saturnotaku

I'm way into this game. Long time GT fan, so I was hoping to see exactly this. One of the best looking games I've ever played.

TheOtis

Gervy

Gervy

btw, the 360's controllers do the same thing, and they even rumble under braking just as the tires start locking up. i'd like to actually compare the two, but sounds good so far.

crespo

Either way...

Downloaded this last night... all last night. Downloading the update while I'm at work. It is ungodly slow.

That said... I did play a few races in an RX-8, interior view. Warmed the cockles of my heart. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. They definitely have changed the physics (when you drive on professional) so I don't know where people are getting that they didn't...

I've been driving on professional mode with the steering assist and traction control off, and using the DualShock 3... wow.

Amazed at one thing... when the backend on the RWD RX-8 starts to go, a light rumble begins at the "back" of the controller (or that's how the effect feels) before you hear the screech of the tires or start going sideways. Countersteer, and you go into a nicely controlled drift having been forewarned of the impending traction loss by rumble.

I love this. The DualShock is a must for this game!

Evil J

Cause it's not THE pinnacle of video game/simulation graphics at the moment?!

Seriously, this "demo" has, hands down, the most impressive visuals I've ever seen. EVER. (55" Sony 1080p LCOS.)

I showed the free downloadable demo of the demo (?) to my grandpa recently. He thought it was real until I told him it wasn't and purposefully crashed. He almost fell over laughing he was so dumbfounded.

avconsumer

TearsandScreams

When GT gets it right, it gets it brilliantly right (see the sound of the Z3 M Coupe in GT4,) but sometimes it gets it brilliantly wrong, too (see the sound of a Corvette C5 in GT4).

PlayerX

Me, well, I played through the rest since he left, but still don't believe it justified the price at all. It's a demo, and it's not that great a demo either, textures are shallow and graphics really aren't what either myself or my brother expected. The car physics are always top notch though, and I really do hope they get those damage models in for the full game, because as it is (and I realize you aren't meant to hit cars in GT because it slows you down) its too unrealistic for a game that thrives on realism.

moclippa

The other option could have been to not include the tracks/cars found in GT5:P in GT5 itself, giving a reason other than impatience to own this title. I know I would be a lot more likely to buy had one my 3 suggestions actually happened.

Replica23

el_rezzo

I played Forza 2 a lot when it was new. Now I play GT5P alot.

I have an opinion:

Forza 2 Quality + Quantity < GT5P Quality + Quantity

Strange Bedfellows

DrunkRaba

<3

ps3 ftw!

ice_cream7

reptile168

Altima NEO

MURDERFACE

archibaldleech

Ultrasinc

Knate

potohead120

Kotaku, why the Gran Turismo hate?

fresky

1. The GT series is a solid simulator. As is the Forza series. Haven't played 5 yet but with regards 4 Forza 2's physics were better. From the sounds of things GT 5 is a step above Forza 2. But neither can compare to the real sims on the PC side of the equation. Both Forza and GT are definately games.

2. Driving sim vs racing sim. What do you do in this game? You race. That's how you unlock more cars, and is the only means of progression. It's also what you spend 99% of your time doing. Racing on Racetracks. Wanna drive, buy TDU and drive around Hawaii. In GT and Forza you race

3. The ai in GT is and always has been blindingly stupid. Real drivers don't run into you each time you deviate from your line. They dodge and pass you. They can react and adapt their line. GT's AI can do no such thing. The reviews lead me to believe nothing has changed.

4. It's 2008. Damage would be nice. Forza has it, and they have official cars. So it's not the manufacturers. There is nothing that would add to the realism more than not being able to plow into a barrier at 200mph and continue.

5. This will fall on deaf ears because the GT cult is above logic. Most players arent members but those that are there can be now flaws with GT. GT2 wasn't buggy. GT4 wasn't full of half backed and half realized ideas. They were absolutely perfect. Just as Yamauichi San intended

6. For anyone thinking of buying this. Please do. It sounds like a great game and with Polyphony's track record of releasing things on time it'll be a while before the real deal hits the streets.

