You would hope that Polyphony Digital’s Kazanori Yamauchi would know that Gran Turismo 5 has to struggle. When GT4 came out, GT3 was still the state of the art for serious racing games. Forza Motorsport has yet to make its mark, Project Gotham Racing has yet to find the right balance between sim and arcade racer, Codemasters’ TOCA series has lost its way, and PC has had nothing quite like it. Things are different now. Stop for a second and just look at the competition. With Forza Motorsport 2 and Project Gotham Racing 4 already available on the 360, GTR2 and RACE 07 and doing great things with physics on PC and the forthcoming GRID available on all three platforms, Gran Turismo can’t afford to stay in the to be caught standing still.
And that’s why the GT5 prologue is so important. In the past we’ve had to wonder why anyone sane would shell out £20 for a glorified demo, but GT fans – and I still am one of them – were willing to do so, just to get an idea to get what graphics and gameplay improvements a new console or version could bring. Whether Forza Massive agrees or not, GT is widely regarded as the gold standard for console driving games. The question is whether the brand can maintain this value.
Based on the GT5 prologue he has a real chance. That’s partly because it’s the first prologue that actually feels like a proper – albeit stripped down – Gran Turismo game. We’re still missing out on all the engine upgrade and car customization features that make Gran Turismo so addictive – although some limited tweaks will come later. However, we do get a decent starting roster of 30 single-player events, over seventy cars, six courses each with at least two variations, and – for the first time in a Gran Turismo – online play. 
Your first port of call is the dealerships and here you will see that Prologue offers a range of models from European, US and Japanese manufacturers including Acura, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Citroen, Dodge, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Jaguar, Lotus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Volkswagen. At one end of the spectrum we get hot versions of everyday favorites like the Renault Clio Sport, Mini Cooper-S or our editors’ beloved Ford Focus ST. On the other hand, we get dream cars like the Ferrari F430 or the Aston Marin DB9 Coupé (but nothing from Porsche! – Editor’s note). In between is a strong selection of hot hatches, new school muscle cars, 4WD favorites and supercars. While about 70 fewer cars than in PGR4, let alone Forza 2 or GT4, the actual selection has been carefully targeted towards the European audience. Basically, if you’re a fan of the television activities of Messrs. Clarkson, May and Hammond, you will no doubt be very pleased.
Once you’ve decided on your first car, it’s on to the first of three sets of events, ranked by difficulty and vehicle type, to complete. As in previous GTs, there are open races as well as races specific to certain vehicle types or even models. The good news is that there are no boring license tests to work through first, and the events themselves scale up pretty well, with one extra particularly tricky set to work through once you’ve completed the first bunch. It’s hard to imagine anyone playing a Gran Turismo game before struggling with the early races, but as time goes on the events become more and more challenging. Staying on the same tracks gives you a chance to get used to the straights and corners, but once you’re halfway through the intermediate class you can expect to spend some time honing your racing line and technique .
Let’s get to the meat then. How does racing in the GT5 prologue compare to racing in GT4? Well, needless to say, it’s a better looking experience. Sony rightly boasts about the new car models that seem to use 200,000 polygons while GT4 only used 4000. They are incredibly detailed, beautifully shiny and all boast a compelling in-car view, making GT5 Prologue the best game for car fans. porn yet. The scenery is pretty gorgeous too, from the mountainous Eiger track familiar to Gran Turismo HD players to a golf course in central London that shows Project Gotham 4 how to do it. 
What holds everything together is the lighting system. Polyphony has achieved this since the dawn of the original PlayStation, and on PS3 there’s something so cohesive and perfect about the lighting that even PGR4 can’t quite match. Look at the highlights and reflections on the car, how shadows move across the track, or how the camera adjusts to the brighter conditions when coming out of a tunnel, and you’ll understand why GT5 Prologue sets a new graphical benchmark for the genre is. On the other hand, it misses one thing that PGR4 has: the weather. Is this a feature Polyphony planned for the real thing, or does GT just do bright sunshine and warm tones? We’ll just have to wait to find out.
