Gran Turismo 5

[Mirage]

GT5: Future Racers DLC.

Also, where are the god damned pickup trucks? I need one.

[Pete for President]

Played it at my friends' house yesterday and liked it a lot, though part of it may have been the extremely sophisticated steering wheel which added up to the experience. And oh yeah, drunk driving is fun in this game!

[Mo-Nercy]

I'm currently more excited about getting my hands on Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, as that's more the kind of racer I'm into. When it comes to simulation, I prefer games that simulate a specific class of racing like F1 2010 or Dirt 2.

But seeing as I'm about to get handed down a steering wheel controller from a friend, I think I might as well buy GT5. The last GT I bought was 3, so I expect to be impressed. I haven't really followed it through development so these NASCAR, WRC and karting simulation modes are news to me. It sounds great!

[Bolivar]

I can totally understand how the reviewers are calling it a disappointment, and quite frankly I only see it getting worse b/c not everyone's review is up.

After 5 years of effort, you kind of expect the second coming. So, first, you realize Jesus Christ isn't inside the car with you in interior view. You say 'alright, that's understandable, can't really expect Christ to be riding shotgun in this game...' But then you realize that most cars don't even have interior views at all. Then you realize that the damage is nowhere near anything resembling "realistic." And then you notice how little upgraded from GT4/GT on PSP the Standard cars are and a lot of the environments don't look that great, even cartooney at 60 frames per second.

Then you hit the windshield wipers and realize the game isn't running at 60 frames per second.

But somewhere along the line, of unlocking new cars to participate in different racing challenges, you have the game paused and it does indeed look beautiful. The truth is, this game isn't "the last racing game you'll ever have to buy" but it probably is hands down the best sim ever made. For me, playing GT4 on the PS2 and GT on the PSP wasn't enough, I needed that HD version and they've clearly delivered. The game does seem like it could have been released a year earlier at the least, but when you factor in the diversity of content, it becomes clear why this game took 5 years to make.

I'm level 11 and I've just barely begun to scratch the surface of things like Kart Racing, NASCAR, and AMG Mercedes driving school. I can't wait to check out the Top Gear challenges and see what Rally Racing and "Gran Turismo" special events are like. I watched an episode on Gran Turismo TV about this car show at Pebble Beach where Polyphony Digital selected a car to be in the game. Plus I have this insane new wallpaper that i took in photo mode of a car that I actually got in the game.



Anyway, between this game and Black Ops I feel like I have enough to play for the rest of this generation

Even the AI at its hardest is a breeze. Winning races always comes down to who has the best car rather than who has the best skill.

I've found the default physics to be pretty easy and not too "sim"-ey to put off any casual players, but I think the real challenge comes in when you play with Professional settings. They had it on the Time Trial Demo a few months ago and it's pretty intense, but highly satisfying.

[DMKA]

After five years of development there's just no way anyone's expectations would be met.

It looks great to me, but what do I know? I don't play racing games that aren't like Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing.