GT5 Prologue has finally arrived and I have been playing it all weekend, so just how good is it? Read on:

GT5 Prologue
Type: Racing/Simulation
Developer: Polyphony Digital
Publisher: Sony
Platform: PS3 Exclusive
Rating: E (Everyone)

Background: The long running Gran Turismo series is the vision of one man, Kazunori Yamachi. Kazunori, a life long car enthusiast first conceived of a driving simulator for gaming consoles back in 1993. At that time it was thought by the gaming industry that console players would only be interested in “arcade” racers. Eventually he developed “Motor Toon” a cartoon racing game utilizing rather precise physics. Sony executives highly impressed by the effort, purchased his newly formed Polyphony Digital Company, and then asked him to proceed with development on a full blown simulation for the PS1.

In 1998, Gran Turismo was born. The game was widely praised by reviewers for its excellent (at the time) graphics, accurate physics and its depth of play. Gamers were hooked as well and the title produced surprising numbers. The following year the sequel Gran Tursimo 2 was launched and added off road rally events and expanded the number of cars to over 500. The number of tracks increased as well and the game became widely held as the best driving title on Playstation. Again the sales racked up and the game began to garner the attention of the automobile industry.

In 2001 Polyphony Digital launched Gran Turismo 3 A spec on the fledgling PS2. With remarkably realistic visuals, improved physics and an updated car selection, the game became a “system seller” and was widely considered to the PS2’s first “killer app” The game raised the bar visually for any other racing game developers and again garnered huge praise and massive numbers. In 2005 GT4 appeared with even more refined visuals, the Grand Canyon rally is breath taking. Some of the worlds most famous locations, such as an accurately reproduced Nodacliffe (VW’s 13 mile test track in Germany) The La Sarthe circuit (Home of the 24 hours of Lemans) and over 700 cars from every era of auto development, actual collector cars were used to model many of the classic cars featured. In short GT4 was PS2’s magnum racing opus. In all 47 million copies of this series have been sold since 1998.

We have now moved to PS3. GT5 Prologue is basically an extended demo of the upcoming (first quarter 2009) GT5. The game gives players a look at the visuals and feel for the physics of the game as well as sample up to 60 cars (NA version) and 5 of the tracks in forward and reverse layouts. New to the series, the Daytona Speedway and Downtown London are featured here. The game also contains, for the first time an online mode, so you can battle and trash talk your pals from all over the world while you pass them down the last straight away.

Game play: For veterans of the series much will be familiar, you get a starting “pot” of thirty five grand. You find yourself a car, purchase it and start competing in events. Unfortunately since this is a “stripped” down version of the game, there are no aftermarket parts you can buy and add to make your car truly rule. You have to race it as you bought it. As you win events, you add cash back to your “pot” and can use the funds to buy additional cars. The licensing events are also absent.

The basic mechanics of the series and the control layout remains the same, the physics, as expected have been tightened. You can truly feel the sensation of the car, diving under heavy breaking and leaning into hard corners. A new racing view has also been added. In addition to the behind the car, road only, and over the hood views in car view with the complete replica of the dash is now included and really adds to the realistic feel of this title. The other good news is better AI, you will not be able to use them for bumper cars as in the past (Admittedly a long running weakness of the series) The computer drivers are much more aggressive of defending their lines and are willing to cut you off around corners. This adds a new level of challenge and intensity. For further challenge you can set your game to “professional” mode, which shuts off all of the driving aids (Traction Control, ESC, Limited Slip etc.)

The split screen two player is quite good and visually holds up very well, with no detectable dips in frame rate with the split screen. The online play is also very solid with up to sixteen people able to compete in a single race, and quite a challenge. There is also GT TV; eventually on this feature you will be able to post pics of your rides, replay videos etc. coming later in the year there will be downloadable content, including additional cars, damage models, and real-time weather.

Graphics and Sound: A long running trademark of the series has always been its great visuals. No disappointment here. Simply put the game at 1080p is a visual marvel. The environments are highly detailed and very crisp. The lighting is superb on all tracks and the light direction tracks beautifully during each race and its replay. (Shadows moving appropriately as you navigate the track) The cars accurate reflect on their paint objects they pass by as they race. The spectator animation is much improved over previous versions. The cars themselves are the stars and all are reproduced with astonishing perfection, every line, curve and detail. New to the series is an accurate reproduction of each car’s interior with and animated driver. The gages all work in real time as does the motion of each driver steering and shifting gears. This is the first video game that utilizes the PS3’s ability to produce 7.1 surround sound. The balance of engine, tire, gears and wind and in game music is flawlessly executed. There is sound sourcing during the live race and in replays. The soundtrack is a good mix of different material, including Weezer, Mars Volta, and even Thin Lizzy’s “I am Rocker” If you want to know how this adds up, invite some non gaming friends over, hook this all up to a real good theater system, a 1080 capable LCD, or Plasma, que up a saved replay (Turn off the background music) and watch their jaws drop when you tell them they are watching a replay you saved from your game. They will think that they are watching video footage of a real race, ITS THAT GOOD.

Kids Corner: No problems here, it’s a driving game, so there is really no content issue here, no hardcore rock or gangsta rap is present in the sound track. In fact I encourage parents to buy this for any kid that shows an interest in learning about cars. You could inspire the next great race car driver, collector, or automotive designer.

Overall: Well it’s an expensive demo, so I am not going to tell you whether to buy it or wait for the full game. It’s worth at least a rental just to have a peek at what will undoubtedly be the greatest driving simulator ever.

Here are a few vids: