Prologue was meant to be a taster of things to come but for many it just raised questions about the direction of the franchise and its failure to evolve. Polyphony Digital spent almost half a decade on this release and for all the time invested has repeated the same mistakes. The sheer number of options and cars they’ve included in this release is impressive. For enthusiasts there is little need to look elsewhere as the range of cars from the eras and their driving styles are expertly replicated.
Things don’t begin very well and first impressions are extremely important. Faced with the option of an hour-long installation (followed by updates), Gran Turismo 5 is a stubborn beast to manoeuvre onto the starting grid. Even when you do, the loading screens still remain excessive; we’d hate to even guess the loading times when streaming from the disc. This is compounded by the menu system. Head into an event and you may be denied due to your car type. Clicking on the garage icon will bring up a list of available cars for the race, however this is neither intuitive or obvious.
It’s a poor piece of design, clearly aimed at enthusiasts with a decent level of car knowledge and blatantly ignoring newcomers. It may look pretty in high definition but actually using the desktop and reaching a race is far too cumbersome and tiring. Aside from the navigating of menus you’ll often be faced with error messages due to the server overload. On paper Gran Turismo 5 finally embraces the possibilities of online play and having your own online profile. Wondering how your friends are doing? Then check out their performance, post pictures and so on. Sounds great doesn’t it? Well it is when it actually works, but the features have been cut back for now due to the excessive online demand.
The actually structure of the game has changed little. Yes, it’s a journey from the very bottom as you aim to gain credits and licenses. The avenues in which to spend your cash are endless, whether washing your vehicle or tuning it into a boy racing dream machine. Gran Turismo 5 sets the benchmark for what you can do off the track. The training academies offer new avenues and experiences, expertly pieced together to challenge drivers of all skills. For the faithful you’ll romp through the initial races and challenges. The Top Gear test track makes its debut but is overshadowed by the rallying and NASCAR options.
After all the hardships when you finally reach the tarmac its here that the game comes to life. Much has been made of rival games since GT4 and their improvements. These pretenders are washed away when you hit the accelerator; the handling isn’t merely good, it’s fantastic. Particularly if you are lucky enough to own a wheel that really allows you to feel and react to the characteristics of the car. Yet the racing experience is diminished by the two staple drawbacks of the series that the team have once again failed to address. At Gamestyle we’re not hugely concerned about damage modelling but appreciate that many players are. More annoying is the AI on the lower levels of difficutly, which we like to call ‘rubber banding’, where a good drive may have you finishing in third but a perfect race will be needed to reach the leader. It’s the worst form of AI that has been around since the debut of Ridge Racer. AI opponents will huddle together waiting on you to overtake them, seemingly not concerned by the need to improve their own position. Although this improves as you progress into the more difficult races, there should be more consistancy in the AI throughout the game.
More than ever with the improvements in first person shooters a decent AI system for racing is required. What we have in a flagship title such as Gran Turismo 5 is extremely shallow and one-dimensional. The fun at times during racing comes from trying to beat your own lap times and improving corner techniques. To many players this isn’t what a racing game should be about; the thrill of victory or fiendish overtaking move is lost in this slick controlled environment.
Online play should offer a needed tonic to the sterile world of your career. Sadly is already run ragged by players who are intent on slamming into others who are actually trying to drive. Frankly this was always going to be an issue and its not one specific to this series either. Many years ago Gamestyle in Project Gotham retreated into the safety of only racing friends; such a tactic may be needed once again. Bizarrely the range of options online is fairly basic and reaching the tarmac for a sixteen-player race is as cumbersome an experience as in the career mode.
In Prologue we enjoyed downloading the various programmes that followed the development of the Nissan GT-R. Gran Turismo TV builds upon this foundation with a much wider range of content available. Players can also build their own tracks with a limited course maker or take snapshots of their favourite cars around the globe. The course option only allows you to select basic options, choosing the number of sections and then how technical these should become. From a limited toolkit you will only produce limited circuits. Overall it’s a common trend in a bloated game full of its own self-importance and in desperate need of a serious edit.
While Gamestyle loves the on track handling, the pursuit of new vehicles and driving excellence, Gran Turismo 5 fails to achieve its goals or address its bad habits. Full of distractions and pretty eye candy, beneath the bonnet, the chassis is in serious need of attention.