However, graphics were never really the issue. What is that while GT has always offered the best driving experience, it hasn’t always offered the best racing. So that we understand each other. Even after PGR4, Forza 2 and TOCA Race Driver 3, GT4’s handling is the best in the business, and GT5 Prologue continues the same tradition. For the first time we have the choice between a standard physics model and a professional model, with the former aimed at casual gamers looking for a more arcade racing experience and the latter at the simulation enthusiasts. The differences are fairly subtle, especially when playing on a control pad, but the Professional model is definitely less forgiving of late braking and imprecise cornering, and the feel of the tire on the track is even more tangible than in GT4. Watch a replay and it’s clear that GT handles wheel/surface interactions and modeling of weight, downforce and momentum better than its competitors. Play the game and each car feels just right. Is GT5 Prologue as punishingly accurate in its physical modeling as, say, GTR2? nope Is it as accurate as it can get while remaining an enjoyable mainstream game? You bet.
But if GT is unrivaled when it comes to driving feel, that can’t be said when it comes to exciting, hard-fought racing. We should be grateful that Polyphony has finally incorporated an AI system that actually fits the dictionary definition of intelligence. The computer-controlled racers now overtake, make mistakes, try to block you and even take a risk or two – as it should be. However, everything still feels a bit half-hearted. Play PGR4 or Forza 2 and you know the other guys want to win. Play GT5 Prologue and they still seem to play it safe. We want attitude, we want aggression and the GT5 prologue still feels like the reins are on. Combine that with Polyphony’s increasingly out of step with car damage avoidance – Kazanori Yamauchi can blame the manufacturers all he likes, but every other great racing game does – and despite that, GT5 Prologue is ahead of the competition when it comes to driving tech he still lags behind the best when it comes to putting on a decent race.
Fortunately, this error is easy to fix: just get your racing kicks online against other people. OK, the features are relatively basic by today’s standards, and GT5 Prologue leaves out such basic things as a built-in friends list or proper integration of online and offline leaderboards. Also, I’m not sure the ability to watch old Top Gear footage from within the game is a huge draw. Also, the actual business of finding a game is a bit complicated. First you have to choose an event from the current list – first make sure you have a suitable car in your garage – then select the start option and then wait for quite a while while the game matches you with some opponents. They’re also tied to the preset events, meaning you can’t just pick a course and vehicle class and go for it, as some players will no doubt want. On the plus side, Sony will continue to update the events list over time – and I’m sure we can expect additional downloadable content as well.
However, the actual action is generally very good. Where PGR4 and Forza 2 are stuck at eight players, GT5 Prologue manages up to 16, and with so many racers on the track there’s plenty of crowding around the corners and testosterone on the tarmac. The game is smart enough to penalize corner cutting, and the only minor oddity is that it also listens for odd behavior, turning off collision detection if it suspects it’s due to a network glitch. This certainly saves some trouble in online games, but it also means that you are never 100% sure whether you will crash into the car in front of you when taking a corner that is too fast or just slide straight ahead. It’s quirky, but it’s something you’ll get used to.
In fact, grading the GT5 prologue is difficult. It’s only about half what we’d expect from a full-priced game in terms of content, but then it’s only about a third of a full-priced game in price. Judging by the single player mode, I’m not sure I’d necessarily recommend it, but throw in the online action and there’s enough light here to keep you coming back until GT5 itself arrives.
The deeper question remains whether the GT5 prologue raises expectations of the GT5 itself. Well, the graphics, improved physics model, and improved AI definitely point in a positive direction, but I still feel like there’s still plenty of room for the series to improve its gameplay. We don’t just want the ultimate car toy set – we want the ultimate driving game. The GT5 prologue says it could be possible, but there’s still work to be done before then.
“‘Verdict”‘
The GT5 Prologue shows how the series is progressing in the right direction, with superb graphics, excellent vehicle physics and a decent online mode. Just two grumbles: damage modeling remains lacking, while the AI still isn’t quite competitive enough.
characteristics
| genre | run |
| player | 16 |
| Online multiplayer | With online multiplayer |