Gran Turismo 5

[jerbz01]

asa ka ni buy ug R1 CE?

[sharkey360]

After a five-year wait, memories of the previous fully featured Gran Turismo game have begun to slide into the realm of nostalgia. Nostalgia, of course, has a rose-tinted hue, and it’s this which threatens to throw Gran Turismo 5’s flaws into sharper relief than they deserve. In reality, Polyphony Digital’s biggest crime is one of inertia; the most infuriating problems here are structural quirks buried deep within the DNA of the series, and as the sheer bulk of content borders on the unmanageable, they simply become harder to forgive.

Gran Turismo’s spider-web of menu screens has always felt daunting, and as more elements have been bolted on to the periphery, it’s become positively labyrinthine. Usability isn’t the priority here, and the biggest casualty is the much-anticipated online mode, which is mired by design that insists on running counter to the established norms. There’s no invite system, for example; instead you have to manually send friends written invitations to join your ‘lounge’. The social networking options allow you to post on a Facebook-inspired wall, view activity logs, donate cars or directly mail friends, but there is no option for mass mailouts or event organisation. Polyphony promises that the GT5 community features are at an embryonic stage and will be refined and reworked in a series of patches, and they certainly need the attention.

It’s all the more galling because with 16 players in a race, clumsy AI removed from the equation, and Gran Turismo’s remarkable physics engine at work, there’s the potential for spectacular competition. The number-crunching going on under the bonnet is the game’s most notable triumph, making Gran Turismo 5’s handling model a significant asset. In previous instalments cars tended to suffer either from excessive grip, allowing for cornering speeds that wouldn’t look out of place on a Scalextric set, or catastrophic understeer that saw you inexorably gliding towards the outside barrier.

Gran Turismo 5 has defibrillated the rear end of its vehicles – they now squirm under hard braking, drift out if pushed beyond the limits of adhesion in sweepers, and with a deft touch can be caught on enthusiastic corner exits. There’s a proportion of Gran Turismo players who are happy simply to pitch themselves against the Nurburgring’s hallowed asphalt in an attempt to sculpt the perfect lap, and with the leap forward in vehicle dynamics, that eternal quest will be all the more rewarding.

Challenge the AI, though, and traditional GT rules apply. Driver skill takes a back seat to turning up with the correct equipment for the job. In all but the highest echelons, the key to success is often as straightforward as fitting race-spec slick tyres to your vehicle – the night and day difference in grip usually converts almost any car that meets the entry requirements into a potential winner. This assumes you’re at a high enough level to enter the race in the first place, of course.

In previous games, as long as you had the requisite licence and a car that met the entry requirements, you could enter any race. GT5 keeps a much tighter reign on your progress, with an RPG-inspired levelling system that restricts you not only from certain events, but from purchasing certain cars until you have earned enough experience. Rather than adding depth, this artificial throttling of progress only makes the traditional GT grind more arduous, not least because the rate of progress slows as you ascend the ladder.

As a distraction, GT5 offers a series of special events. Ranging from karting races through to NASCAR driving schools, and encompassing a tour of locations in Switzerland and Italy, this is where the game demonstrates that the throbbing engine at its heart is capable of remarkable variety. NASCAR in particular reveals itself to be a unique and exhilarating challenge, with a juddering violence that isn’t evident in any other category.

The biggest break from tradition, though, lies in aesthetics. For a series that has long been committed to astonishing levels of fidelity, Gran Turismo 5 can be remarkably unappealing. The 200 or so premium cars are genuinely stunning and, as a result, the game attempts to steer you towards them wherever possible – which is hardly surprising, given that the standard models are of noticeably poorer quality to the point that their wheel-arch textures reveal crude pixellation. The upshot is that the vast majority of vehicles in the game – and crucially many of the race-prepared models – can only be purchased when they happen to appear in the used car dealership. If you have your heart set on a particular model that isn’t available in premium trim, saintly patience is a requirement.

In spite of its foibles, by sheer brute force of content and an overhauled physics engine Gran Turismo 5 fulfils its primary objectives. It’s a virtual Matchbox collection, and much of the pleasure comes from shopping and tinkering, and then feeling the results as you push the car out on the circuit. But this is a production that feels increasingly aged in the face of modern game design. The creeping and eventually overriding feeling is that this meticulously precise simulation, and its lovingly constructed catalogue of automotive history, deserved a little more game to come along for the ride. [7]

Gran Turismo 5 Review | Edge Magazine

[finepix]

bought and installed gt5 last night. after playing it for about 5 hours, i still can't over the ugly, ugly, ugly shadows/jaggies and tree foliage. how could they release this thing? hope they release a patch soon. i'm so pissed off!

