Gran Turismo 5 (PS3) - Reviews

(3.9)

529 reviews

Info

Reviewbucket.co.uk scanned the internet for Gran Turismo 5 (PS3) reviews.
You can find all Gran Turismo 5 (PS3) reviews and ratings on this page.

Read the reviews.

Analysis

For Gran Turismo 5 (PS3), 529 customer reviews collected from 2 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 3.9.

Detailed seller stats;
Amazon has 520 customer reviews and the average score is 3.9. Go to this seller.
Ebay has 9 customer reviews and the average score is 4.4. Go to this seller.

Detail

Click to list all products in this category.

25.11.2010

Like many I was eager to play this game, I recieved my copy a day early (thanks amazon!) and have had a good 2 days of playtime on it and while some parts I have enjoyed there are so many flaws that drag the game down.Big issues:-Loading times, even with the game installed you spend a good portion of your game waiting for it to load, I've experienced loading screens in excess of 2minutes.-If you are connected to the internet this game really wants you to sign into PSN, it asks you about 4 individual times before you get into GT world to sign it. All I've noticed signing in does is make the game take longer to load!-The rally is a complete joke in this game, the car just glides alone like its on ice or something.Can't say I've enjoyed the rally aspect much at all.-The AI is a complete joke in this game, they are incredibly bad at braking for corners and are pretty stupid in general. One thing that really annoyed me was doing the AMG challenge on the Nordschleife and you have to do a lap in a set time, now for some stupid reason they decided to put lots of AI cars of various AMG's spread out ahead of you that are just cruising around at slow speed, all they do is get in your way by sitting on the racing line and going very slowly on fast corners of the track.-Severe lack of options for the Driving Force GT steering wheel (which was made for this game). You'd atleast expect options so you can customize the sensitivity of the wheel and pedals, dead zones etc but there is nothing.-"Damage" or should I say lack of, I took a Veyron into a wall at 230mph and the result was me bouncing off it spinning around and carrying on. Do I need to say more?The little annoying issues:-Challenges, some of them are fun some are just frustrating and others are way to easy. But the thing that gets me is that when racing, if you so much as bump the car ahead from behind you get disqualified yet you can drift into them sideways at stupid speed and get away with it. The funny thing is in ASpec races you can completly cut a chicane or corner and don't even get a time penalty for it.-Too many useless screens, for example you have a 20second challenge. You finish it, your time and trophy appears, loading screen, XP board appears, loading screen, menu appears then you can either restart it or move on. This gets pretty irratating when you are going for gold on every challenge/license and just missing the odd 0.1s which takes several attempts.This probably seems like a long list of complaints, well it is but anyway the game isn't all that bad. The thing that bugs me is there are so many things on the side for example buying a driver and watching him race giving him orders (not my cup of tea) or the Auto shop where you watch a guy change your oil or spray your car and such yet they failed to deliver on some pretty big things and considering how long this game got delayed you'd expect more.Overall the game is reasonably fun but I wouldn't go as far as to call it a simulator, you have to invest some time but not too much if you want to get somewhere in the career mode. The game isn't bad but it hasn't quite lived upto my expectation hence the 3 stars, hopefully the game will recieve some patches in the future to fix some of the small annoyances and add some more customization options.Update:I've spent a lot more time on the game and have my ASpec license at 23 now, I've not had one single race against the AI that I could consider "hard". I also have all the licenses with full gold except 2/3 on international A because I got bored of doing them over and over for a bit, I figured out that for the rally to be half decent you need to turn all the driving aids off but then the AI is still terrible, I got full gold on the Loeb challenge on my first go by 8+ seconds. On the WRC challenge the AI seems insanely slow on anything that isn't tarmac, at one point I came across them doing donuts in the middle of a straight on snow ... not sure what that was about. One other annoying thing is the nascar, the AI will just bump into the back of you which is nice since they push you along so you can stay in first without the slipstream, but get caught at a bad angle and you get spun out, on a 10 lap daytona race i spent 70% of the time looking back so the AI didn't hit me in the side!Overall I've been having fun just trying to improve my lap times non stop and trying out all the various cars, just don't expect anything from the AI besides for them to get in your way.Update#2So after finishing the game besides BSpec I pushed the game up a star rating, it won me over especially after seeing the long ending video on how close the ingame Nordeshleife is to the real thing. But one thing thats really bugging me is the fact that I need to "grind" credits now in order to get the remaining cars I want, I am left with nothing to do but repeat the top tier races I've done already for money over and over, obviously I could sell a lot of my cars but I want to keep them as some are quite rare and expensive.The other thing that I really enjoyed late game was driving the Mazda R787 Stealth car that I got for pre-ordering, this car is amazing to drive. You can throw it into corners at speeds you just don't think it could do, took me a few laps of pushing more and more to find the real limits. Driving it in the rain was a mission and a half, you have to be very precise with your throttle control or you will end up in the hedge, the back end on this thing just wants to throw you off!Anyway, a list of things I'd like to see after finishing the game:-Improved AI-More customisation for steering wheels-Co-Driver in rally to be useful, all he tells you is the angle of the corner ahead, doesn't mention the distance, crests, jumps, blind corners etc-More ASpec championships/races that are hard! There's only 9 at the top tier and frankly they are all easy, at the very least more to do would be really nice-A way to speed up time in BSpec races, watching the AI drive gets boring fast, especially on 6+ lap races. I ended up putting my driver in a car way too fast for the event and going AFK-Like I said earlier, DAMAGE. Crashing into walls should have consequences besides for slowing you down and helping you sometimes-Car setup profiles for various tracks (unless I've missed it) would be really good!-Someway to upload replays to the web, or the very least a local computer to playback and share with peopleAnyway, if you play this game don't expect much if you're an avid racer until very late game because there isn't much for you. The game kepts me hooked for a good amount of days, way more than 90% of games that take just hours to finish these days so I bumped my rating upto 4 for that too. Now I just need to discover the replay value of this game, there's some cars I really want to try but it's gonna mean a lot of money farming!

