Gran Turismo 5
Well after a weekend playing it I have some mixed feelings towards it......
The licence challenges, you are not allowed to put over half your car outside of the main track, this includes anywhere and also if you are shoved onto it. If you do then its game over. The AI at times doesnt deviate from the racing line and will quite happily nudge the back quarter of your car if you tuck in and meet the racing line. I was spun round at over 120mph and shoved down the track for a distance. The licences overall were good fun but some could be frustrating as hell !!
The AI in general is crap, Forza has this spot on and after playing quite a lot of races I fired this back up and couldnt believe watching the AI jockeying for position, avoiding crashes, if I nudge them they nudge me etc. Forza therefore trounces on GT5.
The graphics, whilst there are times when it genuinely is drop dead gorgeous some of the textures and people leave a heck of a lot to be desired and are blurry. Even the interiors of the cars arent sharp in all cases. However when its good its amazing and you can recognise the cars and read the back badges (on the premiums) which is impressive. Also the reflections on the bonnets are great. When its bad its shocked......the funny odd blocky rippling (no word of a lie) shadows really ruin the experience and all realistic graphics are lost seeing this. Even in some cases the reflection of the steering wheel on the dash is horrendous. All that said though they do look good and one of the best things is the Nurburgring actually looks like the 'Ring, where there are trees....there are trees and none of these silly grandstands/parking areas etc that Forza seems to add. I know its a simple thing but if its realistic then it should be accurate.
The online, I only have played a few rounds so far and once I got in there was none of the cars disappearing and reappearing etc that was on Prologue. Unfortunately it crashed the PS3 twice and will throw you out for no reason midway through a race.
The difficulty, one of the things I was a bit disappointed with on Forza was the difficulty....its too easy. I know I have put a lot of hours in at the tracks on various games and have a good understanding but even on a one model race I was leaving the opposition by the second corner and by the end of the race was finishing between 1 min and 10 min plus (on longer races). Although the main game on GT5 is fairly easy there are the odd events that really push you. Also if you pick a practice 'one make race' on hard difficulty its quite tough and a real challenge. Still not convinced when the one make cars overtake you even though you are bouncing off the limiter in the same car !! But the Challenge mode (bar the go karts) and the licence tests (to get gold or silver) are quite tough and provides a welcome addition and the sense of satisfaction when winning one is much greater than in the normal game.
The handling, at first I was impressed and yes they have done a lot of work on this. I still dont understand all the understeer though. I modded up a 700 bhp Charger and you would expect with traction control off it would oversteer if you pushed the throttle down hard but it doesnt, it understeers. The cars do have a good sensation of weight distribution though which is pretty impressive and I have lost count of the number of times I've spun out when turning into a corner and braking hard Its certainly not as bad as Need for Speed but it definitely doesnt feel as good as Forza does.
As for the Photo mode I havent tried that yet.
The cars, the premium ones are very accurately modelled and even the RX7 which is a really difficult car to look right with all the curves (yes I am anal about this car as you'd expect) looks good and even sounds good. Some of the other cars like the GTR is great with the digital dash working properly or the Lexus LFA with the rev counter that changes from white to green to red depending on revs.....a little touch but very cool !!
So to sum it up and end this waffle......
Its a good game, no doubt about it but its not great. There are lots of good points which are sadly tarnished slightly by the bad points.
I still wonder what they have been doing for the last 5 years though considering the Forza guys knocked out two games and Forza 4 is expected next year.
The licence challenges, you are not allowed to put over half your car outside of the main track, this includes anywhere and also if you are shoved onto it. If you do then its game over. The AI at times doesnt deviate from the racing line and will quite happily nudge the back quarter of your car if you tuck in and meet the racing line. I was spun round at over 120mph and shoved down the track for a distance. The licences overall were good fun but some could be frustrating as hell !!
The AI in general is crap, Forza has this spot on and after playing quite a lot of races I fired this back up and couldnt believe watching the AI jockeying for position, avoiding crashes, if I nudge them they nudge me etc. Forza therefore trounces on GT5.
The graphics, whilst there are times when it genuinely is drop dead gorgeous some of the textures and people leave a heck of a lot to be desired and are blurry. Even the interiors of the cars arent sharp in all cases. However when its good its amazing and you can recognise the cars and read the back badges (on the premiums) which is impressive. Also the reflections on the bonnets are great. When its bad its shocked......the funny odd blocky rippling (no word of a lie) shadows really ruin the experience and all realistic graphics are lost seeing this. Even in some cases the reflection of the steering wheel on the dash is horrendous. All that said though they do look good and one of the best things is the Nurburgring actually looks like the 'Ring, where there are trees....there are trees and none of these silly grandstands/parking areas etc that Forza seems to add. I know its a simple thing but if its realistic then it should be accurate.
The online, I only have played a few rounds so far and once I got in there was none of the cars disappearing and reappearing etc that was on Prologue. Unfortunately it crashed the PS3 twice and will throw you out for no reason midway through a race.
The difficulty, one of the things I was a bit disappointed with on Forza was the difficulty....its too easy. I know I have put a lot of hours in at the tracks on various games and have a good understanding but even on a one model race I was leaving the opposition by the second corner and by the end of the race was finishing between 1 min and 10 min plus (on longer races). Although the main game on GT5 is fairly easy there are the odd events that really push you. Also if you pick a practice 'one make race' on hard difficulty its quite tough and a real challenge. Still not convinced when the one make cars overtake you even though you are bouncing off the limiter in the same car !! But the Challenge mode (bar the go karts) and the licence tests (to get gold or silver) are quite tough and provides a welcome addition and the sense of satisfaction when winning one is much greater than in the normal game.
The handling, at first I was impressed and yes they have done a lot of work on this. I still dont understand all the understeer though. I modded up a 700 bhp Charger and you would expect with traction control off it would oversteer if you pushed the throttle down hard but it doesnt, it understeers. The cars do have a good sensation of weight distribution though which is pretty impressive and I have lost count of the number of times I've spun out when turning into a corner and braking hard
Its certainly not as bad as Need for Speed but it definitely doesnt feel as good as Forza does. As for the Photo mode I havent tried that yet.
The cars, the premium ones are very accurately modelled and even the RX7 which is a really difficult car to look right with all the curves (yes I am anal about this car as you'd expect) looks good and even sounds good. Some of the other cars like the GTR is great with the digital dash working properly or the Lexus LFA with the rev counter that changes from white to green to red depending on revs.....a little touch but very cool !!
So to sum it up and end this waffle......
Its a good game, no doubt about it but its not great. There are lots of good points which are sadly tarnished slightly by the bad points.
I still wonder what they have been doing for the last 5 years though considering the Forza guys knocked out two games and Forza 4 is expected next year.
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Gareth
Gareth
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Mr Fletcher
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Litotes Meng from gaming website goawaymumi’mbusy.com ‘What are we supposed to do once we’ve sent it back? Go outside and talk to real people? Have another wank? God, this is so unfair.’
That is as funny as fuck
Still tempted to buy it, but I am worried about opening a can of worms, both with gaming and with fast cars again!
That is as funny as fuck
Still tempted to buy it, but I am worried about opening a can of worms, both with gaming and with fast cars again!