[jerbz01]

so sad, the game dissappointed you Good game baya jd siya..

[sharkey360]

GT5: WORTH THE WAIT, OR WOT?

It's been a few days since Gran Turismo 5 was released, and at last the guys in the office have unlocked the door to the PH games cupboard and dragged me out for a verdict.

Has it been long enough time to form opinions about the gameplay, they demand to know? And more importantly what's the answer to the burning question on everyone's lips - has this new version of Gran Turismo really been worth the six year wait?

But such trivialities as 'waiting' don't concern me when it comes to games like GT5. You see, to a petrol-head console addict, there's more to driving games than getting hold of the fastest cars, winning races and getting trophies.

No, games like Gran Turismo and Forza are about driving, not necessarily racing. So whether it's drifting a Volvo 240 Estate around London, or hours and hours spent making sure the damper rates are just perfect, that secret ingredient has to be present in a game like this.

Luckily, GT5 has lots of the secret ingredient. There's such an array of cars and tracks that it'd be difficult for any real car fan not to find their vice, even if it's as obscure as collecting Kei cars (which is mine), 4WD super estates, modern classics, or even MGFs. GT5 caters to all tastes, which is its trump card.

Another thing petrolheads might appreciate, and which will hark back to that difficult world we call 'reality' is the game's used car dealer. Finding the car you're looking for is a real task in GT5.You can have all the money in the world, but if the dealer doesn't have your ultra rare vehicle in stock, then it's tough.

But all that special ingredient was abundant in GT4, so what extra elements does GT5 have that really justify those six years of development? The answer is in the details. Whether it's the pop of flames on a downshift, or the impeccable handling model, everything that was good in previous GT games is here, but improved.

And the story doesn't stop there. There are plenty of entirely new cars, which are modelled so beautifully that a spectator might easily mistake them for the real thing. There's also a set of rewarding 'special' challenges which are much more rewarding than standard races.

As well as new additions, some of GT4's annoyances have been ironed out. The menu system isn't the wonky mess it was in GT4, and the sometimes infuriating licence tests aren't necessary to progress in the game.

Then of course, there's that staple of Gran Turismo, the tuning and customisation. But sadly that's one area in which GT5 has been overtaken -and indeed lapped - by Forza 3.

There's a lot of scope for turbocharging, tuning and tweaking, but Forza has so much more. It gives players the option to paint veritable artworks on their cars, as well as swap engines and add a larger array of parts. A RWD Chevrolet Aveo with a supercharged V8 is possible in Forza 3, and it certainly isn't in GT5.

And while on that all too clichéd comparison between Forza and Gran Turismo, there's the subject of cockpits. The cockpits on Forza aren't quite as polished as the ones in GT5, but there are more of them. That's because in GT5, they're only modelled on 'premium' cars, of which there are relatively few compared to standard cars.

When asked about the differences at the game launch, president of Polyphony digital, Kazunori Yamauchi, told us that every premium car in the game took six months to create. No wonder there aren't cockpits on all of the cars, or the game would never have come out! Standard cars are lifted from previous incarnations of Gran Turismo, given a polish, and dropped into GT5.

However, it's early days if the patching schedule is anything to go by. Within the four days of the games release, two patches have been released to add more functionality. The game designers say these updates will be regular, and will add more premium cars, as well as improvements to damage modelling, and fixes to bugs.

It seems that the perfectionism that delayed the game for so long will also be present in the ongoing updates for the game. But if the updates take forever, I'm not too bothered, because I have a Volvo 240 to drift and a million little Japanese K cars to buy.

Collecting, tuning and tweaking is what makes Gran Turismo games so unique, and with awe inspiring graphics, a greater selection of cars, and all sorts of new and interesting driving environments, the answer to the 'has it been worth it question' is clear.

Yes - so go ahead and stick it on your Christmas 'wanted' list.

GT5: Worth The Wait, Or Wot?

[darkwing]

asa ka ni buy ug R1 CE?

sa Amazon lols basin next week pa to, btw invite ko ninyo sa pinoyps.com GT5 community

GT5 Main Game Thread
GT5 PPS Online Community
GT5 Photography Thread
GT5 APEX Car Info Thread
GT5 Car Exchange Thread

yeah many love GT5

[vanzoy23]

nice game bya unta na...

[mharkxman]

nice game..........

[sharkey360]

This video is being circulated online

YouTube - Gran Turismo 5 - Epic fail!

[jerbz01]

This video is being circulated online

YouTube - Gran Turismo 5 - Epic fail!

LOL xD hehe