GT5 First Impressions

  • Thread starter Thread starter Danisfast
  • 472 comments
  • 69,491 views
I'm loving this game. I was so disappointed with some of the news coming out before I got the game but I honestly don't care now. I should mention I'm avoiding standard cars, I'm perfectly content with pretending they don't even exist.

-Night driving - wow this was spectacular, I was giddy. Those speeds and that environment I was in awe.

- Kart Racing is so fun, may not be super realistic but its pure fun.

- LOVE the nordschliefe! First time I've driven it, its so hard but really fun.

- Driving is just great, feels fantastic don't know what else to say really.

It's not perfect, but the issues it has aren't hindering my game experience
 
I know how you guys feel. GT5 is a strange game by now. A lot of you said it's disappointing. Well, it's what I expected after too much time for it to come out. As far as I'm concerned, I find it a lot of fun, but disappointing nonetheless.
Too many aspects are far from what I wished. Anyway, GT is out there, let's just wait for what's to come (DLC, patches...) and then we could rearrange comments.
 
I guess I really need to wait out my preorder to get there before I give my final word.

I hated Forza 2 for xbox, but Forza 3, I fell in loveeeeeee and have been playing since release at least once a week since, mainly drifting online, so I only hope I'm not too jaded by that game. Forza3 has some AMAZING engine sounds that sometimes bring a huge grin to your face. I will miss the engine swaps and drifting fun, but hopefully it will be just as fun or better in GT5.
 
I can't give impressions on the whole game yet, but the one thing that really gets to me is the customisation.

The customisation in this game is truly awful.

You only get one colour of paint per car you buy, it's one use only, you cannot preview the changes before you use it, you cannot get it back or undo. Worse sill, if you buy a new set of wheels and paint them, you cannot buy that set again in the same colour for that car.

Talking of wheels, why on earth are we given a random/limited selection of wheels whenever we go to customise a car? What was wrong with a list of everything so we have more choice? Why on earth can I only buy a set of wheels once per car?

These two things are unacceptably bad.

The game also lacks the ability to resize the wheels you do buy, which would be such a simple thing to implement given you are literally just scaling an already well made model to be slightly larger/smaller.

Continuing on the theme of customisation, the lack of aero parts for most premium cars is a massive disappointment, you can barely customise any of the cars I've bought so far, some of them have no aero parts at all (other than the generic wings) and these are premium cars!

Regarding wings, why is there not a remove wing option which allows you to remove the stock wing (popular on the evo/impreza/rx7 etc.).

Of course there's no livery editor either, I could forgive this if we had a more acceptable car/wheel painting feature set, rather than the restrictive and poorly implemented options we have at the moment.

I've completely avoided the standard cars because they cannot be customised at all. I just saw a TME Evo in the used car dealership which I wanted to buy, then I saw the comedy wheels on it and remembered they can't be changed. That stopped me buying the car right there and it's not the only car I've avoided in this way.

So to sum up customisation in GT5; it's terrible.

Not only does it lack the vast customisation features of rival games, some of the features are implemented in such an unfriendly way it makes the experience worse.

Yes, I am beating GT up over this and no, not everyone will like hearing it. I'm certainly not being overly harsh though, because it's all true.
 
I have yet to be inpressed. the A.I. realy needs work, it is not at all what they promised it to be. menus have no shortcuts in them. and the load times, were long after install, but now they seem ok. and i know they sead the game will be updated regularly, but c'mon we all know what that means. I think,(imo) there gonna DLC this game to death. I love the GT Series. I own them all and play them all.
 
I've played GT1 and GT2 a fair amount in the late PS1 years. Not on an actual PS1 but on my Mac G4 in a PS1 emulator. I missed GT4 and GT4 because I never owned a PS2. I probably should have at the time but hey.

So anyway I wouldn't consider myself a 'long time fan' but I've always watched and admired this franchise. In fact I was always kind of jealous of PS2 owners just because of GT3/4.

Now I have all three consoles so I get to play GT5. Coming from Forza 3 in terms of racing games that were out most recently I'm very satisfied with GT5. The one thing that's the most important is perfect in this game: the driving. The driving is just amazing. I'm totally in love with the physics. Beats Forza 3 big time in my book. This pretty much makes me overlook any flaws there may be. Add in the 3D mode and I'm totally sold. There's no better driving experience on any current console than GT5. Period. After a day of playing I can't really say whether it LOOKS better or worse than my previous favorite racer (FM3) because I've been to immersed in the experience. Except for the premium cars. They surely look better than anything I've ever seen. The whole thing also seems to be more focused on pure realism than any other game which probably makes things feel bland to a lot of people. I remember reading a review where the reviewer said he thought Cape Ring was the most boring/uninspired track he'd ever seen while I personally LOVE that track. Again, for it's close-to-real-life-ness.

Anyway that's it for now. I've been playing Forza 3 for months while waiting for GT5 (and Prologue but that just didn't keep me busy for all that long) and I can safely say that GT5 is going to be stuck in my PS3 for lord knows how long now.

I love it, flaws or not.
 
Yesterday, I went to GameStop as soon as it opened! From there, I plugged in GT5 and went straight to the licenses. In-and-out during the day, I played it until I got to A-spec LV 10. Already I'm on LV 11, I still have at least 10 more cars in delivery and I haven't even bothered using Museum tickets yet.
 
With no Apricot Hill, Midfield Raceway and many others missing, I was really disappointed to see how they haven't brought Trial Mountain up to par and is merely a rush job. Looks awful. Cirque de la sarthe is the same. With 130 Premiums added since GT5P too, I'm just surprised with the dev time.

Painting a car takes too long. Silly pop ups about winning a colour. Just let me pick the colour and see it how it looks straight away.

Collecting the cars you've won with the tickets takes far too long.

In the A-spec events after finishing a race there's no option to do it again. You have to exit, and load the track again. Menu is ridiculous.
 
The thing that struck me most, is just how odd GT5 really is.

Because the GT franchise established itself early as "the standard", there's a tendency to accept what it offers as being the norm. In fact, GT5 is a truly bizarre game:

the strange choice of music - for a racing game that primarily sells to boys & young men.

the inclusion of endless econo-box cars that you wouldn't be excited to drive IRL, let alone in a game.

mind-numbing "license tests" that reward the obsessive-compulsive rather than developing meaningful driving skills.

mind-numbing econo-box races, that are absurdly easy to win, but still oblige you to plow through hours of them to advance in the game.

continuing poor AI & unconvincing collision effects & sound.

If an unknown developer took this concept to a publisher looking for financing, & then explained it would take 5 or 6 years to complete, I think he'd get laughed out of the room.

Rather than being a "standard", I think, objectively speaking, GT5 looks like the the extremely idiosyncratic vision of an obsessed man. In contrast, a game like FM3 seems like the embodiment of rational game-design: calculated to hit the right market in the most efficient way possible, & to make as much money as possible.

Of course GT5 has got some great things about it: I do think the physics are very good & of course the graphics are great (although not quite as great as I would have expected). Hopefully, there are going to be many enjoyable hours spent racing online using these two basic facts. But you have to ask yourself: if this is what we've got for the next 5 or 6 years, how is it going to stack up against FM 4 or FM5?
 
I'm going to write a proper review of this game once I have a few more hours with it.

But in all honesty, I'm pretty disappointed. However, not as disappointed as I would have been if I hadn't been following this forum for the past couple months.

It just feels like the whole world has moved on except for the Gran Turismo series and Polyphony Digital. What exactly is new about this game? It feels exactly the same as all of the previous GT games. The menu music, the license tests, the ridiculous amount of cars you will never drive, the absolutely pathetic way the cars interact on the track, the sounds of the cars are only slightly improved, the graphics are questionable.

I mean this was supposed to be the end all and be all of racing games, that's what we waited for. And it isn't, it isn't even close. Can anyone claim without a moment's pause that this game is much better than Forza 3? Even if you have to think about it, GT5 has failed. The Forza franchise came out of nowhere, GT5 took 5 YEARS.

If the majority of GT fans are not generally upset about this game then this has really become a cult like following on another level for games. 'Kaz is our leader'.

What I do know for sure is that I am not listening to PD and 'Kaz's' hype anymore. People around here treat this guy like a god. For GT6 I will read the reviews and make my own judgment before I buy it.
 
After my first 4 hours of play, I can say that GT5 is a very solid game, but it's not like the second coming as many people seem to expect. I have pretty realistic expectations and don't get caught up in the massive hype around this game. It's an evolutionary improvement over GT4/GT5P, and I'm absolutely fine with that.

I love the driving physics - the amount of USEFUL information in terms of feedback you get with a wheel is quite incredible.

I don't really see why it took 5 years to develop, but it's out now and I'm enjoying it.
 
Well the Canadians have spoken! ;)

The bottom line is it's a decent game, but certainly far from ground-breaking in any area, & the "quirks" are starting to seem less "endearing" & more just plain annoying. The professional reviews pretty much sum up a non-partisan perspective.
 
