blood pumping, especially when you first begin re-acclimatising to GT's anal approach to driving detail. Still gaming Marmite, then.
This is a series which dubs itself The Real Driving Simulator, however, so maybe that's missing the point. There's certainly a lot in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for GT fans to enjoy, and while it will win few new converts, the handling, visual splendour, dizzying tuning options and compulsion at growing a garage of highly-tuned automotive artworks remains as satisfying as ever.
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will certainly see Sony's sales increase, and could well help it make up the ground in the current console war which the PS3's late arrival created. But this is about much more than brand recognition – underneath the hype is a solid and spectacular-looking driving game that's lengthier than many of the console's biggest adventures and already as good as any other racer on PS3. It's not perfect, especially online, but Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is definitely worth the budget price, and bodes well for things to come for both its series and system.
GAME's Verdict
- Over 20 hours of GT goodness makes Gran Turismo 5 Prologue far more than an expensive playable teaser.
- Unbelievable HD visuals, more realistic handling than anything else out there.
- Playing against 15 human opponents feels far fresher than racing against A.I.
- At time of writing, online is random matching only - no custom races or friends list.
- The old critisisms remain: Driver A.I. blindly follows the racing line, no vehicle damage.
- Gaming Marmite: You'll either love or hate Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.
Review by: Mark 'Marmite' Scott
Review Published: 04.04.08