29.11.2010

Where do I begin? OK, so lets goet my mini-rant out of the way up top. This is not a Need for Speed or arcade racer. No, you cannot access all the cars and tracks straight away in Arcade Mode, which is pretty much the same as the other GT games.I am not going to compare GT5 to Forza 3 though, because it is chalk and cheese and a comparison similar to FIFA/PES. What is one mans gold is anothers rubbish.GRAPHICS/PRESENTATION:The graphics, for the most part, are superb. The modelling of the cars is pretty much spot on, they all look like they are supposed to, and the detailing of them is quite spectacular. However, I did a night time race in the rain recently, on Special Stage 7,and noticed some embarassing pixellated graphics/shadows around the car. It looks amateurish compared to the rest of the game, and surely this could (and should) have been corrected? Other than that I like the presentation personally, it comes across as a very modern interface. Although some of the writing and logos seem a bit small and the GT mode is a little bit cluttered and confusing at time.For the vast majority though, it may seem a bit stale, but I really liked it.The courses, are a mixed bunch visually. From the visually stunning London and Eiger Nordwand to the utter borefest that are some of the others where, at times there literally is NO scenery! None! But there is a real mixture, and the Top Gear test track and Nurburgring can both be unlocked in GT (careeer) mode. The game, though runs smoothly at 60fps in full hd (1080p) and looks good, as long as you have a nice tv (see below comment in music/sound).One thing that was a annoyance was upon buying it, I had to download 1.0.1 patch which took me 20 mins and then did an install onto the Hard Disk Drive, which took another 25 mins. BUt have been told and now witnessed the loading times without this, which are LONG.MUSIC/SOUND:The soundtrack is extremely varied, and ranges from The Chemical Brothers to some Japenese Jazz and lounge music. You can also import your own songs on a custom playlist, and even get a trophy (achievment) in the game for doing so. I know it is not to everyones taste, but it is good, IMO, but could (and should) have been better. But with custom soundtrack, this can easily be resolved. The sound of the engines are, for the most part very good. I noticed a difference after the tuning of the cars, and changing the exhaust for example. However, I took this game to my nephews house and he does not have a HDtv yet, and both graphically and sound wise, this game came across as average. I think you need a nice big full hd tv with a HDMI lead, to experience this the way it is intended.PLAYABAILITY/A.I:The playability factor is good. There are many, many hours to be 'wasted' playing this game through to 100% completion on GT mode. There are even 2 ending movies to witness, both of which, are very impressive to watch. I like how all the cars feel and drive, and the noticable difference in the performance of the vehicles once you have tuned them. The significant difference on playing this on a good steering wheel is obvious. The PS3 controller does not fully do this game justice, unfortunately. The A.I is, well, not great I am afraid, and ultimately inconsistent. I had a race on the top gear track in a VW camper van, which was a 'special' even in GT mode. You get disqualified for making contact with another vehicle, or even if you vere off track. However, I dont expect to get disqualified if someone else crashes into me! Which happened! Although on the 15th (no joke) attempt I finally did it and felt like I had achieved something majestical. It took skill, patience and courage to achieve.There is a good selection of cars - 1031 to be precise (not including stealth cars) - with over half (555) which are Japanese. But this was always going to happen, as Polyphony are Japenese and as per previous GT games, always favoured Jap cars. Only around 50/60 are initially available in arcade mode, and you have to unlock the likes of the beastly Bugatti Veyron and also with tracks, have to unlock the Top Gear test track and the Nurburgring.DAMAGE: I perhaps should mention Damage, on its own. For the first time, damage has come to GT. And, let me say, I was a bit gutted to find you had to unlock it in GT mode, with varying degrees of damage unlocking at GT levels 10, 20 and 40, consecutively. I felt a bit let down, but I understand Polyphony;s reasons for doing so, but dont understand why they 'hid' this as it looks and sounds a bit underhand.ONLINE/LASTABILITY:At first, the online mode just failed. Unfortunately the game sold an amazing amount of copies on day 1, and the servers just crashed. Another embarassment for PD and Sony. However, 2 patches later, they seem to have resolved the majority of the issues, including the seemingly endless crashing of the game. However, if you perservere, the game will last you many minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and maybe years.FINAL SUMMARY: This is a very good game, with some genius touches, and a real achievement. Is it everything it could and perhaps should have been? No. But as long as you are patient and put in the hours (a lot needed to get to the top level in A-spec), and are a fan of previous GT games (I have owned all of them including the concept game and the prologues) you SHOULD love this. I do. Just don't expect to jump in and be able to start driving the bugatti round the nurburgring, as you will be disappointed.

