Anxiously awaiting the "real" Gran Turismo 5...

Author's Rating:

Pros: Excellent Graphics in HD (1080p). 5.1 and 7.1 Surround Sound Options. Realistic Handling.

Cons: No Damage to Cars. No real tuning options. Scaled down from previous installments in series.

The Bottom Line: 
Although it's scaled down when compared to previous installments, GT5 Prologue is still a lot of fun and will fill the void until GT5 is released November 2010.

Author's Review
With the delay of the upcoming installment in the Gran Turismo series of racing games just recently announced this past week, PS3 owners will have to wait until (at least) the end of 2010 to play a "real" Gran Turismo game.  In 2008 Sony released Gran Turismo 5 Prologue with the "prologue" marquee to inform fans of the series that they were working on a true installment in the series and this particular release was just to appease the fans who wanted to test out the power of the PlayStation 3 console. 

Because of this, a lot of fans were split down the middle when the game was released.  Many were upset that Sony was only releasing what was called, a "$60 Demo" by some.  Sony for years has set the standard when it came to the Gran Turismo series.  If it were any other developer or publisher releasing this game, it would have been praised for its graphics engine and driving physics.  But since most of the Gran Turismo games have always had a large amount of depth when it came to gameplay, vehicle selection, and track choice it's hard not to criticize this particular installment.

First of all, the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue has an amazing level of detail when it comes to vehicle design and track designs.  All the vehicles are exact replicas of their real world counterparts.  Almost every major automobile manufacturer is represented in the game, including Ford, Chevy, Lotus, Jaguar, Mazda, Nissan, and Ferrari.  Some of my favorite vehicles are also included in the game, like the Mazda RX-7.  All the tracks in the game are based on actual locations rendered in 1080p resolution.  The circuit in the mountains of Europe has some of the best graphics I have seen in the game.  When you have the viewpoint switched to "first person" you view the race from the vantage point of the driver's seat.  You can see the dashboard, steering wheel, and the driver's hands and arms.  All of the instruments on the dashboard are individual to each vehicle and are true to their real-life counterparts.

There is a debate whether or not Forza 3 for the Microsoft X-Box 360 is better looking or not.  Microsoft did a great job with Forza 3 and you can tell that they actually took their time and pushed the limits of what the console and media could do with the game and the little details and the ability to customize your vehicle with different paint and vinyl schemes edge out GT5 Prologue in some aspects as well as a really clean frame rate.  Overall GT5 has better looking backgrounds though in my opinion.  Forza 3 does look great and it would be really cool to see Forza 3 in true 1080p (not upscaled since) like GT5.

The sound effects of each vehicle are accurately captured and make good use of the Dolby Digital® 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound.  Assuming you have the speakers set up in the proper locations, the game makes you feel like you are really sitting in a high performance vehicle.  As a matter of fact, when you have the viewpoint of the game set up in "first person" mode, it really does sound like you are hearing the car engine and other noises from the inside of the car.  When you have the viewpoint set to "third person" you hear everything as you would if you were on the outside of the car.  The sound effects are really well done, and it's this attention to detail that usually puts the Gran Turismo series at the top of the list when it comes to racing games.  All of the cars for the most part sound like their real-world counterparts.  American sports cars/muscle cars like the Chevy Corvette and Dodge Viper have a beefy aggressive sound and the sporty Japanese cars like the Nissan's and Mazda's have the familiar high performance "whine" we have all come to recognize.  Even the Mazda RX-8 (and RX-7) has that "turbine" sound produced by the vehicle's rotary engine.  The music in the game for the most part is fitting.  There are not a lot of "rock" tracks in the game. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue mostly features an instrumental ambient mix which is my choice anyway if I were in charge of the soundtrack.

The gameplay is scaled down from what a Gran Turismo game usually has though.  There are not a lot of tuning options in the game and the game feels more like an arcade racer with advanced car handling.  Cars in the game handle how they really would in real life, but the lack of customizing is the reason I call it an "arcade" racer.  Some of the American sports cars (Corvette and Viper) get a little squirrelly on the track like there real life counterparts as do the Japanese rally tuned (Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution) cars which makes cornering and drifting a lot of fun especially on the mountain circuits in Europe like the Eiger Nordwand.  The races range from Time Trials to actual Circuit racing.  There are different classes of races and each level must be completed to unlock the next class.  Have to finish Class C to open Class B, etc.  There are four classes (C, B, A, S) to compete in.  Each car in the game can only compete in certain classes.  Your Ferrari's of course can only compete in S class, while a Citroen is open to compete in class C and so on.  The more advanced or powerful car, the higher class it is in.  There are over 50 cars to choose from and 6 courses to race on.  Not a lot to choose from, but for awhile there was the option to get an upgrade for the game that bumped up the car roster to 70+ cars.

Sony promises that Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be compatible with the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 coming out this fall (02, November 2010).  Cars you unlock in "Prologue" will be unlocked in GT5 just like the cars you unlock in Gran Turismo for the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) will be.  Gran Turismo 5 is said to have over 1000 cars in the game and an additional amount of cars to download later on.  Whoa!

Overall the game is a lot of fun despite being stripped down from what the series usually has to offer.  I am not disappointed since I got the Greatest Hits version of the game for only $17.99 last year.  I would have even paid the full retail price of the original release of $59.99 if that's what it was still being priced at.  The game is a lot of fun and I have yet to play the online mode which supports up to sixteen (16) players at one time.  When I get high speed internet in the family room, I will definitely be playing this game online.
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[GAME]
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

[PLATFORM]
Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3)

[DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER]
Polyphony Digital/Sony

[YEAR of RELEASE]
2008

[GENRE]
Driving/Racing

[ESRB RATING]
E for Everyone
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© Copyright 2010 Chris Billings