Cedhed

I play everything so it's all in personal opinion..really.
I do like the OG GT series..and I'm gonna pop GT5P in tonight some for some C class racing.

enewtabie

And what's this I hear about 'the lack of friends and chat for online races' Are they for real with that?!?

Sam_Lowry

Project Gotham...never played the series but I'm assuming that's more a Arcade Racer like Burn Out / Ridge Racer

djricekcn

crespo

xat

B33

flashtut

I disagree about the physics because crash damage means nothing to me, but I'm right with you on the AI - GT AI is slotcar dumb right through GT4. :(

fuchikoma

well, at least you admit that GT is way better than forza

Gambare

Why does nobody get that?

Yamster

LOL@me then, I didn't regret the buy

Gambare

40 dollar demo?

The work that this team puts into realistically portraying automobiles is astonishing. I couldn't possibly go back to Forza 2 or Project Gotham 4 after playing this. The engine sounds are all real, and every car sounds exactly like its real life sibling, with the team recording every single car's engine individually. The audio is amazing. The controls are perfection. Every intricacy of the individual car's detail in physics, weight, torque, horse power, etc., it's all lovingly recreated to perfection. No game recreates the unique feeling of each particular car available like this game.

The cars look gorgeous. The tracks look gorgeous. They actually take thousands of photographs of each track and measure every inch of the track so these tracks are more true-to-life than any other videogame version of them.

The game's attention to detail is simply sublime for a car enthusiast such as myself. The game is a blast to play, it's relaxing, it's exhilerating, it's a beautiful showpiece. I love everything about it. The presentation is top notch. Every developer out there could learn a thing or two about presentation by studying GT5P.

$40 demo? OK. If you want. But I think it's great.

Strange Bedfellows

CitizenInsane27

Although... if you gave me a steering wheel along with one of the games, I'd probably go with GT5. The G25 is awesome, and I'm sure it will be even better with GT. I'd rather stick with the controller for actual racing, though, but given the choice...

Lastly, I would definitely have paid the $40 for GT5P had I not owned FM2. Having easy access to the game+wheel through both my cousin and brother in law helps :D

crespo

Revan_NL

OK, the problem is that this isn't for the "general public". I know Sony will tout it, Polyphony will too, but fuck it, we all know it, let's say it... this one is for the fans, the guys who can't wait for GT5, who are tired of replaying GT4 ad nauseum, and fuckin' want some actual, live drivers to go against...

They could have charged the full $60 for it, and people would have still bought it. I gotta admit, I would have hesitated, but probably would have anyways.

Frankly, I'm just relieved that it's not more than $40 to be honest.

Evil J

Hell, I'm glad to plunk down the cash... I would have done it with those, too.

Evil J

It's really too bad that the whole "demo" labeled has been applied. I blame PD for their naming scheme. If it weren't named Prologue, as in an explicit preview of the real thing, surely it would've been perceived differently. Seriously; GT5P has more content than many full games. If their naming scheme were less direct... or better yet, completely indirect and have little to no apparent relation to the game it really represents in bite size, it would've been better perceived.

Say, for instance, they had the main GT line, with GT5 being the full fledged simulator with tons of content that all die-hard fans go for. And then they would have the lighter series -- something that is unrelated like "Azrof Racing" -- which everyone would know is PD's lighter game series. Azrof would retail at $40ish while the GT line would sell for $60, maybe even $70ish.

I would bet money that the "demo" title wouldn't be applied nearly as hastily as it is now if things were like that, since people would perceive the two series' as separate; same underlying engine, but different series' altogether.

It's also a shame that the AI is supposedly as wonky is it used to be; granted, I've heard that it's improved, but not terribly so. Still, I wouldn't play it for that anyway. I mean, I would at first just to unlock stuff, but the real experience isn't playing with yourself; the real experience is playing with others, and that is one of the huge features PD is trying to bring this generation.

