It has finally arrived, though not in the form most of us would have liked (by that I mean a full Gran Turismo game). Gran Turismo 5 Prologue has received a lot of bad talk because it is not a traditional "full" Gran Turismo title, but if you ask me, I think it is a great way to get people excited for Gran Turismo 5 especially since it won't be released for about a year. Anyway, I'll start by listing the cars and tracks in the game since there are so few and many people don't know the lists.
Cars:
Acura- '91 NSX
Alfa Romeo- '06 147 TI, '06 Brera 3.2 JTS Q4
Aston Martin- '06 DB9 Coupe
Audi- '07 R8 4.2 FSI, '07 TT Coupe 3.2
BMW- '03 Z4, '07 135i Coupe, '07 M3 Coupe, '07 Concept 1 Series tii
Chevrolet- '06 Corvette Z06
Citroen- '05 C4 Coupe
Daihatsu- '02 Copen, '07 OFC-1
Dodge- '02 Viper GTS, '06 SRT-10 Coupe
Ferrari- '06 599 GTB, '06 F430, '92 F40, '76 512BB, '07 F2007 (F1 car)
Ford- '07 Mustang GT, '06 GT, '06 Focus ST
Honda- '04 Integra Type R, '02 NSX Type R
Jaguar- '06 XK Coupe
Lancia- '91 Delta HF integrale Evoluzione
Lexus- '07 IS-F
Lotus- '04 Elise 111R, '96 Elise
Mazda- '07 Atenza Sport 25Z, '02 RX-7 Spirit R Type A, '07 RX-8 Type S
Mercedes Benz- '02 SL 55 AMG
Mini- '06 Cooper S
Mitsubishi- '05 Lancer Evolution IX GSR, '07 Lancer Evolution X GSR
Nissan- '02 Skyline R34 GT-R V-spec II, '07 Fairlady Z Version S, '06 Skyline Sedan 350GT, '07 Skyline Coupe Concept, '07 Skyline Coupe 370GT, '05 GT-R Prototype, '07 R35 GT-R
Renault- '00 Clio Sport
Subaru- '07 Impreza WRX STi, '05 Impreza WRX STi Type RA
Suzuki- '95 Cappuccino, '07 Swift Sport, '07 Cervo SR
TVR- '00 Tuscan Speed Six, '02 Tamora
Volkswagon- '01 Golf IV GTI, '05 Golf V GTI
That is it for the cars... sort of. You see, for some reason, the folks over at Polyphony Digital decided to not add the modification of cars into the game (there is an option unlockable when you complete all of the events in C, B and A called Quick tune which will allow for moderate tuning but nothing as extensive as the full game will have), which if you ask me, takes a lot away from the game. BUT, they somewhat made up for it by placing modified cars into the game.
Modified Cars:
Amuse- S2000 GT1 Turbo
Blitz- Dunlop ER34
Concept by Gran Turismo- 350Z RS, Corvette Z06 Tuned, Viper SRT10 Coupe Tuned, Ford GT LM Spec II Test Car, Elise 111R Tuned, Elise Tuned, Lancer Evolution IX Tuned, Lancer Evolution X Tuned, Skyline Coupe Tuned, Clio Sport V6 Tuned, Cappuccino HP Tuned, Swift Sport Tuned
(Art) Morrison- '60 Corvette
Mine's- '06 BNR34 Skyline GT-R
That is all of the cars in the game. As for tracks, there are only 6, but they have different versions to make for a true total of 12.
Tracks:
High Speed Ring (Forward and Reverse)
Daytona International Speedway (Superspeedway and Road Course)
Fuji Speedway (F1 and GT)
Eiger Nordwand (Forward and Reverse) [This is the track from GT HD Concept]
Suzuka Circuit (Full Circuit and East Circuit)
London (Forward and Reverse)
The game is laid out all in one easy to use menu screen which background shows gorgeous scenery and the car that you are currently using. The menu includes News (shows when there is an update and what it entails) GT TV (for videos which will be updated regularly. If you have the blu-ray disc version of the game, this is where you will find the Beyond the Apex video), Online (obviously for playing online), Rankings, Arcade mode, 2p Battle, Events (the 1p mode of the game), Garage, Dealerships, Replay, Options, Manual (views the instruction manual for those who downloaded the game off of the PSN), and Save. When you first start the game, you will be forced to install it onto your hard drive. This takes about 30 minutes... You start the game with 35,000 credits, which can get you a decent starting vehicle though there isn't too much to choose from.
Now to the important stuff, gameplay. I was thrilled to see and feel the improvements that they have made to the physics. Compared to Gran Turismo 4 and GT HD Concept, this game feels so good. In fact, the game feels so much better than prior installments that it almost makes you forget about the shortcomings of this not being a "complete" Gran Turismo title. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous. The new in-car view is just about as good as it gets, and environments put Forza 2 to shame. The races vary in difficulty though the A.I. needs imporvement though after the last interview with the developers of GT5, I think this is only because it isn't the full GT5. They spoke of having various difficulty levels for the full game including some where the A.I. will not only try to proevent you from passing, but will even try to force you into walls, etc. Though the thing that I am most impressed with is the framerate. I have done all of the C class races so far and a few of them include a 16 car lineup and the framerate has never dropped a bit. It's wonderful!
If this is just the small tiny taste of what is to come in Gran Turismo 5... It will be a force to be reckoned with. With talk of including car damage for the full game, I'm more excited for Gran Turismo 5 now than ever! The game is only $40 as opposed to $60 so you can't knock it too much for not being a "complete" Gran Turismo. The only true shortcoming I see with the game is the sound effects. Though they have somewhat dealt with the ridiculous tire screech noise, the car sounds aren't quite as authentic as you would hope espcially after seeing the great lengths that they went through to get the car's visuals to be as authentic as possible. If any of my opinions change as I further progress through the game, I will be sure to update this, but as for right now (after a few hours of play) I'm giving Gran Turismo 5 Prologue an 8 out of 10. (If it were $60 I would have scored it a little lower)
8/10
-CA
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