GTPlanet user reviews.

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We have all read the zillions of reviews from the review thread but I thought It would be a nice idea to have some mini reviews from fellow GTPlaneters.

So I guess Its up to me to lead the way....

LIKES
-New cars in the series.
-Simplicity of the game.
-Adaptive difficulty levels.
-Ability to determine the prize money from a race (to some extent).
-Cash rewards from driving challenges.
-Pick up and go gameplay. I can do any race on any track straight out of the box.

SOSO
-Lack of 1st party support for online play (it got a soso cause at least adhoc party exists).
-Controls (not really PDs fault that the PSP is a little cramped)

DISLIKES
-Random dealerships are a bit too random. It is fun when you get new dealerships to gawk at. I just hate how the game keeps showing car makers with 500000cr cars yet you only have like 120000 in the bank.
-They got rid of some tracks yet there is only 1 new track.

Overall I give it a 90%.

Its the best psp game that I have. It gained a few % for being on a portable platform so if you visit a friend who does not have a PS you can still play on your PSP.

I docked it for the randomness of the car dealerships. They could have refined that a little so that it only displays car companies that you can afford to make a purchase from. Whats the point of offering Ferarri on the 11th day when you only have like 300gs in the bank? They know you wont be able to purchase it, so why bother so soon in the game?

I also docked points for PD removing some tracks but only offering 1 new track.

I cant wait to read all of your reviews...
 
Thanks for the impressions!

Will get the game tomorrow, spend the weekend playing this sucker and will make sure to post some initial impressions and most likely a more in-depth review later on since I really enjoy writing my own little reviews ;)
 
This game is amazing, it deserves lot more than the reviewers rated it.

*The driving dynamics is very impressive for a portable game!, sometimes it feels better than GranTurismo5: Prologue on the PS3.
*The Graphics Aren't bad at all, They are even impressive for a Portable game.

The only thing i didn't like is the fact that i can't buy any car i want! it's crazy that the game chooses 4 dealers every 2 business days in the game. So i can't buy any BMW yet because it didnt pop up yet!, Mercedes Benz poped with the dealers but the Mclaren SLR weren't even there. So all the car offered are old cars and thats the only flow to me.

I rate this game a 9.0 just because it has over 850 cars and i can't by what i want yet.
 
Not a review but impressions

I been playing this thing, the licenses are fun as always, im in the G group, all silver atleast (about 50% golds), after that i dont know what im going to do, the other mode is kind of lame, racing 4 times each track until i got A class, horrible mode.

Overall is not bad it terms of gameplay, the cars feel good, sounds good, the graphics are good in some tracks but bad in others (lots of artifacts in some tracks).

I havent seen many new cars, basically all from GT4, the dealership thing is pretty stupid and the game throw you money all the time, i have like 25 cars already and a 1.1 million to spend.

Its really dissapointing having the old carlist with so little new ones because i already drove my favorites in GT4, so when this was annouced i was hopping for more Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other new cars.

Il give it a 7.0 since i played GT4 four years ago
 
PROs

- Graphics. Easily the best looking racer on the PSP. Probably in the top 5 for all games.
- Custom Soundtracks. I don't understand why more games on the PSP don't use this
- No stupid series that you never want to do. Seriously, did anyone ever enjoy doing like the Beetle series, or Vitz series in GT?
- Sheer amount of cars. This is every car enthusiasts dream. Everything from the Bugatti, to purpose built race cars, to even the Volkswagen Standard (or my personal favorite VW, the Karmann Ghia)
- In car view. Yes, I'm loving it.
- Physics. They are at least on par with GT4, maybe even a slight improvement.
- Car sharing/trading. Should be fun.

CONs

- No series races of any kind. I don't mind the "lack of career mode" as it is but I would have liked to have been able to set up a series of races.
- Limited tuning. I could have dealt with the no upgrading if they had just included some more tuning options. Even if there was just a simple "Higher or Lower" transmission adjustment I would have been fine with it. But no transmission adjustment and no LSD is gonna make tuning a little tough.
- No replay converter. If you're gonna have a replay function these days, you should have an option to convert it to .AVI so it can be shared.
- Dealership system. It sucks. If there was a little bit more variety, or even better if they divided all the dealerships in to 7 groups and each group was available on a specific day of the week. As it is now, I find myself doing races for the sole purpose of changing the dealership.


Overall, I'm pleased and give this game a solid 7.5/10. It could have been better, but still it's a great game.
 
For the most part, I second everyone's opinions here. Here's my take on it:

Pros:
- Physics/handling model - Easily the best of any racing game on any handheld platform and on par with the best PC and console games.
- Dealership "shuffle" - Oddly, this is one of my favorite things about the game. By randomizing the dealerships they added a huge element of collectibility to the game for me. It's like buying baseball card packs at the store... Will I get the one I want?? Just one more race to get some new dealerships! Highly addictive.
- Graphics - One of the best looking PSP games to date, and the blazing framerate is rock solid. Textures look good, car models are great, and so far I haven't noticed any aliasing or tearing. Overall I'd put it on par with GT3, perhaps a smidge better.
- No level grinding necessary - All GT games have had an element of "needing to pay the bills", some more than others. I remember running Red Rock in GT2 over and over and over in order to scrape together enough cash to buy the car I needed for the next race series. Ugh. Although racing to earn cash is at the very heart of this game, there's no particular barrier to the next race just because you're poor.