21.4.2011

GT5 has been a bit of a mixed bag for me - at times I have come dangerously close to breaking my controller, the PlayStation, and any other items nearby, but despite this I still have had a lot of fun with the game, which drags it away from a 3 star review and up to a 4. Ultimately the good times outweigh the bad quite significantly, and I suppose it's only a shame that after 5 years PD couldn't have ironed out the niggles. I have waited quite a while before writing this review - my game stats now say 94% complete, so I feel that I have experienced enough of the game to be able to make a fair and informed judgement about it.PROS+ Awesome selection of cars, and the ones that are premium are absolutely exquisitely detailed.The standard cars are also nicely rendered, if not too quite as high a standard.+ More tracks than before, and most of the additions (Monza, Top Gear Test Track) are good fun to drive around.+ Some of the challenges really are quite tough, which is a good thing really as it gives one something more challenging than your average race. The rewards for completing them are also very generous, and some of them, such as the go-karting event, are excellent fun.+ I actually feel that there is far less grinding in this game compared to previous iterations, although this does change once you get towards the final three levels.+ Online racing is a welcome addition, and is great fun with some mates. Obviously split screen is present in arcade mode, and I have used this often with friends.+ There is an onscreen driving line for almost every single event/race, which is great for beginners.+ Although waiting times can be a bit lengthy, I find the menu system to be far more advanced than the old 'world' map found in GT4.+ You can run remote races in order to boost up your B-Spec level, which is a useful feature. It does require you to leave on the PS3, although that is not any fault of the developers.+ Licenses are no longer needed to enter races, but are still present as an optional extra. I feel that this is a good move, as it means that one can compete in Extreme events, without going through the hassle of licenses. This is particularly useful for me, as I can't make myself move on from a license to the next until I have gold in it, so it takes me quite a while!! Rewards for completing licenses are still pathetic compared to difficulty of license.+ Although I don't actually use cockpit view often, in certain cars it is actually really quite lovely, such as in the McLaren F1. In others it is not so good, but this isn't PD's fault, more the car's!!+ Whilst on the McLaren F1, it is an essential purchase when you get the game :D It handles like a dream. It also makes an awesome noise, whereas some other cars do sound somewhat like a washing machine.CONS- B-Spec has been broken in my opinion, compared to GT4. Now you can't speed up races, and the races are usually double the length of the A-Spec races. So, a lot of sitting around waiting. Unfortunately your B-Spec driver is also absolutely useless, but there is a solution to this; put him in massively overpowered cars, and don't watch for too long, lest you be frustrated by his uselessness!! I will seem to go on about B-Spec a lot in the review, but theoretically it is around 40% of your GT5 experience, so is a key part to the game.- For a game that loves to penalise the player for aggressive driving in licenses and special events, the AI can be stupidly aggressive, often (seemingly purposefully) trying to spin out the player's car's rear. This wouldn't annoy me too much, but if I do the same to them, I am immediately disqualified!! On the other hand, the B-Spec driver tends to be rather polite, annoyingly so!- Damage is almost non-existent, and despite my somewhat overzealous driving technique, I have never actually noticed damage to my car. It almost seems a little bit pointless to have it at all.- I'm not one to complain about 2D trees and so on and on the whole the graphics are great. At high speeds it is not possible to notice the difference. However, the crowds are very obviously 2D, even at high speeds, and quite static. This is me being quite picky!!- Not being able to save mid-way through endurance races is annoying, especially for the 24h events. It is not possible to swap to your B-Spec driver either, as it was in GT4.- There are ridiculous numbers of almost identical car models (particularly Japanese ones), so the 1,000 car total is a bit misleading. It's still a huge choice though.There may appear to be a lot of cons, but they are mostly small niggles, rather than major issues. The most irritating thing for me is B-Spec, especially as I really enjoyed B-Spec in GT4.User Interface: 9/10 - Once you get the hang of it, really easy to navigate. Slow loading screens, though.Graphics: 8/10 - Mostly excellent, just let down by some rough edges.Lasting appeal: 10/10 - There is plenty of material here to keep you going for a long while.A-Spec: 10/10 - Awesome races, awesome fun. What more is there to say...B-Spec: 5/10 - Grrrrrr... What more is there to say...Overall: 8/10 - 'Recommended with some reservations' just about sums it up. If you're a fan of the GT series, then 5/5 buy it immediately (and don't play B-Spec).

25.11.2010

Let's face it, a game from this genre was never going to break much new ground (hence no five stars). The best we could have hoped for was that it built upon the titles in the franchise that have gone before it, and only a liar or a crank would deny it has at least achieved this. Visually it is stunning. It IS the most beautiful driving/racing game you will set eyes on for quite some time. At least in terms of graphics, you can see where a fair share of the agonising development time has gone. Enter into the photo mode and you can literally while away hours admiring the cars and locations. The all new cars added for this instalment glisten like jewels, and the sumptuous reflections are more real than real.I once read a review for a game and it said "the water is more realistic than real water"...and I remember thinking what a stupid thing to say. Now I know EXACTLY what they meant. As for the tracks, some of them feel a little too familiar. Tracks like Deep Forest Raceway and Trial Mountain just seem like they ever did but for a lick of HD paint. However, some of the newer tracks - certainly the city tracks like Tokyo R246 for example - literally take your breath away. I had a few moments while racing these tracks where I finally had to admit they had nailed true photorealism...no more will you need to squint your eyes before you say "it almost looks real". It DOES look real. Better than, in fact.Graphics alone, however, do not a good game make. Physics: Here is where another huge chunk of the painfully slow development time went. The vehicles really do feel unique now, and tinkering with parts and settings deliver very satisfying results. The differences between FR/FF, the way different cars need to tackle corners differently...THIS is that indefinable Gran Turismo quality, and this is the finest example of it yet. I just love cornering in a Gran Turismo game; other racers for me have always been about getting over the line first...it is all that is in my mind as I start a race. Not with GT. The art and science of taking a perfect corner consumes me. Of course, getting over the line first is still my objective...but I really DO care about HOW I get there.The learning curve, too, is as sweet as you'd like. Aiming for golds (silvers at minimum) in your license tests really does pay off this time, and there is no better sense of satisfaction or achievement than coming first in a race that you have been struggling on after putting in the practice or bettering yourself through license acquisition.Alas, the game is not without its flaws, but I think some folks have flew off the handle a little too quickly in other reviews. Loading times, for example, are not as black and white as you first thought. You have the option of performing an 8GB install to your HDD, and this improves things no end. Even with this, however, some loading times are still a little on the slow side. However, I have noticed that a loading screen can be quicker the second time you encounter it, which leads me to believe that even after the 8GB install, some other features install themselves on the first run. So loading times can at first seem very harsh, especially after suffering a 30-40 minutes install, but they do get better. And slow loading times are as much to do with PS3 hardware limitation as it is anything else. I shudder to think how many of these 'reviews' were written after an hour or two with the game, what with people wanting to get their foot in the door first, i.e. people who never stuck around long enough to notice such things as a loading screen being quicker on the second run through.Menus are not as intuitive as they could have been. They can at first be a little cumbersome and confusing, but once you know your way around, this problem soon dissipates.I have also experienced some teething trouble and freezing of the online mode, but considering that today was the actual release date, and having lost count of how many other games suffer the same thing on release day, I will be holding off judgement on this issue for a little while yet. Besides, I'm not the biggest fan of online gaming. I am far from an expert on such matters (no matter how good you get, someone else is always better...and I'm usually one of the first to get my backside handed to me on a plate), but I am sure Network play with 2 to 16 players on a game such as this will be immense fun for those who like that kind of thing. Just give them a day or more to get the servers running better.Ultimately, though, there are days, weeks, months if not years of fun lying in the data layers of this Blu-ray disc. Every other instalment has given me that, and for me this IS the finest instalment to date. Part of the reason I like it so much is down to the psychology of how one deals with such a long development time. Some people think they're entitled to the world on a platter because they have been "made to wait so long". I myself kept my expectations realistic. Like I said already, a racing game/driving simulator was never going to break much new ground. Having employed this waiting strategy, I am more than happy with my lot.