Faulting it for poor AI is justified (you'd think PD could do better at this point), but I don't believe it should be stressed as much as the good (again, based purely off of testimony) online experience it provides.

xat

That being said, I'll say I'm a big fan of the series. Most of my friends are as well.

Personally, I agree with the AI thing. I've never found the single-player campaign challenging, really. You do "grind out" winnings to get better cars to win bigger races (because you can usually outpower the competition if you can't outdrive them). If we're going to be frank, any time people compare completion levels in the tenths of percentages (where are you in the game? 94.5. Oh, I'm 96.7), there's some level of "grinding" involved. It's just the game itself.

I've come to grips with this.

All of that being said, acknowledged, etc., I'm going to say this: This is a game where the multiplayer aspect has always far outstripped the single player. Any GT fan in here who knows another one has done the following - loaded up their best cars onto a memory card, hit the road, gone to a friend's house and gone head-to-head on split screen, best car against best car. That's been the fun part for me, and the fact that it's online now? Greatness. Love it. I've bought every GT game since II to grind my completion level up, collect the cars, modify them, tune them, and race against my friends.

That's it.

I'll be even more honest and personal. Gran Turismo will always be a sentimental game for me. Through some of the most difficult times in my adult life, I've jumped into a game, spent my time hitting the apexes in my favorite car around challenging tracks, and given a shit less about the AI competition. It's just that.

I can remember after 9/11, being a young marine recruit, really confused (yeah, we can all look back now and wonder what the hell there was to be confused about and spin it however we want, but fuck, it was confusing and disorienting) and remember the sleepless nights driving around Laguna Seca in an EVO VI and finding a bit of zen, a bit of peace.

I've had a lot of games that do great stress relief (Resistance and CoD4 have always been good for me) but few games have the "chill" effect on me that GT has (everyday shooter was the only other one in recent memory, but that tends to frustrate versus relax at times)...

So... is that worth $40 (or $100 as someone pointed out)? Yeah.

Evil J

I might personally get into it more if there was some sort of perks and maybe there will be like a coupon for 10-15 bucks off the full game, Special cars in the full version etc. I think 30 bucks would have been an easier price to swallow on Prologue for the general public.

Konchu

This is the best characterization in the nearly 200 comments here

GT = driving simulator
Forza = racing simulator

Snuffbox

steliosco

Come on...and I love GT but Kotaku is right it's just a demo, a taste of the real thing. I rather have the full meal than just a taste. ( btw I will get this cuz i cant an entire year and a half for gt5.I'm just not paying 40 bucks, ill wait til it hits the 20 dollar bin during christmas time)

Jmontilla2786

crespo

/rant

crespo

crespo

While I can't wait to play it with the Logitech wheel, if the AI is still no good I'm sticking with Forza.

crespo

CitizenInsane27

I don't say "I'm gonna go race" in Gran Turismo, I say "I'm gonna go for a drive". That statement may just seem silly, and feel like it's playing too much off semantics, but in reality it is what it is. I never feel like it's a competitive sport as much as just gut-wrenchingly beautiful hobby to enjoy. I enjoy Gran Turismo because after playing through Forza and every other racing game (from Road Rash to Need for Speed Pro Street) I still feel that Gran Turismo defies definition to the point that the average gamer, without predisposition towards auto study, will never understand the concept, and therefore, forget the point that GT is driving, pure and simple.

Now, back to my driving....heh.

CitizenInsane27

ceokhan

@CitizenInsane27: I'm sorry, but it's just bad AI. That's all there is to it.

zlimness

Your credability just took a unbelivable nosedive...

Stormbringer

If you're a GT fan, you'll buy it. If you're not, then you'll wait for the full game.

I bought it and I love it. A 'demo' does not give you this much and offer hours of gameplay. Going online with a few people works fine with me. there was a prologue for GT4, and that sold well. I don't see why people are talking nonsense about it.