Cons:
- No cars to win - One of the best things about previous GT games was trying to win that one special car that you couldn't get anywhere else... I miss that. Simply getting prize money takes a little of the fun out of it.
- No race series - The single race format is fun, but battling for points standings is a blast. I really enjoyed getting myself into a series that was *almost* over my head and sweating it out for a 3rd place or better finish in the last race to win the 10 race championship. Very much more true to real life racing; sad to see it absent from GT PSP.
- Limited tuning options - I don't mind the Quick Tune format, but no adjustable transmissions?? That has been my bread and butter since GT1 and is a big hole in the game. Adjustable differentials and tuning upgrade parts would have been nice too.
 
- Limited tuning options - I don't mind the Quick Tune format, but no adjustable transmissions?? That has been my bread and butter since GT1 and is a big hole in the game. Adjustable differentials and tuning upgrade parts would have been nice too.

One of the things that bugs me most in the recent GT games is having a car that requires shifting through the s-curves on Suzuka. That is one of the first things I do, tune the gearing for those curves. Usually the rest falls into place (as far as gearing on that track). So, like you, that is going to bug me.
 
Meanwhile, there have been some new reviews popping up on Metacritic, with praising and bashing reviews still making it balance around 75 (not that it matters much that much). It´s mostly a divide between reviewers who can get over the lack of a career mode and those who can´t.

I´m actually really surprised how much praise the physics get, makes me anticipate the delivery tomorrow even more. I bet I won´t even be able to sleep properly, that´s how much I feel like a little boy awaiting christmas again!
 
One of the things that bugs me most in the recent GT games is having a car that requires shifting through the s-curves on Suzuka. That is one of the first things I do, tune the gearing for those curves. Usually the rest falls into place (as far as gearing on that track). So, like you, that is going to bug me.

Exactly. I also hate having a car that bogs in 1st and 2nd and can barely get through 4th gear by the end of the main straight.
 
I got this game today, and I really like it. I am a bit disappointed that the developers basically copied and pasted the GT4 car list and added a few extra cars, but thats just 1 fault. Keep in mind that its Gran Turismo that you can play ANYWHERE! That alone is worth the price tag and then some. Another very small fault deals with the dealer shuffle. I like the idea of the dealer suffle, but I seem to be getting the Honda dealer 5 cycles in a row. I'm not sure how the new multiplayer modes work, but I'll figure that out soon cause my friend just got his copy (he used to be a forza fanboy, but I converted him). I also had a problem getting the Veyron code from gamestop to work, but it finally worked bout an hour ago! Crisis Averted!
 
I love the pro physics in this game... Just amazing. It's outstanding for a PSP game and honestly in some aspects it may even be better than GT5P's physics. Very impressed with this aspect.

At first I thought I wouldn't really mind no career mode and I'd just be doing time trials/single races anyway but I have to admit I really do miss it now. The challenges aren't that fun and it definitely would have been great to have at least some sort of career mode. Even something like GT2 would be great. The random dealerships is a bit annoying too. In some ways it's nice because it's original but it sucks waiting to get certain cars and you might not have enough to buy some cars the first time.

All in all the mechanics and feel of the game is very positive, but it needs more depth.
 
I like the idea of the dealer suffle, but I seem to be getting the Honda dealer 5 cycles in a row.

That's because it's offering a different selection of cars each time. It seems there's a max of like 10-15 cars you can buy in each dealer each time they show up. Next time they do it's a completely new set of cars. Therefore Nissan Toyota, and Honda will show up a lot since they have the most cars.
 
I love the pro physics in this game... Just amazing. It's outstanding for a PSP game and honestly in some aspects it may even be better than GT5P's physics. Very impressed with this aspect.

At first I thought I wouldn't really mind no career mode and I'd just be doing time trials/single races anyway but I have to admit I really do miss it now. The challenges aren't that fun and it definitely would have been great to have at least some sort of career mode. Even something like GT2 would be great. The random dealerships is a bit annoying too. In some ways it's nice because it's original but it sucks waiting to get certain cars and you might not have enough to buy some cars the first time.

All in all the mechanics and feel of the game is very positive, but it needs more depth.

Really? i dont find them near as good as GT5p physics, they are good for a portable game ( i like them even more than GT4) but compared with profesional physics of GT5p... il take that any day of the week.
 
Just got this game yesterday and I must say for the PSP this is an IDEAL game... On the go you want to be able to race quickly and not go through a career and race races all the time that take long.... So I think the setup of the game is ideal, also how it remembers what you chose for race settings... so If I was hotlapping suzuka in a time trial in the RX7, the next time I turn it on to hotlap again its still there... Loading times are ok... not to long and the navigation screens are nice and easy to understand. Graphics are great for a PSP game and gameplay reminds me of plat GT3/4 back in the day with a pad :) Professional physics feels really good in this game as well... All in all I am very pleased with what PD have put down in this title... It will give me hours and hours of gameplay satisfcation!

Current score: 8.5/10
 
I've caught myself a few times having a big smile on my face while racing or doing challanges. E.g. with the old Alfa Romeo 155 touring car around Grand Valley. That about sums it up for me. Great great game. 👍
 
The game is a nice little taster until GT5 comes out. The only game I can compare it to which was a good PSP racer is Test Drive Unlimited which is a joke next to GT PSP. The graphics are very good, the physics are much better than GT4 and somehow I find the physics and AI to be more comfortable than GT5 Prologue. They could've done more like having a random race option instead of having to set up the track and things like that, everything else is very good for a PSP. The game really does what it has to do, it's a quick bite when you're away from your console. The "professional" reviewers didn't know what they were talking about when they gave this game a 7 or 8, they sound like they have never played a Gran Turismo game before; this does feel Gran Turismo and it's very fun.

PROS:
Great portability, can be taken anywhere.
GT quality is still there.
Great graphics (95%)
Great tracks, NURBURGRING
Car selection (Although most are from GT4, I've encountered many cars from GT4 I would have never seen since here I am forced to look at the dealers.
Car Physics and AI seem to be improved over GT4 and GT5P.

CONS:
PSP buttons
Lack of a track/lap Shuffle style mode.
BMW M5 looks like crap
 
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Here's the pros and cons from my persecptive:
PROS:
Random dealerships
Graphics excellent for a handheld
Driving challenges are worth the time!
Handing Physics seems to be better
Huge car and track selection
CONS:
Limited tune options
lack of new content
NEUTRAL:
Controls
Overall score: 8.75/10
 
The biggest impression for me was just how much better the graphics look than I thought they would. For a PSP game it looks incredible.

my biggest con isn't an issue with the game but rather with the PSP. The analog nub just isn't a good way to control a car and the shape of the PSP makes it difficult to hold when driving on manual.

Got to say though that this game is alot more impressive than I thought it was going to be.
 
Well I clocked a couple of hours on a friends copy and this is what I come up with:

Pros:

Graphics are superb - For a PSP, at the framerate and size and detail... this is defintely a great looking game. I especially love the city tracks and getting to see all the buildings as I fly past!

Controls - For a PSP are very good.

Sheer amount of content - SO many cars, and plenty of tracks is definitely impressive

Physics - Switching between the two levels gives the ability for drivers to enjoy a more forgiving game if need be and both feel very good

Con:

4 on track - probably a trade off for the graphics, 3 opponents is a bit small and ends up with me racing alone way too often. There is no way to break into packs with only 4 cars

Dealer info - is only available by going into the dealership (please correct me if I am wrong) this means I have to leave the mode I am in every couple of races to see what's available... this is annoying as that is 2 load screens to go through.

Reverse button - I really wish they would just go with holding the brake long enough to reverse, with all the buttons to use and so few on the PSP, why make an extra button for reverse?

Hardware - While it's a hardware limitation the ghosting is very distracting and annoying for me. I am not sure what exactly can be done but I think it's possible that careful programing to avoid grey to grey pixel switching where possible might have helped as I have played a few games where some how fast driving and moving of hings on screen has not lead to ghosting.

Forcing D rank - I hate the fact you have to race every track at D rank just to open it up to a decent challenge level. Even worse is the fundamental way it works meaning that I can't just choose a goober of a car to force a challenge on myself as the CPU will also choose goober cars and just drive more slowly/crappier than I do. In the big picture, putting away the D rank run on every track equates to hours of me driving out in the lead a whole race without ever seeing anyone else. That's not fun.

AI - far too often I will be going into a turn and have the AI blindly push me clear out of the turn and into a wall or some other messed up thing. I expected this from all my previous GT experiences, but it's still annoying.

And the biggie... no career mode - this has drastically limited my enjoyment of the game and made it feel like a huge demo or at best an arcade mode. This is driven home by the fact that the part I used to hate the most (license mode) is now the part I like the best as it has some structure. Picking any car I own on any course just feels all wrong to me. There is no progression, no growth and when I look at the track screen there is nothing inside me urging me to go on and race to get more options... they are all there already. The races now just become a grind to earn enough Cr to buy more cars - which ironically I take out to try on the track for fun, but with nothing to earn like I would in a structured career race, that is only good for one or two passes.

I think if I had a PS3 and could do adhoc party or some other way of doing multiplayer I mimght get a lot more out of this game, but as is... for a single player experience it almost feels like a big tech demo... not a full fledged GT game.

Puts this one squarely in the field of "rental" (well borrow from friend for me) and at best buy if you always want to have something that shows off some eye candy on your PSP.
 
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