Friday 26 November 2010

Gran Turismo 5 - Two Days In


There are problems.  You've probably read about the online issues and the way that impacts on the offline features of Gran Turismo 5.  Forget about them.

Day one was a mixed bag, the delay navigating some of the menus, as the game tried to link to the over loaded servers, was frustrating, but slowly the game started to reveal itself in GT mode.  Last night Sony had switched off some of the stuff that was causing the issues and suddenly the utter genius of Gran Turismo started to come sharply into focus.

Clearly the game has been an absolute labour of love for its creators and the attention to detail is staggering.  But we knew that was coming, beneath the gloss this is still Gran Turismo from 1997, in all its glory, but expanded upon and left to breathe like a fine wine.

The licenses are all in the place and there's a brilliant learning curve that teaches you how to master the different classes of cars and the different tracks.  

As per usual you start of with a second hand car and make your way through the first series of races.  It doesn't take long before you're competing and earning cash for new cars though.  

The graphics are the best I've seen in any game on any console.  Truly beautiful.  You need to have a look at the replays and the multiple different camera angles to truly appreciate them as most of the time you're hurtling along the track.

Best moment so far?  Undoubtedly the VW Camper Van race on the Top Gear Test Track.  Very hard but enormous fun.  (Which is a great quote.)

The issues that are causing online to fail are a pain but Gran Turismo 5 is a joy to play.  Worth waiting for?  Hell yes.  This was what the PS3 was made for.  Buy it.

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