13.12.2010

Seeing as anyone can post a review without actually having to buy what they are talking about i don't trust many on here. Especially when they say the love racing games but hate this one and gave it 1 star.I can't see how if you are a fan of racing how you wouldn't love GT 5.People seem to be talking one large amount of rubbish. It's like they don't have the game. I have not updated the game with the patch, and i have not had one issue with crashing, and very little screen tear. People say the AI is rubbish and easy to beat.... yeah at the start the races are slow paced (that is why it's called beginner and then goes up to amateur and so on to extreme),and if your racing a 500 bhp car against fiat punto's of course your gonna win easy.Try saving money and using the car at factory settings in the beginning. As you rank up and earn experience points more events are unlocked (licenses are OPTIONAL by the way 1 star reviewers) and they unlock more events if you do them and you get a car each set of licenses. More and more challenge comes the further you progress the special events are really really good. Getting your garage together and building a collection of sweet cars by the time you hit level 13 and can do the pro events this is where the game really gets DEEP.You have to start tuning the cars for specific tracks and it's more accessible than it ever has been with set upgrades or fully customizable parts, aero parts like tail wing attachments and body work can be fitted to giving your car that street look without the gay stickers and stupid tattoo paint jobs (sorry i always went for the classy simple style paint jobs in need for speed ect.) Paint is a collectable item along with horns sounds. Once collected by buying or winning cars you can then use that paint to do another car or a premium cars wheel alloys. Each paint item can only be used once but can be collected again. Playing the game you'll come across crap cars with cool or interesting paint color that makes your mazzerati look unique.It's a great touch as the second hand dealership gets in new cars as time progress as you play and the ones that were there the last time you look will have "been sold" effectively and you can find bargains and rare cars that you brother, friend will be jealous of as they haven't found that one you have. I have a RSX my brother doesn't he he i keep telling him mine's better... and it is. Ah drivers rivalry , i could GIVE him the car as the game lets you give your friend cars they ain't got.The driving in this game is second to none and the options available is plentiful, i recommend turning off the gay forza racing line indicator, traction control, anti-slip and learning manual gears as sometimes you just need them high revs and auto just can't get you 1st place. However if you can't actually drive and all you do is play driving games then keep all that on but turn the settings up, then it will probably handle like PGR, NFS, and so on. The tracks are not a "ps2 HD version", as I've had all the GT games and they always tweak the tracks, especially road gradients and corners, most of the old ones felt new and better, trail mountain has never been so good.Premium cars are brilliant and the standard cars are being critiqued far to much, they are not ps2 level of graphics, i think you all should go play a ps2 again and come back to reality. Premium cars are much better and i will bet all my money every car in the game will be premium via DLC..... they are called premium for a reason. PD will milk DLC for this as they won't be doing GT 6 untill ps4 or the ps3.5 rumored upgrade.There is so much more to talk about, nascar, karts, track generator, photo location are all awesome and nice touches. The karts plus track generator..... infinite kart tracks. You can get some insane tracks with this, start with 1 or 2 sections adjust complexity and watch the wild differences you can get. More theme choices will no doubt follow as DLC.Online is great, lobby system is fine by me im not a spaz. It could be simpler to find friends but there are patches due this month and continuously in the future. Night racing, le mans cars, F 1 70 in game tracks... man just go get this game. It will suck you in and you won't wanna let go.Oh and custom soundtracks while racing, it even plays WAVS and the snooker theme tune in the GT auto shop! class..... top gear track. arrghhh i gotta go play

3.12.2010

It does amaze me how quick people are to put down this game after playing for 5 minutes. First things first, GT has and always will be a slow burner! You start off with little money and your first car isn't going to be a Ferrari. Another thing you will have to do is race certain cars which won't be to your liking at all but please look at the grand picture which is when you start to purchase and race the bigger high performance cars.The major problem which I can understand is the installation which seems to take an age. After inserting the disk I had a 15 minutes update after which I decided to install the game onto my PS3 hard drive and after the length of MGS4 I knew would take some time.23 minutes flashed up on the screen to which I thought this isn't too bad but don't be fooled people this went on for at least 50 minutes.I am not including the installation as a bad point about the game because to be honest it's nothing to do with the game play and I refuse to mark down a game because I had to wait for an installation I chose to do.Gran Turismo 5 looks and feels stunning from the minute go; it's addictive to play even when racing some of the lower performance cars. The level up system will stop you entering the bigger competitions as well as the lack of money to purchase the bigger cars. Each level has different races which will force you to meet the requirements before you enter and this more often than not is having certain cars. My issue with this is that the dealerships don't have all the cars for sale so you are forced to look into the used market but again this is very limited and chances are you will have to wait and wait for certain cars to come onto the market. The other issue I have is that you have to remember what cars the race allows you to enter and try and find them in the market without forgetting them, it would be nice to be able to keep the list at the top of the screen to bring up so you can remember which cars you need as there are a lot of cars to go through.My other issue is the B spec races which put you in charge of another racer you create who you have to instruct how to drive around a track and basically win races. I found this part of the game tedious and boring and an unwelcome addition to what is a very good simulation racer. What went through the developers mind to have you watch a race while telling the driver to speed up, slow down, maintain speed or overtake? I had my guy spinning all over the place and when I managed to get him into first place he plowed straight into a wall on the very last corner letting every numpty overtake him.Racing aside there is new add on to watching replays which is the games photo mode which allows e you to take some pictures of your car against a backdrop or while in a race, the options you get are overwhelming and I have to admit its very addictive just taking pictures of a car. You can share them online and even send them to your PS dashboard as wallpaper. The pictures look so good that I have one of them as my Laptop wallpaper.The licenses are back which you will have to take if you want to participate in races. If you are going for gold they are very challenging to the point where I spent 90 minutes trying to gain 0.009th of a second to upgrade my silver to gold but a challenge is what I like so I am not going to complain about getting the most difficult trophy when Bronze is pretty straight forward to get and is all you need to gain a license.Nascar and rallying are a welcome addition to the game and take some getting used to as the control and drive is completely different from the rest of the game, this also goes for the karts which isn't in the game enough if you ask me.The Top Gear challenges are let down by racing the slowest VW campervans around it then a Lotus which is difficult to control and one wrong move will have you disqualified from the race.On a whole we have been waiting and waiting for GT5 which has sort of delivered. There are a few niggles and the game is far from perfect but I can't seem to stop playing it and surly that's a good thing right? The graphics are stunning, the game play works just as well as previous GT games and the choice of car and track are immense.Don't be put off with disappointed reviews from people who have played less than 5 hours.

7.12.2010

Let me tell you guys that I'm still at the beginning of the game, meaning I'm at level 15 with all golds in a and b licenses, as well as all golds in beginner and intermediate levels in karts, Nascar and AMG special events. I have played for a few dozens of hours.The game is superb. I'm not going to do the usual comparison between my expectations and the actual product, because I had no special expectations. Nor will I assess whether the 5-year wait was worth it or not. Straight to the analysis.The best of the game is the act of driving cars. Cars feel real, each with its own technical details, tricks, behavior, performance. The physics is top-notch. Being an engineer myself,I marvel at the way PD programmers managed to reproduce the actual behavior of all sorts of vehicles with virtual models. Different weather conditions also call for a further level of control of your cars.The set of cars and tracks is comprehensive. Unlike GT4, I think, Nurburgring is not available in arcade mode - you have to unlock it, I believe. Anyways, there are the AMG events, which are exclusively held in Nur. Awesome!!!!!!I have a soft spot for licenses. In previous games (3 and 4 namely) I always tried to get all golds (about 60 of them?). To get a gold you usually cannot make any mistakes and in some cases not even that is enough. It's really a tough challenge with some nice rewards. I only have a controller, and some friends tell me it's a bit easier with a wheel; perhaps I should buy one. I still have to convince my wife that the extra space occupied by the wheel and the seat in our living room is a good bargain...Cars can be either Premium or Standard, with a 20 to 80 split between the two categories. Premium cars are utterly detailed and when you drive them you can see the console and the instruments. It's awesome. However, I normally use the minimal view (speed, rotations, turbo). Other than that, driving Premium or Standard cars is the same. Some people complain that all cars should be Premium; honestly I really don't care because they feel the same way when you drive them.The races look great. Some circuits look a bit artificial; others are flawless. In some circuits weather conditions may change during a race. Cars run smoothly. In some really crowded races you can notice a slight drop in frame rate. In the A-10 license, for instance, you have to overtake 15 cars in one short lap. There's a section where you have to overtake two cars through the left, then brake, then accelerate to the right of the vehicles in front of you in a fast curve to the left; you see about 12 cars at the same time, each turning furiously - well, you notice a slight drop in the frame rate. Nothing serious, but noticeable.Another brilliant part of the game is the ambience. The GT life menu really is all about cars. The music is soft, as in previous games, but you now have a very diversified set of options, all presented with goût and élégance. From GT life you can take a look at your garage, check out some online races, do proper maintenance of your cars, tune your cars, buy second-hand cars, buy new cars, take pictures, share your cars with the GT5 community, replay favorite performances, etc. And, of course, you can go drive for different goals: competition (A-spec); licenses; special events. (There's also a B-spec part in which you play as your team manager, but honestly I never went there and probably never will.)The negative aspects of the game include: a non-functioning GT-TV (never managed to see anything there); some ridiculously difficult challenges (I started the Top-gear event with the hippie VW Van but gave up for the time being); the absence of a way to publish your best performances (in licenses or special events) on youtube or whatever; and the non transferability of game save data, with catastrophic consequences in case your PS3 breaks down (say, you invested 300 hours in game play only to loose everything just like that). The youtube feature, it seems, was envisaged by the game creator, who apparently has not yet given up the idea. It also seems that the backup problem will be solved in the next patch.Well, these are my impressions of GT5. An amazing game for grown-ups who love cars!

