The Real Deal
With Gran Turismo 5 Prologue’s hyper-realism, superb new options and online competing, race-game playing has gone into overdrive
Since
Gran Turismo launched back in 1997, each successive version has pushed racing-game realism to new limits. With
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, the gap between gaming and reality is slimmer than ever.
From the clarity and detailing of its picture to the painstaking accuracy of each digitally rendered car and circuit,
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is simply extraordinary. Its pictures make more use of the PlayStation3’s awesome capabilities than any other racing game. Its Full HD 1080p video resolution – a super-fast 60 frames per second – is unrivalled in the genre.
According to David Wilson of Sony Computer Entertainment UK, “We are now able to reproduce cars with approximately 40 times more detail than with
Gran Turismo 4 on the PS2. Specifically, the new cars have approximately 200,000 polygons each, against 5,000 for a
GT4 car.”
Dedication to realismKazunori Yamauchi, president of Polyphony Digital (the video game developing company of Sony Computer Entertainment) and creator of the Gran Turismo series, wouldn’t have it any other way. A true petrol-head (his personal garage includes a Porsche GT3, a Ford GT and a Mercedes-Benz SL55), Yamauchi races regularly at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit outside Tokyo. It’s his mission to deliver the most realistic driving experience possible that’s at the heart of
Gran Turismo’s success.
It’s precisely this level of dedication to realism that has made each game so special, and so beloved by its fans. With
GT5 Prologue, Yamauchi says, “We were finally able to create something best suited to the PlayStation3, showcasing the new capabilities of the graphics, the improved artificial intelligence and the introduction of online gameplay. But this is the bare minimum we thought would be acceptable. There’s lots more to come!”
The full versionThat’s a hint at the ‘full’ version of
GT5, now delayed until 2010. Why the wait? Simply that, with each car and track taking months to model so accurately, building a wider
GT5 environment – which could eventually have hundreds of cars and dozens of circuits – is a huge undertaking. And Kazunori Yamauchi doesn’t cut corners.
Although nothing has been announced, it looks like features such as damage and more cars will be available to download in due course. For example, visitors to the recent London Motor Show could test-drive the new Lotus Evora on special
GT5 Prologue modules at the Lotus stand.
Formula 1 car debutNot that
GT5 Prologue buyers should feel short-changed. There are 71 different cars to drive, from Mazdas and Suzukis to the Audi R8, and – for the first time – an official Formula 1 car, a Ferrari.
But most importantly, the experience is truly phenomenal. It’s as challenging as you want to make it. If all you fancy is a quick blat, you can switch on steering and stability aids, leave on the feature that shows you where to turn in, and follow a braking target-speed that hovers above each corner. Race in Arcade mode and you can drive on any circuit, using any car and any style of race.
But if you’re ready to write off a whole day, a world of challenges awaits. There are 30 race events in three classes. As your cars get faster, the game’s AI ramps up the difficulty, and a host of options let you adjust gears, tyres and more. Turning off the racing line and braking-indicator guidelines also adds to the challenge.
GT AcademyThen there’s the online gaming, which lets you compete against (up to) 15 other drivers at once. The recent GT Academy saw gamers racing to win the top prize of participating in the Dubai 24 Hour race in January, co-driving a race-prepared Nissan 350Z.
If all that seems a step too far into the virtual unknown, worry not. At heart,
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is a simple game, and quite simply, it’s astonishing.
Story by Andy Kerr Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
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