Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to my official review of Polyphony digitals latest installment of Gran Turismo! Now before I go on and tell you my thoughts, I, like many of you have been waiting for this game for a very long time. I absolutely love Gran Turismo and counted down the days to its release. However, I am going to remain unbiased while reviewing the game and just give my honest opinion, so please bear with me and I hope you find this review good.
What can be said that hasnt been said about Gran Turismo 5? 5 years, 8 months of development, 2 painstaking delays, a lot of angry fans, and even some inevitable thoughts of the game not releasing at all! But it came and on November 24th 2010, I received my preordered copy of the Collectors edition of Gran Turismo 5. Excitedly I raced back home (went the speed limit) and opened up the box, happier than a fat kid in a candy store!! Put the disk in and did the monumentus 8 GB install (thats what it told me??) While it did that, I read the 300 page apex book while it installed. After that downloaded the update and boom, ready to play
The presentation of the driver walking out of the garage and onto the pit lane to his crew was really not necessary, although it could symbolize our journey into the racing career. The menu surprised me as to how minimal, yet organized it was! Very accessible, and easy to navigate and without the cluttered world map that plagued GT4. Especially after buying and getting into your vehicle and the display that plays during the main menu really gives it the welcoming, sort of pride feel. Definitely a + in my books! I give it a 10/10
Gran Turismo TV, probably a nice edition for people who want to purchase their favorite television series/episode, but for most, an unnecessary edition. Most of us will be spending our time playing the game and not watching car shows (pretty useless since you can probably watch them on cable
) and also the fact that you have to pay to watch most content is also a turn off. I would rather spend my money buying the box set, rather than each episode separately. Overall, I find it very useless and does not add anything to the overall experience of the game. I give it a 4/10
The course maker, in my opinion is a nice edition if done right. That being said, it is very minimal when it comes to customizing the track. I know Polyphony wanted to make it authentic and not let people create weird tracks that defy physics, but the inability to select course length, and customize each section differently and more precisely, really limits what users can create. That being said, I would find the course maker a nice edition, but not a necessary one at this point in time and not the way they did it. Make so that users have more freedom and control over the track, and that, I promise you, will blow any game away in itself. I give it a 6/10
Arcade mode is a nice place to drive any car on any track, so long as you have unlocked them. I was honestly disappointed at arcade mode for several reasons. The first and foremost, the number of cars you are able to drive!! With GT4, you had in the beginning an option of 200+ cars in arcade mode to choose and race, but in GT5 you only have 30 or so which is very disappointing. The second most disappointing thing is that I heard, cannot confirm, that only premium cars can be used in arcade mode (correct me if I am wrong)! That really limits and even stifles what arcade mode is about!! In good news, the track selection is amazing, yet the fact that you cant use tracks with dynamic weather and day/night changes in 2 player mode is also disappointing. I give arcade mode a 6/10
Next we hit GT life where we really get into the core of the game and to where most of my reviewing happens!
First I would like to talk about Car dealerships and used lot. What were they thinking!!! That is honestly the stupidest idea Polyphony has ever come up with. Put the premiums in a dealership while the standard cars in the used cars section?? Really?? Put 200 cars in a nice organized menu where you can find the cars you are looking for, and the rest of the 836 in a menu where its pretty much a hit and miss opportunity! Wow good job Polyphony!! Great progress there
I give that a 2/10
That brings me onto my next topic of premium vs. standard. The premiums are absolutely beautiful and really are jaw dropping. They clearly outdid themselves there and I wish they did it for the rest of the cars. I mean to separate the catalogue of cars into two categories is really unfair and just shows a hint of laziness. Dont get me wrong, the standard cars look spectacular, but, are noticeably different when compared side by side with a premium model. I wish that all cars were premium (dont we all!) or all standard. In all honesty, I would have rathered them made all the cars premium and released the game in 2010 rather than have this huge gap. However, the premiums are still absolutely gorgeous!! I give it an 8/10
Next we have the licenses test and there isnt much for me to say here. We all got to do them in order to advance to the more disciplined racing leagues. They are a pain and I hate doing them but we have to which actually ties in with another point. The points system is an absolute waste!! Honestly, I understand you want to make the game unique but to have a point system where it dictates what you can and cannot do is utterly atrocious!! And to have that effect what cars you can purchase and what you can do in terms of racing is a huge frustration. Get rid of the points system PD!! I give it a 5/10
Nothing to say really for neither A-spec nor B-spec, practice, tune shop or even the special conditions area. They are well organized and easily accessible and again are closed off because of the stupid point system. I give it a 10/10
The car delivery system is really annoying in that if you are like me and have 20+ car deliveries waiting, the fact that you have to go and single handedly receive each car one by one is quite annoying!! They should have made it so you can take delivery of every car and quite the crappy delivery scene! However, the fact that they make every car look good on delivery really is cool!! I give it an 8/10
I am not even going to go on about online mode, too many people have too much to say about it and I am one of those people, but we all already know what most of us are thinking about it!!
All in All, I hope you found this review entertaining or at least informative and you people agree with me on some aspects I have mentioned here. I hope that you guys can provide feedback or your own views on what I mentioned here but please keep it in good spirit. I thank you all and I present to you my overall review and score for Gran Turismo 5.