Biggles
Well the Canadians have spoken! ;)

The bottom line is it's a decent game, but certainly far from ground-breaking in any area, & the "quirks" are starting to seem less "endearing" & more just plain annoying. The professional reviews pretty much sum up a non-partisan perspective.
Click to expand...

Yes we have.

It just feels like this game needs an overhaul (yes i noticed the pun). Which really sucks because this is the one that was supposed to be it lol. GT6 will essentially be exactly the same with more content (cars, tracks, etc.) That is truly when the series is going to be left behind.
 
I'm actually pretty disappointed that none of the major reviewers have destroyed this game, yet.

After reading about the game on here and seeing the early leaks I kind of knew that it was going to be a disappointment but I was hoping that it would get absolutely destroyed in reviews, 60's and 70's all around. Maybe then PD will notice they are doing something wrong.
 
I think it's more obvious to me that the "5 years" it took to develop this, weren't spent on the game.

It sounds more like there were many set backs, monetary setbacks, delays, etc. which just all added up because too much was trying to be added.

Instead of scraping the project, they persued and released.

All I can think now is hopefully, they will patch things up slowly, since it was obviously rushed, but they have the ability and time (considering they took up 5 years) to fix the game. Just do it quickly, screw DLC cars, I want tweaks, glitches and fixes implemented first.
 
The only complaint that I have so far is the Ford Focus ST (my real life car). In the game the only colours are Orange, Black & Blue (same a prologue). What happened to Grey (mine), Red, White & Silver. Also the stripes? Could they not be bothered with this so they could include 50 Skylines etc....
 
I got the game yesterday, and played it about 5-6 hours (almost non-stop), and I can honestly say I like the game, like some user here pointed out a couple pages before, the game kept me smiling just about all the time I was playing it...

I'm now Lv10, got B-License almost all gold (except for 3 I think, that I got silvered, but that'll be addressed tonight), kart (beginner and intermediate), nascar (beginner), Top Gear challenge (beginner) and AMG-Nurburgring (beginner) done, bought a Swift as first car (sorry for all you Honda boys, I can't stand Civics...) and also d/l the Chrome Line cars that came with my US Collector's Edition, which I must say look gorgeous...

I'm going to put more time in it tonight, and likely try online over the weekend with some friends, so I'm still not far enough into the game to give away a full review, but this is a nice first impression...

I honestly don't mind too much about the Standard cars detail (or lack of) because I don't really look at that when I'm driving, as long as the driving experience itself is good, and it is. The physics look and feel great, and driving around a track feels like what it should be IMO.

About not being able to paint a car the color I want, no big deal, all of us went through the GT series since 1997 being stuck with the same color on prize cars won during the games. Not being able to change or paint rims (or the lack of selection) ? Two reasons why I don't bother, first because like above, we've been stuck with the same rims on the cars for most of the series, and second, I don't usually look at the rims while I'm driving, I prefer looking at the road and my opponents.

Forza3, comparing one to the other, and I do think most people will agree, one game will do something better than the other, while lacking elsewhere. I won't wander much past this point, because I do not own Forza, though I'll ask a relative who has it to come over sometime so we can properly compare the two.

Some other pros for GT5 (of course not covering everything, but still) :

- The ability to drive in weather or at night (albeit only on some tracks)
- 16 cars on track
- Premium cars look wonderful

And some cons :

- Loading times (even after doing the install)
- Menu navigation, not really confusing but I'd say not well thought out
- The occasional freezing (which happened to me only once yet, so I think I'm somewhat lucky, judging from some of the posts here, and yes, I did read just about all of the 15 pages)

All in all, I'm satisfied with the game for the time I've been in yet, and with the announcements made at the Madrid party about the DLC and upgrades / patches, I think it'll be an enjoyable game for many years to come...
 
Sadly, I wonder if GTPlanet needs to operate anymore.

GT5 is obviously a epic failure to most here (not me) and all this place has turned into is a place to piss and moan.

Just my feelings.

That said, I am quite enjoying the game. Not 100% perfect but the best GT game to date. The handling of the cars is fantastic and that's important but sadly, that obviously does not matter to alot of people here. :(

They all have flickering shadow phobia.
 
OMG, funky sesame street music while I'm swapping springs in the tuning menu! Makes me want to get up and clap meh hands!:)

The physics are incredible. Tried the castrol supra racecar on trial mountain, and was left breathless. I've driven just about all the major sims out there and pd have nailed that edgy, snappy feel. There are many things to like about this game so far and some things that are surprisingly rough around the edges. I'll dig in for another day or two before I can make true judgments I'd say.
 
The positive reviews are coming in more than the negative, so I am still keeping my faith. I can't wait to play it, it's killing me.
 
