[GC 2009] Gran Turismo 5 Hands-On
We had our hands-on time with the newest entry in probably the biggest racing game series of all time. Read inside about our first lap in Gran Turismo 5.
Published: August 20, 2009
I have always loved the Gran Turismo franchise. Maybe not as obsessively as Sam does, however I have played every part in the series and I was one of the crazy people who imported the Japanese version of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue even though in the end it took me about eight attempts to actually make the game install itself thanks to its very consistent and informative Japanese on-screen instructions. It took me even longer to download the latest update a couple of months ago, but let's not waste too much time wallowing in long forgotten times and instead deal with Kazunori's latest grand jewel.
If you've played a Gran Turismo game before then you'll most likely feel right at home with the game's driving mechanics – or not. In case you are one of those gamers that never really understood the madness for a game that feels super sensitive and almost too realistic then you should probably be better off looking elsewhere for your racing game kick. Gran Turismo 5 is very much what fans of the series have come to expect. And a little bit more: yes, you probably know it already. GT5 features a damage model for some, not all(!), of the cars in the game. Yep, you read right. Not all the cars will feature what was already to be seen in the one track, one car demo we got to play.
The track is a not very long course around many turns and tight corners which let us try out our skills with a fully functional force feedback wheel and a rattling and rumbling racing chair. It didn't seem like this was a new Driving Force wheel which means that those of you hoping for a Bluetooth enabled wheel from Logitech will need to keep hoping.
The car we drove was a Subaru Impreza WRC 2008 edition and it took visual damage as soon as we ran it into a wall of rubber wheels. Even the car's doors opened at one point. However I have to say that I have come to expect a bit more significant visual impact on the car's exterior with some of the accidents I partly made on purpose. Also the car's driving ability didn't seem to be touched at all by a 250 km/h straight drive into a concrete wall. Here's hoping that that part was just turned off due to the fact that this was the Arcade Mode we were playing (I checked!).
The game's overall visuals on the other hand seemed to be even better than in Prologue with the game once more running in 1080p (that's what the Bravia LCD kept telling us) and with all that high-res glory the different driving cams are back. The amount of detail that went into the cars and their cockpits is simply amazing, and all of that photo realistic awesomeness is running at a buttery soft 60 frames per second. At least that is what we assume, how else can a game look that smooth?
Ok, what else is there to tell you? Well according to Sony the game is going to arrive sometime in the 4th quarter of this year. This could mean that it'll be coming out shortly before Christmas. We, on the other hand, expect it to arrive in early 2010. Who knows, maybe Sony has better plans. Check back soon for a more in-depth look at one of the PlayStation brand's biggest titles in the making.
If you've played a Gran Turismo game before then you'll most likely feel right at home with the game's driving mechanics – or not. In case you are one of those gamers that never really understood the madness for a game that feels super sensitive and almost too realistic then you should probably be better off looking elsewhere for your racing game kick. Gran Turismo 5 is very much what fans of the series have come to expect. And a little bit more: yes, you probably know it already. GT5 features a damage model for some, not all(!), of the cars in the game. Yep, you read right. Not all the cars will feature what was already to be seen in the one track, one car demo we got to play.
The track is a not very long course around many turns and tight corners which let us try out our skills with a fully functional force feedback wheel and a rattling and rumbling racing chair. It didn't seem like this was a new Driving Force wheel which means that those of you hoping for a Bluetooth enabled wheel from Logitech will need to keep hoping.
The car we drove was a Subaru Impreza WRC 2008 edition and it took visual damage as soon as we ran it into a wall of rubber wheels. Even the car's doors opened at one point. However I have to say that I have come to expect a bit more significant visual impact on the car's exterior with some of the accidents I partly made on purpose. Also the car's driving ability didn't seem to be touched at all by a 250 km/h straight drive into a concrete wall. Here's hoping that that part was just turned off due to the fact that this was the Arcade Mode we were playing (I checked!).
The game's overall visuals on the other hand seemed to be even better than in Prologue with the game once more running in 1080p (that's what the Bravia LCD kept telling us) and with all that high-res glory the different driving cams are back. The amount of detail that went into the cars and their cockpits is simply amazing, and all of that photo realistic awesomeness is running at a buttery soft 60 frames per second. At least that is what we assume, how else can a game look that smooth?
Ok, what else is there to tell you? Well according to Sony the game is going to arrive sometime in the 4th quarter of this year. This could mean that it'll be coming out shortly before Christmas. We, on the other hand, expect it to arrive in early 2010. Who knows, maybe Sony has better plans. Check back soon for a more in-depth look at one of the PlayStation brand's biggest titles in the making.