Froza and Gt are both racing games but they offer different aspects of it. Froza is more leaning towards the arcade feel while GT is the real simulation. So GT/Froza fanboys/girls, stop bashing one another. Both game series are good.

DoubleV

terraform

It's a half-step game. If you want to call that a demo, I guess you can, it is a slice of what the full game will be.

I'm not defensive about it myself. Yes, I'm planning on spending $40 on a demo. There, it's said.

Why?

Because I'm not keen on Burnout, and aside from shooting/blowing shit up on my PS3, I'd like to do a little competitive racing, and no game thus far has piqued my interest (I was shocked to find out that MotorStorm is the best selling game on the console... really?!?)...

However, to the demo-sayers... I find it infinitely interesting that a simple demo can be compared with a gold, released game like Forza 2.

What a compliment!

Evil J

GT5 will be my first real racing title purchase. Should tell you something since I avoid the genre whenever possible.

sascha23

I am laughing at you for your self centered naive view.

Some people have no comprehension of the love for the GT series. There is a reason every GT game ever made has outsold every HALO game ever made.

I like HALO alot but I don't attack people that do not like it. The GT series is no different. If you can't grasp the why behind it, it is your own fault.

Hatchetforce

thegunshow

Just out of curiosity, are you a muscle car fan? All the people I know who converted to Forza love muscle cars and basically switched because they couldn't beat all the little Japanese sports cars on technical tracks... Not saying you're this way neccesarily, but my friends who switched seemed to want a kinder interpretation of their favorites which drove their switch to Forza and their opinion of GT's lack of realism. The same guys swear by the VW Golf as the ultimate car now. I guess it can beat just about anything after tuning...

fuchikoma

Daniel1982

As I wouldn't be interested in the first place, I'm doubling my efforts to "pipe down."

Anarchist_Gamer

Thanks to all 3 of you, I didn't know They did this with previous versions. In fact I'm not a huge fan of GT. The few times I played them, I got bored quickly and played something else ...

Anyway, I still think it's just an unsubtle mousetrap for consumers ! In the end you buy two versions of the same game for 100$ !

Shteve

I think it's invariably coming to the series (and not by GT6), will it be on Prologue? I dunno. In any case, at least they're talking about doing it, which is far more than they've EVER done in the series (not yelling, just don't know how to bold it to emphasize things).

@CitizenInsane27:
I really think that there is a tone of merit to what you're saying here. People forget that in real "touring" races, it's not the NASCAR "rubbin' is racin'" mentality. People don't drive hyper-aggressive in cars whose steering wheels cost as much as a decent sedan.

GT has been, and will continue to be, a simulator, not a game. I will throw in the con side there that if they're really gunning for it to be a sim versus a game, they do need to step it up by giving it damage modeling.

Evil J

Recup

anastasia beaverhousen

Recup

Also, the IGN review is BS. They complain about grinding, but fail to mention that you earn money with online races. Racing online removes the tedium and actually goes faster than replaying events.

Reiji

Either way, if it's not your bucket'o'bolts, it's passable, but me? I plunked my $40 down without a second thought, and I've enjoyed every second of this game and I don't see that changing any time soon.

CitizenInsane27

Ashurahori

Shame on you, Kotaku

boilermaker11

ANYWAY, I picked it up because I had a few games to trade in, so I only ended up paying $17 out of pocket. It's really not worth much more than $20 because while it has some good qualities to it, it's by no means a complete game. ~60 cars, 6 tracks, no career mode, and a limited online offering surely don't justify a $40 price tag when everyone knows the full version is coming behind it.

What I'm hoping for in this is that Sony/GT/whoever throws us a bone and offers some sort of rebate program on the full GT5 when it comes out. Maybe a $20 rebate, or something, if you send in the GT5 receipt plus the UPC code for Prologue. Some kind of offering would be appreciated. Which is probably why it won't happen lol.

mva5580

jsf49

rotcepsurt

jsf49

jsf49

Furu

fenderfuel08

GT5P until April 29th, then GTAIV until god knows when....but wait! I've only got until May 5th to play the Metal Gear Beta. What a troubled life we lead.

Damn it feels good to be a 'gamer'.

BoffrO

Gamepro also made the inane graphical comparison between GT and Crysis... here's the kicker: they said GT looked better!

Comparing FPS and racers, what a great idea!

Snuffbox

Mezodon

jsf49

muni84

Romeloo

Even as a fan...aren't you being jipped?

I'm a Jay-Z fan...still never ever going to pay $100 to see him walk up and down a stage for an hour.

If it was $20, I'd see why ANYONE would get it...but it's more than half the cost of a traditional PS3 game....I'm just not seeing the RATIONAL REASONING behind it.

Batousi

That was the remaining balance on my account and they did not ask me to add fund and i have not receive a credit card charge statement in my e-mail as i receive usualy.

N.American Store, from Canada...

JPQsat

Yes yes cos sony need MORE money desperately. Maybe we should start up a charity for them.

Communist_Gamer

Can you give me some reasons why you think Forza is better. Thanks!

LittleBigPlaneteer

Well that's what I get for being optimistic about Kotaku. I don't even care about the bad score, so much as who it's coming from. I think most here would prefer known review sites to something called "Dark Zero".

LittleBigPlaneteer

LorddG

Derigor

I think this "demo", as everyone is calling it, is a worthwhile investment for 2 reasons.

1) it is beautiful and will serve as a Beta test for the final version

2) it helps fund the R&D and programmers that are putting their creative genius through the ringer for we gamers.

I, as a programmer myself, picked up a copy to make sure I was supporting an industry I love.

Seiven

plus i need something to play on the ps3, all it has seen are blurays

ratedm

GhaleonUnlimited

Come on man! You've been around here for a while you should know how this works!

BornToFlail

The only problem I really have is that none of the price can go toward the full ver. They could at least give you half credit!

GhaleonUnlimited

robbo_the_hood

I've got no problem with the whole buying-a-demo thing, I was a GT fanboy from the beginning, but Forza is just a better game.

I had my doubts when I'd say the original Forza outshined GT4, but I thought well the Xbox is the better console technically, forza was released later, GT5 might turn the tables. It didnt.

Communist_Gamer

To anyone who doesn't pick this game up...

... you're much more patient than I but, at least rent it or play at a buddies house because, it's so worth it.

Eclectified

Mr.SithNinja

C'mon guys......

LittleBigPlaneteer

enewtabie

zgnoud

@okenny :): demo and prologue is not the same, on definition those words are really far away. But you have to read books to know what a prologue is :P
Anyway, this game is really close to a demo, but the definition thing just misses the point you wanted to make...

symphony_of_the_night

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques

IrNoThnk

Ashurahori

kingmanic

Wolfers

:)be nice to have that on PSN,wouldnt' it.

@KirbyMorph:
Be realistic..It looks better visually that Forza 2.Not 10 times better,but just better..and Forza 2 is damn pretty game.

enewtabie

FP Bleentastic has cake

WildVulture

adolfo-gomez

zlimness

okenny :)

KirbyMorph

somarix

logicaldefense

Saying that buying this sets a bad precedent is ridiculous. People will always have a choice when it comes to buying products. If it's not worthwhile to you, then don't buy it, but keep your fucking trap shut if someone else decides it's worthwhile to them.

For those who don't think this demo/game is worth the price, by all means, avoid it. I completely understand why someone wouldn't want to buy this. However, that said, I feel absolutely no remorse in spending $40 on this and I will get my money's worth from it long before the full game is released.

LX

Who paid $60 for Crackdown?

Gamers are a good demographic for cash, most of us are in our 20-30s, why not release a "nearly ready" version and see what tweaks need to be made and make some money in the process?

Shoot, I'd probably buy a game with the first 3-5 hours of Final Fantasy XIII, so I'm just as guilty as anyone else on the board.

