Gran Turismo 5 Prima Essential Track Guide vs CE Book

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GTP_Velez
HI GUYS

I was just wondering if any of you bought this guide and how much more useful information it has included compared to what you can find on the Apex book included in the CE.
 
I ended up buying the CE, Standard and The book. Picked them up on my lunch break but haven't had time to look at either one. Stuck at work for another hour. I will look over them side by side and get back to you on this if someone doesn't beat me to it.
 
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Here's a review of the track guide from a person on Amazon.com:

I purchased this yesterday at a big box store. In my estimation, it is a very good guide for its intended use. As the title says, it is a "Track Guide." This means that the guide does not cover everything. It is not a game guide. It does not have tips for license tests. It does not give you a trophy list. It does not have a car or event list. There are no tips on B-spec mode, the challenges, or playing online. You'll have to look elsewhere if you are hoping to find this information.

What it does cover, though, is each track in detail. The guide begins with a brief explanation of typical racing terms (camber, racing line, etc.). Next, there is a brief section on racing techniques like the traction circle, overtaking, and the like. These sections are very short (a page or two), but do have some helpful information.

The meat of the guide is the section on tracks. It covers each of GT5's 70+ tracks in good detail. There are pictures of most corners, and the guide gives good detail on how to take each corner, or series of complex corners. It will suggest gearing or average speed, give you pointers about the braking point, entry point, apex, and exit point of each corner. It tells you which rumble strips to use and which to avoid. It tells you where to deviate from the in game racing line (which is fairly regularly), and how to adjust your driving style relative to different car types. There are also tips on tuning for each course, and a general best car to use (e.g. FF, MR, AWD, etc.). The level of detail is very good, and would help those struggling to conquer a track, or those looking for a few tenths.

One thing that did bug me a bit was the occasional suggested shortcut. For example, the author tells you how you can straight-line Monza's 2nd chicane by using the grass. He also tells you the proper racing line for these corners, and obviously you don't have to cheat. I suppose for those new to Gran Turismo and truly struggling that it could help them win a race or two while they are learning, but to me it seemed contrary to the spirit of the game.

Overall, this is a very good guide for what it covers; just don't expect it to be the be all and end all for all info about GT5.

4 out of 5 stars
 
The review posted by Turbo is pretty detailed and I would agree witth it. I have the CE and the guide, and what having both means for me is that Apex covers the driving tech and the cars, while the Guide details the tracks. Having both to reference and refresh has been very helpful. For GT 3&4, I used Skip Barbers "going Faster" with a Prima guide. It is a very useful practice to have a guide for the theory ("Apex" here), and the photos/maps offered in the Prima guide. I recommend it.
 
Hmm now that we're mentioning this APEX book...

Wasn't it supposed to include ALL cars in the game? (just a small little block of text?)

I cant find anything about that... sure theres a bit of history about cars in general... but thats it.

However, theres a full 2 pages just about breaks, and... you cant buy new ones ingame. rofl
 
I ended up buying the CE, Standard and The book. Picked them up on my lunch break but haven't had time to look at either one. Stuck at work for another hour. I will look over them side by side and get back to you on this if someone doesn't beat me to it.

:crazy: Ummm . this is the internet ..so.... you at work...well someone will beat you to it :sly:
 
Hmm now that we're mentioning this APEX book...

Wasn't it supposed to include ALL cars in the game? (just a small little block of text?)

I cant find anything about that... sure theres a bit of history about cars in general... but thats it.

However, theres a full 2 pages just about breaks, and... you cant buy new ones ingame. rofl

??? The whole last half of the apex book is cars and tracks....
 
HI GUYS

I was just wondering if any of you bought this guide and how much more useful information it has included compared to what you can find on the Apex book included in the CE.

I'll say this you better have very good eyes because the print is very small. If I was you I would tell the salesperson that you want to see the print size first because you have seen someone complaining that it's so small that it's hard to read. Cutbacks are not good, the book is 8"x 5" compared to the GT4 book which is 11"x 8.5".
Most of the print text is 1/16". Pictures are like looking at photos on a cell phone 1.75"x 1".
 
I truly appreciate you opinions...I think I will give it a go to this guide, I think the price is OK, and according to the amazon review of that guy it seems to be preety useful if you are getting serious with GT5 (as I am pretending to do)...lets see if finally with this guide I can nail 130R at Suzuka...
 
I have both. I would say the Apex book is better, because it has more content. But that track guide is pretty good too. If you didn't get the CE then I would pick up for 10 bucks or so. If you already have the Apex book, then it's probably not worth your money.
 
I must say I think this guide has helped me to shave extra tenths of the GTP qualifier at the Green Hell
 
Regarding the European version of the Apex (actually that's the first time I hear it's differ than the American one - shame) - I wonder why there are no corner names for the tracks in the book?
The shape of the track is ok, but it would be very useful to have a quick view of the corner names for discussion/forums etc.
Does the American version have corner names?

Also, in the American version - what is shown for each car? (photo/power etc.)
Except the car list, what else the American version has that the European doesn't?
 
I got the CE with the Apex book.

TBH: The only problem I have with the Apex CE book is that I have to use a magnifying glass to read it:odd:
 
I have both the Apex book and the Prima guide and I have to say they complement each other nicely. The Apex ellaborates a lot on car types, drive trains, techniques, etc. whereas the Prima guide is almost exclusively a track guide.

All in all the Prima guide is pretty good, but seems to be focused on single player play. The author's advice will sometimes be to cut corners on chicanes and such, but not in a lot of tracks. Other than that it contains a lot of good info, like the banking on certain track turns, the correct lines and general-use suspension set ups for the tracks.
 
I'd simply like to know why, if the book can acknowledge that the racing line is wrong (and was written well pre-release) why can't the racing line be patched to be correct? Is it really THAT hard to update it?

Oh, and +1 for the text and pictures being TINY in the Prima book. Tough to read even WITH my reading glasses on!
 
I think if you are on the WRS the Prima guide will help you out at shaving some tenths on many tracks (BTW I finally bought it, so I have both Apex CE book and the Prima guide)
 
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