I don't understand people that say they don't care about customizing their car because they aren't looking at it while driving. Would you be upset if every single car in the game was only available in black? It wouldn't effect the driving experience but it would totally suck.

I would gladly trade karting, nascar, and the course 'maker' to have a proper customization options and more freedom with tuning for all of the premium cars. This adds a whole new aspect to the game.
 
Well contrary to all the fanboys who will ride a sinking ship to the grave. I am glad that there are a great many people who are disappointed with this game. It really doesn't have much more than GT4 and comparing it to Forza the only thing thats better is the night racing, rally racing, graphics and weather. I mean with all the DLC that Forza has had it has just as many cars and a better variety of race cars with less of the econo box types. It has better customization and tuning options such as varying tire sizes and widths, the ability to upgrade brakes ( this is called the real race simulator but there are no break upgrades are you kidding me), multiple areo kits that funtion, a livery editor, the ability to do engine and drive train swaps. How did the bugatti veryon not make a premium car but an old military jeep did? Many of the tracks of gt4 were left out ie Hong Kong, apricot hill etc. Although the driving physics are good in this game the clutch is silly. I mean in Forza if i miss a shift the gears scratch just as they would in a real car. If I miss a shift in gt5 it stays in neutral. The standard cars are an epic fail. How is it that every car in FM3 can be customized to the max and they have a dash view but only 200 or so are able to have that here. I would have rather they just make the game with all premium cars and focus on tuning options and other things in the game rather than having 30 skylines with 5 of them being premiums. How is it that the standard cars are many of the cars that made it from GT4 were they had tires that could be changed and a greater variety of tire options. I can go on and on but I guess the only question that I have is what was PD doing for the last 5 years? I can only imagine what jokes the developers at turn10 are speaking about this game
 
The positive reviews are coming in more than the negative, so I am still keeping my faith
Click to expand...

Glad to hear that. ;)

There's no way GT5 is a "bad" game. It's just that after 5 years & tens of millions of dollars, expectations are very high. Some of those expectations haven't been met & to me it seems that PD is putting the emphasis in the wrong place - hundreds & hundreds of cars that most people will never drive - instead of some basics, like more responsive AI, which even much smaller racing titles seem to manage much better.
 
Is anyone noticing the slight judder effect now in cockpit view? Definately not on prologue.

Also the framerate and look seems worse now. Just dosent seem as smooth with a little blurred finish to the graphics.
 
Biggles
The thing that struck me most, is just how odd GT5 really is.

Because the GT franchise established itself early as "the standard", there's a tendency to accept what it offers as being the norm. In fact, GT5 is a truly bizarre game:

the strange choice of music - for a racing game that primarily sells to boys & young men.

the inclusion of endless econo-box cars that you wouldn't be excited to drive IRL, let alone in a game.

mind-numbing "license tests" that reward the obsessive-compulsive rather than developing meaningful driving skills.

mind-numbing econo-box races, that are absurdly easy to win, but still oblige you to plow through hours of them to advance in the game.

continuing poor AI & unconvincing collision effects & sound.

If an unknown developer took this concept to a publisher looking for financing, & then explained it would take 5 or 6 years to complete, I think he'd get laughed out of the room.

Rather than being a "standard", I think, objectively speaking, GT5 looks like the the extremely idiosyncratic vision of an obsessed man. In contrast, a game like FM3 seems like the embodiment of rational game-design: calculated to hit the right market in the most efficient way possible, & to make as much money as possible.

Of course GT5 has got some great things about it: I do think the physics are very good & of course the graphics are great (although not quite as great as I would have expected). Hopefully, there are going to be many enjoyable hours spent racing online using these two basic facts. But you have to ask yourself: if this is what we've got for the next 5 or 6 years, how is it going to stack up against FM 4 or FM5?
Click to expand...

Accurate cars, tracks, physics and lotss and lots and lot of driving that is GT :)

There are lot of other racing games for fun but I do not want GT to become like others. GT of course need improvements and more realism with every iteration but they are doing just fine
 
Last edited:
m_a_r_s_h_a_l_l
Also the framerate and look seems worse now. Just dosent seem as smooth with a little blurred finish to the graphics.
Click to expand...

I've said it before, but this. All the other negavites people have been bringing up, pale in comparison to this. This is a problem with the CORE of the game: the combination of 'shifty' graphics, mainly shadows (ALSO on premium cars) and a framerate that can't quite hold 60 makes this game not such a nice place to be in. It might get better with patches though. And again, driving physics are awesome.
 

Latest Posts

Back