Gran Turismo 5: This Thing Has Disaster Written All Over It

To understand where I am coming from with this piece, you should understand a little bit about me. I own two of the current generation systems in the Wii and the PS3, and I really prefer the latter. I wouldn’t call myself a fanboy, despite how much I appreciate the PS3. I’ve actually recommended at one time or another each of the three main systems to others, depending on the situation. After all, if you’re really into playing shooters on-line and you live in America, is there really any other choice than the XBOX 360? Yes, the PS3 does shooters just as well as the XBOX 360, but the numbers tell the story: America is dominated by the XBOX over the Playstation this generation, and that means it’s easier to hook up with others at your game and skill level on-line. The overall point here is, I’m no PS3 hater.

I bought the PS3 shortly after Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was released a few years ago. I’ve never played a Gran Turismo game before, but I have heard of the series, and I’ve read a lot of favorable reviews. So I bought the Prologue game. I liked it. I liked the detailed graphics, especially on the streets of London which I recognized from the few times I have actually been there. I liked that it was more of a simulation than an arcade racer. And I liked the idea that a bigger game was on the way.

As time moves on however, I’ve become suspicious of my optimism for this title. Something feels wrong to me. I want to believe that the game will be the blockbuster hit it is anticipated to be, but all my senses scream against that. It’s just a feeling, I know, but consider this:

1. One of the big draw backs to the Prologue game was the lack of . . . well . . . there really wasn’t much of a game there to speak of. There were 4 different circuits and each featured racing challenges that would net you a bronze, silver, or gold trophy. But there wasn’t an overarching goal. You didn’t compete in a racing league, or have any type of role playing elements other than buying new cars. I know that some of the features I am talking about were present in previous versions of the game. So I told myself that the full version would surely rectify this, but then . . .

2. Gran Turismo PSP came out. Remember how much it was heralded? This was the title that was going to revive the PSP. I bought a copy, excited about the franchise and ready to wipe the dust off my little gaming device. And then I discovered that the depth of the game play was no different than in Prologue. Uh oh. Was it a bad game? No. It had a lot of good points. The car collecting was fun. But it wasn’t great. I think this is when I really started to worry. Then I started to pay more attention to the details being released on the net about GT5 . . .

3. Reflect on what you have heard about this game. What comes to mind? I bet one of the first things are the number of cars in the game. Then you might consider some of the bells and whistles that have trickled through rumors and official announcements. Night racing, car damage, weather, customizable tracks – you probably know the list if you’re reading this editorial. Do you see what’s missing? Where’s the game? There are NASCAR cars, will there be a NASCAR circuit? Maybe. Maybe not.

I am sure that many who read this will note how circumstantial my evidence is. And of course you are right. Some of you will say, “hey, relax, that stuff will all come. They just don’t talk about it because you can assume that element is there. They’ve had more of a racing game in the past right?” Well, yes, but not since Gran Turismo 4. And how long ago was that?

Here’s what I’m worried about, and I do hope I am wrong. I think Kazunori Yamauchi loves racing a lot. That much is obvious. I think he wants to make the most accurate simulator ever. I’m all for that. But there’s a lot of evidence here which makes me think he is so wrapped up in the simulation aspect, that’s he’s forgotten the game aspect. And he’s just powerful enough that if that happened, no one would be there to check him. I’m sure that some people will be fine with a technical simulator with the bells and whistles. Not me. George Lucas had a quote that went something like, “a special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing.” A racing simulator without a game would be likewise, and I fear we are speeding right into that eventuality.

Tell me I’m wrong, because that’s what I want to hear. I just don’t feel that way right now.

For more blogs and other interesting stuff, go to jeffreylawrencemoss.info

[MorganX]

A lot of people love the GT series. I'm not one.

I'm loving Burnout Paradise (on PS3) and eagerly awaiting Codemaster's F1 2010. Hopefully it won't be ruined by being too much of a simulator.

If I want a simulator, I'll just drive my own car. I like racing games.