Caduceus

Sasquatch

Anyone else love those drafting races? Where they start you in the back of the field and the only way to win is to draft and sling shot each car in front of you just friggin right? Man, I think if my wife hears me say "slingshot engaged" one more time she's gunna shoot me. Too much fun.

Derigor

If $40 is a lot for you (I don't mean that in a bad way because we've all been there) it's not a big deal to wait, but if not go for it, you will be happy you did.

jacksons98

Gam3r

djricekcn

Couple that with the fact that Poliphony Digital has already released some FANTASTIC demos on PSN that numerous people (including myself) probably dumped many, many hours into. Prologue has more content in it than a lot of other "full" racing games that have come out recently, and I think the only reason people are upset about it is the fact that it's only a small fraction of what's going to be in the actual final version of GT5.

I personally believe that 60 for the final version of GT5 is a complete steal when you consider the amount of content and hours of gameplay it will provide. Prologue as it stands is also a very above average racing game I'll gladly drop 40 on.

BigKidIcarus

crusadernm

enewtabie

And yeah, 40 clams is a little steep, but I handed it over anyway. Other than the lack of friends and chat for online races, it's pretty solid. I've paid far more money for far less fun games.

djsyndrome

*shakes whole body, expels one huge sigh* Sorry. It is like a compulsion.

That said, I had this demo on pre-order for the past few months. Picked it up yesterday, and bought a Honda Integra R-Type, and raced in all the C-Class races that allowed that car.
I love the new look of the game, the physics, and the in-car animations, the, oh, just everything.

I've owned and played every GT game since the original PS version.

Barum

djricekcn

Some people can wait for the full game, I cant. I needs me some GT on my PS3! It helps keep me from killing trannies/clutches in my Suby anyways.
40 bucks versus a couple grand for a clutch/tranny job is worth it imo. And like Evil J said, whats 40 bucks? I remember paying 75 for mortal kombat back in the day. So Meh.

If it's something you are into, and have fun playing then drop the cash. If you are an "anyways" then dont and just wait for the real thing. If money is tight for you then dont worry about it cause buyers remorse sucks.

But for petes sake you dont have to call everyone who buys it a sucker/idiot. Otherwise I gain the right to personally insult everyone who ever purchased multiple 360's due to hardware failures before the 3 year warranty was out. That's not what I intend to do because hey, to THEM that was worth it because they got alot of FUN out of the system.

Derigor

Which goes back to why Japanese devs are so reluctant to stray from their pre-established status quo?

It's strange.

EndersGame

keiichimorisato

Just dull.

But pretty.

Like my ex.

lionkitten

kpugs

Evil J

I guess you can call it a glorified demo.

I would say it is $ony trying to give the PS3 crowd a bone.

I Spit On Your Comments

Ra is on That 70s Show

TaMs

Orionsaint

dalejrfanfreak

@FightingChance:
I found the opposite about sound. GT4 had great engine noise and even reflected tuning well, while Forza 2 shocked me - it was as if they only had one sound for each engine configuration. Then, I just saw it at a friend's place, but lots of the Japanese cars sounded atrocious.

...but I WISH GT had Forza AI.

fuchikoma

Anyways, look it up. There were two games sold between GT3 and GT4: Gran Turismo 4 Concept and Gran Turismo 4 Prologue.

There were even 3 versions of Concept sold. Tokyo, Tokyo-Seoul, Tokyo-Geneva.

Even further, there were multiple "demo discs" for individual cars released prior to Prologue.

Point being, this is something that Polyphony has been doing for a long time overseas, and all of a sudden, now that it's available in more places, it's some kind of brutal, evil, money-making move instead of what I see it as... a way for FANS of the series to get a little taste of what's to come.

Basically, I see all the bitching about this game being like someone going to a restaurant, buying an appetizer that costs nearly as much as the main course, then complaining to the wait staff about the appetizer.

You don't want it, don't buy it.

Evil J

Stormrider

enewtabie