13.12.2010

After reaching level 25 in A-Spec and level 15 in B-Spec I decided to give it ago at writing a review, mainly focusing on the aspects in which, in my own opinion, seemed to be flawed or missed out completely. (Please be kind as this is my first review)On the surface the game is amazing, but as you look into it in more detail, you start to see that all is not as it seems. The first thing I couldn't get my head around is that in the other GT games, licences played a very important aspect of the game. So naturally my first thought was to build up my licences so when the time comes, I would be able to take part in the high tier races. After banking a few licences I decided to play the A-Spec aspect of the simulator,confident I would be able to get a fair way through the game before I would need to obtain more licences, but as I progressed, it became obvious that as far as I can tell (I may have missed something and if so please state) licences play no part in the game what so ever, the only real appeal to them is that you are rewarded with cars after completing the bronze, silver and gold stages of the licences.Another thing that surprised me was there is no option to qualify for a race or championship. This was a very minor detail in GT1 and GT3 and gave the player an option to qualify before you attempted the race. To start off with, this missing aspect of the game really didn't bother me but as you progress further into the game and damage becomes an issue, having to start midfield when the AI which have no sense of surroundings can become rather a pain, especially when the races you enter are of very similar opponents. I found I missed this option mostly when entering the Formula GT Championship as all the cars where of the same type, and you had very little room to modify the car to your personal preference and give yourself an edge over the other racers.After I had stocked up on a fair number of cars, and had some spare credits in my pocket, I thought why not give B-spec a go? Now, you can't expect too much from B-spec racing, you instruct a driver to increase their pace, slow down, and overtake. Now lets be honest, you don't buy a driving simulator to not get behind the wheel yourself, so having a B-spec option all by itself, in my opinion, was rather pointless and the time spent on this section could have been spent on sharpening up some of the other faults in the game. As there is a levelling system similar to the A-spec part of the game, your driver also levels up as their `class' rank, which as they progress, improves their ability to perform better in races. This includes their accuracy around corners, speed, and their mental and physical ability. As great as these ideas sound, after reaching level 15 on the B-Spec side of things, I found my driver was still driving at the same standard as he was at level 0. This was rather disappointing, and after a fair number of spinoffs, and frustration that knowing you would be able to do these races with ease, with the car you gave to your driver, stopped me playing the B-spec side altogether.Faults aside, I have found the game a great enjoyment. Despite all the flaws I found in the game, I can't quite draw myself away from it. The visual aspects of the game are great, and the attention to detail on the premium cars is top class. The most important thing for a driving game is the driving experience itself, and I could find no flaw. Every car has its own unique handling characteristics, and for that reason I gave this game a 5. The faults I found didn't reduce the amount of fun and pleasure I had competing for 1st place against a huge array of cars, ranging from every day road cars, to the weird and wonderful concept and super cars of the world.A top class simulator, and a great buy for anyone who is a fan of the GT franchise, and racing games in general, but after a fair amount of time spent in development, oversights were made.

9.12.2010

So Gran Turismo 5 - one of the most anticipated PS3 games ever - finally arrived to, at best mixed reviews. I had this game on pre-order for as long as I could remember and was therefore more than a little bit disappointed on the morning of release day when the first reviews emerged giving a somewhat less than glowing analysis of the game.Ok, so now I've had the game a few weeks I figured I'd put my own review up. Maybe it'll give some of the undecided an idea whether to buy the game or not, or who knows, perhaps Polyphony or Sony actually read these things for their own feedback. So here goes.....The good news first. The actual driving simulator side of the game is 10/10 - as you would expect really.Personally I play the game with a steering wheel & pedals set up with all the driver aids (antilock breaks, traction control and the like) turned off and, having done track days in real life, can say the experience of driving these cars is very good. The only slight niggle is that the brakes do tend to be a bit over-sensitive in some cars, however playing with the brake balance controller (now standard on all cars) eliminates the problem.Visually too, the game is very good - aside from the occassional screen tearing which, I must admit, I was disappointed with. The Premium cars are well modelled and look great inside and out - though I have refused to drive any of the standard cars - mainly as these dont have a cockpit view. For me, this is one of the biggest negatives about this game - 1000's of cars is great, but since only 200 or so are 'full' models, it just seems to me like the 'standard' cars have been crammed in so GT5 can boast having so many cars.The soundtrack - jeez, I cant believe people have been moaning about this. Personally I turn off all BGM when driving, and you can turn off any menu BGM tracks you dont like easy enough. Anyone moaning about this is, in my opinion, nitpicking.Right, so thats the main pluses. For me though, there's one big negative. I've had the game for a month and you know what, I've gone back to playing F1 2010. I like a game that makes you want to come back and keep playing, and GT5, at the moment, doesnt do that for me. I think the inability to save a Championship part way through (as you could in GT4) is a glaring omission - as is the lack of practice / qualifying in Championship races (again, this was present in GT4). Also, what are the licence tests for?! I've not unlocked the Extreme events yet so dont claim this to be a full review, but as of yet I havent done one licence test and this hasnt held me back at all! And you know what, I have a Full HD Ready tv, but honestly the difference in qualtity between the 1080p GT5 and the 720P F1 2010 is barely noticable.The biggest thing for me is, with F1 2010 I want to keep going back and doing the next practice / qualifying / race - over a full distance 7 seasons championship mode this is going to keep me fixed for many months to come yet - I dont play video games 24/7 and as such I'm only just into my second season. I genuinely expected GT5 to become the dominant driving game in my PS3 but it hasnt. To me, this installment of the game is more a case of do a race, earn money, buy a car, do a race etc etc etc with no real long term goal or aim. In every other way it's fantastic, but as a GAME I cant help but feel it's eclipsed even by GT4.In summary, the game gets 4 stars because it's an awesome driving simulator. But if someone said to me "I have £35 and want to buy a good PS3 racing game" - sorry Polyphony, but at the moment I'd push them towards F1 2010.[P.s. - if Polyphony or Sony do read these reviews, please please please take note of the critism around the actual "game" side of GT5, because if you get this right in GT6 the series will once again be the undisputed master of it's genre, because in every other way, GT5 is great!]