Gran Turismo is back!! And the much anticipated game (in all of history probably) does not fail to deliver. Even with all its flaws (like jagged edges and shadows which shouldnt be a problem in a 60 million dollar title like this) it satisfies the heart and calms the nerves. It brings people of all types whether they are casual car lovers, to the hardcore race/car lovers, it does not fail to impress! I give GT5 a 100 000 000 (one hundred million) / 10
Welcome back Gran Turismo, Welcome back
What can be said that hasnt been said about Gran Turismo 5? 5 years, 8 months of development, 2 painstaking delays, a lot of angry fans, and even some inevitable thoughts of the game not releasing at all! But it came and on November 24th 2010, I received my preordered copy of the Collectors edition of Gran Turismo 5. Excitedly I raced back home (went the speed limit) and opened up the box, happier than a fat kid in a candy store!! Put the disk in and did the monumentus 8 GB install (thats what it told me??) While it did that, I read the 300 page apex book while it installed. After that downloaded the update and boom, ready to play
The presentation of the driver walking out of the garage and onto the pit lane to his crew was really not necessary, although it could symbolize our journey into the racing career. The menu surprised me as to how minimal, yet organized it was! Very accessible, and easy to navigate and without the cluttered world map that plagued GT4. Especially after buying and getting into your vehicle and the display that plays during the main menu really gives it the welcoming, sort of pride feel. Definitely a + in my books! I give it a 10/10
Gran Turismo TV, probably a nice edition for people who want to purchase their favorite television series/episode, but for most, an unnecessary edition. Most of us will be spending our time playing the game and not watching car shows (pretty useless since you can probably watch them on cable
) and also the fact that you have to pay to watch most content is also a turn off. I would rather spend my money buying the box set, rather than each episode separately. Overall, I find it very useless and does not add anything to the overall experience of the game. I give it a 4/10The course maker, in my opinion is a nice edition if done right. That being said, it is very minimal when it comes to customizing the track. I know Polyphony wanted to make it authentic and not let people create weird tracks that defy physics, but the inability to select course length, and customize each section differently and more precisely, really limits what users can create. That being said, I would find the course maker a nice edition, but not a necessary one at this point in time and not the way they did it. Make so that users have more freedom and control over the track, and that, I promise you, will blow any game away in itself. I give it a 6/10
Arcade mode is a nice place to drive any car on any track, so long as you have unlocked them. I was honestly disappointed at arcade mode for several reasons. The first and foremost, the number of cars you are able to drive!! With GT4, you had in the beginning an option of 200+ cars in arcade mode to choose and race, but in GT5 you only have 30 or so which is very disappointing. The second most disappointing thing is that I heard, cannot confirm, that only premium cars can be used in arcade mode (correct me if I am wrong)! That really limits and even stifles what arcade mode is about!! In good news, the track selection is amazing, yet the fact that you cant use tracks with dynamic weather and day/night changes in 2 player mode is also disappointing. I give arcade mode a 6/10
Next we hit GT life where we really get into the core of the game and to where most of my reviewing happens!
First I would like to talk about Car dealerships and used lot. What were they thinking!!! That is honestly the stupidest idea Polyphony has ever come up with. Put the premiums in a dealership while the standard cars in the used cars section?? Really?? Put 200 cars in a nice organized menu where you can find the cars you are looking for, and the rest of the 836 in a menu where its pretty much a hit and miss opportunity! Wow good job Polyphony!! Great progress there
I give that a 2/10That brings me onto my next topic of premium vs. standard. The premiums are absolutely beautiful and really are jaw dropping. They clearly outdid themselves there and I wish they did it for the rest of the cars. I mean to separate the catalogue of cars into two categories is really unfair and just shows a hint of laziness. Dont get me wrong, the standard cars look spectacular, but, are noticeably different when compared side by side with a premium model. I wish that all cars were premium (dont we all!) or all standard. In all honesty, I would have rathered them made all the cars premium and released the game in 2010 rather than have this huge gap. However, the premiums are still absolutely gorgeous!! I give it an 8/10
Next we have the licenses test and there isnt much for me to say here. We all got to do them in order to advance to the more disciplined racing leagues. They are a pain and I hate doing them but we have to which actually ties in with another point. The points system is an absolute waste!! Honestly, I understand you want to make the game unique but to have a point system where it dictates what you can and cannot do is utterly atrocious!! And to have that effect what cars you can purchase and what you can do in terms of racing is a huge frustration. Get rid of the points system PD!! I give it a 5/10
Nothing to say really for neither A-spec nor B-spec, practice, tune shop or even the special conditions area. They are well organized and easily accessible and again are closed off because of the stupid point system. I give it a 10/10
The car delivery system is really annoying in that if you are like me and have 20+ car deliveries waiting, the fact that you have to go and single handedly receive each car one by one is quite annoying!! They should have made it so you can take delivery of every car and quite the crappy delivery scene! However, the fact that they make every car look good on delivery really is cool!! I give it an 8/10
I am not even going to go on about online mode, too many people have too much to say about it and I am one of those people, but we all already know what most of us are thinking about it!!
All in All, I hope you found this review entertaining or at least informative and you people agree with me on some aspects I have mentioned here. I hope that you guys can provide feedback or your own views on what I mentioned here but please keep it in good spirit. I thank you all and I present to you my overall review and score for Gran Turismo 5.
Gran Turismo is back!! And the much anticipated game (in all of history probably) does not fail to deliver. Even with all its flaws (like jagged edges and shadows which shouldnt be a problem in a 60 million dollar title like this) it satisfies the heart and calms the nerves. It brings people of all types whether they are casual car lovers, to the hardcore race/car lovers, it does not fail to impress! I give GT5 a 100 000 000 (one hundred million) / 10
Welcome back Gran Turismo, Welcome back