[WildArmed]

I'm not much of a racing game fan.
I'm personally into RPG and Action/adventure games.

I picked up NFS:MW randomly and loved it.
I tried alot of racing games after that but none of em really worked for me..
until burnout paradise lol
At this point, I've given up on all other racing games..
But after this last E3, the new NFS look awesome.

I suck at racing games at the most part (simulator).
Honestly, they are meant for me, I understand that.
Games like GT5/GT5P are great, i LOVE to watch people play these.
While I wonder why he didn't crash on that sharp turn I can never make xD

[aj2009]

It is a mystery why no career mode was included in the PSP GT, so I understand your wariness... on the other hand, I'm confident the game will, despite this, have a career mode. Sony may have been concerned that the GT PSP version could potentially threaten the high demand or anticipation of GT5 if they included a career mode... that is, if they were smoking crack (that's the best explanation I can come up with, anyway). You're right, in any case, that if they can omit something as crucial to the experience as that in the PSP version, it's not unreasonable to become a little nervous about the fate of GT5. I figure, however, if (as has been predicted) they spend 100 million on development, someone (at one point or another) would ponder the potentially game-breaking consequences of such a game design choice, and do the right thing.

[SmokeyMcBear]

this.. this is a joke right? If you want to see a career mode.. just go and rent one of previous games. The career mode is often the defining feature of the franchise, it was the car lists and graphics that were second

[Oner]

^^^ Exactly.

Sorry blogger but if you never played ANY of the previous titles and are only going off a Prologue (the name itself describes what "type" of a game/features you should expect) & A PSP title then you CANNOT properly understand what GT is about...and for me it's a few things in this order ~ Driving Physics, Track Accuracy, Car Selection & Tuning, Graphics. NOT Crash damage, NOT livery editors, NOT putting a V12 twin turbo in a Yugo and so on.

[GTP_Mani_23]

As the people above me have said, you clearly have no Idea what your talking about.(In fact you even stated that GT5.Prologue was your first game)So....

If you had played previous (FULL) GT titles you would know that the praised and glorious "GT mode" has always been the center of Gran turismo. There are leagues, and theres plenty of variety. The fact that you only having played prologue (technically being a demo, to see what they could do with the PS3 hardware, and see how online would work)and GTPSP (A game that was made in order to collect cars for porting upon the full release of GT5)leaves you no right to say one word about the full game, let alone a decent sized blog. It instead leaves you prone to getting served the truth.

GT4 had 700 cars and 50 tracks+, just because you played prologue and realized it wasn't good size doesn't mean the full release isn't. Which leads me to your third point.

Technically one reason your whole post in invalid is due to the release date already given (November 2nd), so by you whining about the absence of a series (You obviously shouldn't have the right to play) at your local store means nothing. The game has only been delayed once (March).. the length has just been developing time. We know there are nascar cars, and We know there are nascar tracks... Let me get this straight, You said you played prologue, That must mean you have played on the daytona track? Seems very odd and stupid to wonder if there are going to be any nascar tracks in the game.

GT5 was biult on a whole new engine (beginning with GT5.prologue), and has been the cause of such long developing time. I for one have been waiting for this game since 2006, You have been waiting for probably 1 year, So who do you think should be criticizing the long delay? The Veteran, or the Freshman?

Lousy post...

[DigitalAnalog]

I could not have said it better myself. You (mossman) failed to consider the previous re-iterations before it. GT has ALWAYS been the trendsetter for racing-simulation games, this one is no different except that it is A LOT bigger. You have a blog which is good for you but your failed attempt to do simple research makes you no better than asking for cheap flame-hits.

Added to the comment above me, a prologue IMO, IS not a demo of the final product. It's more of an introduction. A demo you see is a "sample" of the final product yet if we see the current features between GT5:P and GT5 in general, they're both DIFFERENT games. GT5 uses a totally different driving engine with new features never seen in the prologue like weather and damage. You might as well call Halo a demo of Halo 2 or Mario Galaxy a demo of Mario Galaxy 2. Get my drift?

-End statement