Review: Gran Turismo 5

OVER FIVE YEARS in the making, multiple delays and some awfully high expectations, but can Gran Turismo 5 live up to it?

The Gran Turismo franchise has always gone under the strapline ‘The Real Driving Simulator’ and the latest installation is no different, providing what they describe as, “the world’s most realistic and comprehensive driving experience.” As such, casual players may struggle at first to get to grips with game’s extraordinarily realistic handling physics. Cars have a real weight to them and feel as if they really are sitting on the ground and interacting with it as it passes under their digital wheels.

Racing
One area of the playing experience that has always left gamers wanting was the rival cars, often displaying decidedly odd and un-racing driver-like behaviour. This problem has partially been resolved in GT5 with rival cars now reacting much better to situations, no longer religiously following the programmed racing line however when the racing gets a bit heated they still display a distinct lack of intelligence, making unusual, unfair and frustrating moves and decisions.

Another area where Gran Turismo has always been ahead of the competition is in its graphics and GT5 moves this advantage on a step. Polyphony Digital, the company the makes Gran Turismo, always felt that the Playstation 2 was not powerful enough and was holding them back but since they got their hands on the Playstation 3 they’ve really gone to town, exploiting its superior computing power. GT5 features over 1000 cars but 800 of them are ‘standard’ models; basically cars taken straight from the PS2’s GT4 and upgraded to PS3 standards.

Graphics
Unfortunately, it is hard to see where these upgrades have been done because they look, frankly disappointing. You can’t help but feel they exist purely make up the numbers. In stark contrast however, the so called ’premium’ cars look absolutely stunning. They look so super realistic that at times you could swear you were looking at a photograph or video of a real car. The magnificent attention to detail in the smallest sections like the bulbs in the headlights or the heating elements in the rear windows really highlight the perfectionism of Kazunori Yamauchi, the CEO of Polyphony Digital and the man responsible for the entire Gran  Turismo series. GT5 was delayed as much as it was because of Kazunori, unwilling to release it until it was truly finished and met his own extremely high standards, in particular relating to the damage which features for the first time in the Gran Turismo series.

Verdict
The gameplay may have a few shortcomings,  the graphics may also have a few weak spots and the menus can at times be infuriating with their many counter intuitive features but to Gran Turismo devotees none of this will matter. The driving experience is sublime and when the graphics are good there’s simply nothing that can beat it. If you want an immersive and realistic driving game then Gran Turismo 5 will not disappoint. If you want a fun, arcade racing game then you might want to look elsewhere.

Rating: 7.5/10

Gran Turismo 5 is available now online and in store.