15.1.2011

I've been wary of PS3 driving games since I haven't been impressed by NFS Shift (XBox360), Dirt2 or Grid, but friends' recommendations convinced me it would be a good buy. Thy're not wrong.The graphics are, naturally, stunning and there's a wealth of vehicles and tracks to get yourself immersed for hours.Controlling vehicles using the standard dualshock controllers is by far the most satisfying of the driving games that I have played, as far as it's limitations allow - difficult to know when you're steering too much or not enough, for example. It's certainly the easiest to get to grips with.Different vehicles handle in very different ways. Karts, for instance,tend to oversteer dramatically and will spin you out if you're not too careful. You really do need to change your driving style for different types.Overall, GT5 is very entertaining and immersive but there are some really niggling problems, for my money...Update!I know the game's been out for a while but it took about two hours (seriously!) to download and install the latest update over my 8Mb connection.Copy to HDDIf you don't like the idea of long load times suring the game, it can be installed on the hard drive to speed things up. This takes up about 8GB, apparently. Despite the progress bar telling me it'll take about 13 minutes to complete, it was nearer an hour. Quite why it takes this long to copy 8GB of files from the disc is beyond me. What's it doing? Introducing them to all the other files already on the hard drive as it goes?MenusRaces are accessed through a heirarchal menu system but you can't compete in them all for various reasons - vehicle type, age, manufacturer, weight, power or drivetrain restrictions etc. - and you don't know until you get to the actual race details screen... and then you need to go back to the main menu ("Home") and into one of the three purchasing areas to buy something to drive, go back "Home" and through the race selection menu system again... sometimes to find there's another restriction that disallows your new purchase from being entered!If you already have a suitable car in your Garage, you can jump straight there from the race selection screen. A link to the purchasing areas with a filter for suitable vehicles would be such a simple solution it begs the question: why isn't there one?Menu music.I'm a big music fan but have no interest whatsoever in jazz, classical or other muzak that is set by default to play on the menu screens. Yes, one can turn them off but if you don't want to completely kill the music, you have to select and disable each piece individually using a context menu. This is so tiresome! Come on, radio buttons to turn on/off tracks would be simple.ManualWhen you want to do anything in this game, it's best to pop off to Google and search because the printed "manual" contains less information than a laundry label and the in-game one contains little more than that. When the information is in the e-manual you have to stop what you're doing to find it then go back and try to remember the process described.To be honest, it's not just GT5's creators that can't be bothered with instructions; my new Sony TV has a pitiful excuse for one built-in, as well.I have no problem with scanty manuals if a program/game is intuitive but GT5's is far from that.OnlineDon't know what online gaming is like as I missed the PSN email from a friend last night inviting me to his "Lobby". This was probably because I was concentrating on driving in single-player. It's a bit like when your passenger asks if you saw something at the side of the road when you're driving!ComplicatedEverything besides the driving is complicated in GT5 from the menus to the race restrictions to the search for a pre-1970 Japanese car for that restricted race.Sometimes you just wish you could race a season in an Impreza or 205GTi.

25.11.2010

This game could have been great if it were not for a couple of major issues. Like other reviewers have stated, the loading times really drag on and spoil the continuity of the game. The loading delays not only occur when starting races, but also between certain menus. Don't expect to be quickly shuffling between your garage and tuning or dealerships. It is a slog to work aroung. Unfortunately this isn't the game's worst problem. The music played during the menu screens is atrocious. If you like Nintendo wii 'bleepy' souless music then your in for a treat. Having been used to playing other racers over the years which focus on modern dance or rock tunes,I was amazed at how much it can take away from a game by having the pathetic soundtrack of GT5. In places it is so depressing or irritating that I turn the sound off when in the menu screens. I never though I would say it, but I actually prefer the MC from Need for Speed Pro Street to this!All this can be forgiven to some extent when focussing on the racing itself. The handling of the cars are genuinely great. In particular, when you hit the brakes hard and the screen as well as the controller vibrate to a subtle level making the driving experience immersive. Unfortunately this is heavily contrasted by the collisions which are laughable. During a light shunt with another car or barrier, you get a fairly realistic, low thud. However, plough into an object at 100mph and you get exactly the same minor thud. This really does detract from the game and makes a mockery of the claim of being a 'real' driving simulator. I'm not particularly concerned with damage modelling, however, I do expect a major crash to give a sense of heavy impact through audio feedback. Furthmore, there is no sense of penaltly by crashing into other cars or barriers. This is a major problem!Much has been said of the game graphically. My opinion is that the premium cars look fantastic whilst the standard versions look quite average in comparison to other games like Dirt2 and NFS Shift. The actual tracks are a mixed bag. Some look utterly amazing, such as London, however others look totally plain and uninspired. A very important point to note however, is that the frame rate of the graphics is the smoothest that I have encountered in a driving game. Much better than I have seen in Dirt or NFS. It may be the case that grapical detail may have been dropped in places to increase frame rates which is a great thing in my opinion. Other games can become very jerky when travelling at high speeds, but GT5 does not.One other point about the graphics, is that generally that are unrealistically bright and summer like (except for the wet weather and night races of course). This might seem like a silly point but compared to games such as Dirt2 it makes GT5 loose a bit of the grittyness and realism that we've come to expect from racing games.In summary, this is a game with great car handling but is let down by some major flaws. Note, I have never played Forza, so can't make a comparison.***UPDATE TO REVIEW*** Regarding the slow menu screens, the publisher has anounced that this was due to being signed in to Playstation network whilst playing the game. Even though you may not be playing it online, the game still accesses the servers whilst navigating the menus. Currently the servers have been experiencing serious overload which has resulted in the heavily sluggish menus. If playing the game whilst disconnected from the internet the menus are much much faster and consequently the game is considerably more appealing. As such I've raised my rating from 3star to 4. The game, however, is still let down by the daft collisions and rubbish soundtrack which stops me from giving it a 5.

2.12.2010

Very dissapointed, not with the game, the game is top drawer, but with the people who have reviewed it after only a few hours of play.So then, the review, yes it starts off with a 20 minute installation and an update or two to download, didn't bother me. The menu music, I have read people complaining about the menu music. I don't understand why people would complain about this. Yes some of the tracks may not be to everybody's taste but since there are options to change the menu music to one of over a hundred built in tracks of different styles, I'm fairly sure there will be something there for everyone. Maybe we just need to take the time to read the manual or check the options.Next thing,damage and AI. Would you play a game like Zelda or Final Fantasy, expecting to walk straight into the hardest battle in the game during the first 5 minutes of play? Gran Turismo 5 has taken on an RPG element and this is where most "racing" fans are misunderstanding and therefore criticising GT5. This game is a racing RPG and i personally believe it should be judged in its own category as there are no other games like it.A levelling system has been introduced, you obtain "experience" points based on your finishing position in a race. You start off at level 0. Only beginner level 0 competitions like the Sunday cups etc are available. Opposition car behaviour is very basic, damage is practically non-existent.As you increase in level, you are able to enter more competitive races, unlocking cars and obtaining credits (money) for various wins along the way. On top of these competitions you will unlock special events to take part in at particular levels, level 2 unlocks a particular event with two courses. The first course you are eligible to race on with your free awarded car, the second race you will have to save up enough credits to buy a car that meets the requirements so you will be coming back to this at a later stage. These events seem to award greater experience points and greater credits, increasing in challenge as you continue to progress and "level up".Damage also increases as you level, difficulty changes behind the scenes from beginner to amateur, through professional to expert and by then your car really will be vulnerable to shunts and barriers. I just get the impression that a lot of people have started the game and played the first couple of races against poor AI and no damage and accepted this as the standard for the rest of the game. Not true. The game grows, I guess calling it GT life mode is a stroke of genius from the developers as it is more than an appropriate name for this RPG style of racer. What starts off like playing against a baby, soon develops in difficulty, size and beauty into a monster of an experience.Don't judge a book by its cover, and certainly don't judge this game by its first few hours of play. Games are changing, it is no longer viable to play a top game and make an immediate impression. If you did this with other games such as Assassins creed 2, you would think that Desmond is the main character. Gran Turismo 5 is a truly great game that grows to become better and better with each race and with updated support coming thick and fast, it is one of the PS3's best titles of recent times.

