Gran Turismo 5 Review
Out of all the PlayStation brands, Gran Turismo is arguably the most celebrated and for fans, the wait for Gran Turismo 5 has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. Every time they thought they game might be within their reach, their hopes were dashed and its a cycle that has caused the wait between Gran Turismo 4 and 5 to be around 5 years long. The wait is now over though, and Gran Turismo 5 is here, but the wait hasn't necessarily been worth it.
As with Gran Turismo games in the past, the main bulk of your time will be spent in the single player GT Mode. Here, you'll undertake the licences, build up your collection of cars and race in a multitude of events as both the main driver (A-Spec) and as the driver's manager (B-Spec).
It's difficult to quantify just how much time you can spend doing all of this, as there's so much to do. Just doing the licences and trying to attain gold trophies on each one will set you back more than a few hours. And trying to get that gold or beat your previous time is rather addictive, especially if you're only a tiny amount of time away from your goal.
Almost everything is now dictated by your level. This allows the game to gently ease you into the game, unlike previous titles where you could tackle the hardest events straight away. Even the licence tests have this same philosophy, as for example, you can't do the International-A Licence until you've attained level 12. It gives the game a nice sense of progression, as you'll be awarded experience points for almost everything you do and there are nice special events which award tons of experience and money, but are one time only gigs.
Said special events are where the game's new licences come into play. Here, you'll be able to tackle the Top Gear track in VW Camper Vans, take part in Karting races, try to mirror WRC legend Sebastien Loeb or try to master NASCAR, courtesy of Jeff Gordon's tutilage. There are other events here too though, like the Tour of Italy and the AMG Challenge and each of the events generally has different difficulties to check out.
Anyway, enough about the events and on to the cars. The range of cars in Gran Turismo 5 is un-matched. There is something for every taste, ranging from top of the range sports cars, to family sedans, old classics and prototypes. If you can't find a car you like, then you probably shouldn't be playing Gran Turismo in the first place.
What's quite disappointing about this, is that it seems to have come at a cost. Gran Turismo has always been synonymous with high-end graphics and that doesn't seem to hold true in Gran Turismo 5. Only a fraction of the cars have been given the loving car that fans would have expected and these appear in the form of "premium" cars. These cars feature sharper models, a bit more in the form of damage mutations and in-car views. The "standard" cars will likely have no damage at all and won't feature as crisp models or an in-car view.
