Thanks for the positive feedback, and maturity of debate. Everyone is most welcome. I've been going through the thread and to answer your questions:
Thank you for this well written spoiler free review. It was interesting to read and you gave very clear examples to explain your conclusions.
I'd like to know a bit more about the graphics: I'm curious if you've seen any jaggies (maybe the proper term is screen tear, I'm not sure about that because English isn't my first language). I ask this because prologue had them a lot, mostly on the edge where one car panel meets the other, both in the menus and while racing. GT5 seems to have thesame sub full hd resolution because, like with prologue, on the box it says it only supports 1080p which is not thesame as full hd.
If you've seen these jaggies then I'd like to know how often and on what kind of tv you've been playing.
Well, the frequency of 'interruptions' range from once a race to regularly per race. By 'interruptions', I am referring to screen-tear, 'jaggies', super low-res shadow effects, blurring and the like. My TV, for the record, is a calibrated Samsung 40" 1080p HDTV.
@Patrickbateman: I haven't gone that in-depth with photomode yet, sorry!
@andrea & gmrtom7: Standard cars appear everywhere except in the new dealerships, seemingly. Conversely, you won't find any premiums in the used-lot.
@Rey-FD: Actually, I've made a small mistake in my review. You can view any car available in the showroom, you obviously just can't buy them until the appropriate level is reached.
@Welfur: I'm afraid that I only have experience with Logitechs, and no mention of Thrustmaster was made in the control settings.
@cygnus_zero, ms turismo & Vulcao: Well yes, it's the frequency of occurrance in this department that was a major factor in my score determination; however, not giving it at least a 9.5 was a tough decision, very tough indeed. In fact it is still something I am reflecting on as a slightly harsh decision, purely because of the positives that are overlooked. On reflection though, it is not what's going on that should impress, but how I receive the image. You can tell me a game is 1080p and 60fps, but if it looks a bit rough in places, then that (the resulting images and impressions thereafter) need to be the central focus of the rating. Davedander's comments also reflect this line of thinking, for further explanation.
@TheIshter: Well yes, frankly. That's kind of my sentiment.
@GranTLover: I haven't had much use out of Forza 3. If the game stayed as slick as it did during my time with it, though, I'd probably rate it in a similar score bracket. It was a polished game, with a much more aggressive damage model. But, there wasn't THAT much going on. Eight cars isn't many!
@Mike Rotch: Yeah, me too (on the 'blank template' issue; I don't think I could go back to GT4 now, after a twelve-car SuperGT battle on Circuit de la Sarthe into the sunset last night!).
@With a EG6: Yeah, it does feel like GT3; but obviously, that's a statment based on it's place in the industry, and not my technical impressions!
I hope that answers some of those questions!