26.11.2010

Like many others, I got my hands on GT5 the day of release, so all i can offer here, is my first impressions, as it's only been a couple of days, and so i've only really just started.I should make it clear that i'm not a petrol head, i have no real interest in cars, my own car gets me to work and back, and football at the weekends, so is nothing more than a means of getting around. i'm not even a big fan of driving games, and despite getting the original GT back in the day, i'm not even a GT fan, and never bothered buying prologue - i borrowed it from a friend, played it, and still didn't feel the need to buy my own copy. But it just felt that this new complete (not prologue)game was going to be worth getting.As expected, the cars look great, there's plenty of them, and it's going to take hours and hours to get through this game, so the long term interest in this game would appear to be fine. There are more tracks, but the first thing that hit me was the tracks haven't changed since the PS2 days, which on the first few run outs, felt a bit disappointing. this also applies to the cars available to get you started, the good old MX5 is there again !! As i said above, i've not played much GT in the past, but the tracks still seemed too familiar. however, they of course look good, and on the whole, getting started, and getting into the game was pretty easy.it's recommended to install/copy the tracks etc to your hard drive, and so i did this on the second time of playing, as the first time seemed to take FOREVER to load up. The copying took about 40minutes, but i'd endorse the recommendation to do this. set it off, go and grab a beer or two, and then come back and get started.i've only started the GT mode and spent a couple of hours playing around, gaining licenses, winning a few races, building up credit towards new cars, but already, i'm getting right into it, and i can see the hours are going to pass by easily once i get comfortable in front of the box.the early, basic races are pretty easy to win, so getting going in GT mode is also pretty easy, and the go-karting adds a more fun element to it. i imagine my 8yr old will get into it pretty easily too, although he seems pretty happy with F1 2010 at the moment.i read somewhere that there is now damage to the cars, but maybe there's a setting or something that i've not found yet, as so far, i've seen no damage to any of the cars, and in one race i managed to roll my car - no damage, but i did get a trophy !!realistically, it will be some time before anyone can write a definitive review of this game due to the sheer scale of it, and the options available to you as the player.so, eventually getting to the point, this game appears to "do what it says on the tin", and is the game everyone has been expecting, which maybe enough for most players, but from what i can see, there are no "surprises", no extra bells and whistles, it really is just what was expected. i'm sure it will keep old players and new players of the GT series happy for hours/days/weeks etc etc, but don't expect it to be anything new or different. the developers haven't pushed the boundaries in my opinion, they've just crammed more into the existing ones.

1.4.2011

Spoiler Free:If your thinking of buying Gran Turismo 5 and haven't already then I suggest you get ordering it. Millions of people played the first instalment of the franchise back in 1992. The game offered users a chance to buy both new and second hand cars and develop them through a fairly advanced scheme, this created a new type of racing genre similar to what some have stated an `RPG' developed game.When Gran Turismo 2, 3 and 4 were released some of these features were lacking the game overall offered many additional elements but did not contain the fundamental necessities to increase game playing time and user experience. Polyphony digital then releases Gran Turismo 5 prologue,which I myself also purchased, based on what I have experience so far the full Gran Turismo game is non comparable. I was eager to buy this game when it was first released but believed the game wouldn't be to my greatest expectations. How wrong I was.Despite other negative reviews on here created by teenagers and various other gaming enthusiasts, let me assure you this game has raised the bar on all driving games. Project Gotham racing 3 for the Xbox proved highly entertaining and popular also selling many copies but has no way near the content Gran Turismo contains.If you loved the first Gran Turismo game then this game is for you:#Stunning breathtaking visuals with exceptionally realist sound effects and physic controls for carsEnhanced car sales showing a huge array of cars that players can buy before racing.#Tuning up section, highly advanced and individually based for each individual car and its specifications#Wide variety of music choices that can be customised for enjoy ability.#Repair aesthetics shop (GT Auto) to change the look and mechanics of the car replacing default/stock parts for increased performance bumpers spoilers and bonnets.#Huge selection of tracks, featuring Clubman stage 5 from the first instalment and the popular route 11 at night track.#Expansive exclusivity with Britain's popular Top Gear program containing several racing stages through the 8 track used in Surrey#A spec and B Spec modes designed to allow players to improve their credibility for their driving skills i.e. Experience points, the higher the number the better cars you can acquire and the more advanced the races you can take part in.#User interface; this game offers a very in-depth friendly user interface within the GT Mode (career mode) for navigating round the various sectors, from car importation when winning championships or for the license scheme which let me add is highly advancedThere is so much to the world of Gran Turismo, they deserve to know what we think and how they can improve the customer experience program, because believe me they'll be looking at reviews we write, let them know in my opinion this game is literally 10/10 however the fundamental element which concerns me and the only thing that concerns me is the loading times between matches. Due to the graphics, visual effects and the general complexity involved within a game of this calibre your looking at 20-30 seconds before you play the game, and that is offline.This review does not cover online play mode.

List All Products

Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy