I've been playing Gran Turismo since the first game was released on the PlayStation. In fact, I bought the first game on the very day it was released in the UK. I bought GT5 Prologue from Japan in December 2007, just so I could play it a few months before it was released in Europe. I even bought a PS2 just to play GT4 to tide me over until GT5 came out after I moved from the UK to Canada a couple of years ago, having sold all my games and consoles before I left Britain. It would be fair to say I was a huge GT fan.
While none of the games in the series has been perfect, they were all great.
Until now.
GT5, other than being visually stunning (except for about 80% of the cars) and having reasonably sound driving physics, has virtually no redeeming features. I've played most of the way through, almost out of a sense of duty, constantly picking at flaws, missed opportunities and lack of decent content, desperately trying to find any sense in which it's better than GT4.
And tonight, the final nail was driven hard into the coffin as I resumed my Tsukuba 9 Hour enduro at the 6 hour mark and my '91 NSX RM just ploughed straight on, missing the pits completely, after which the CPU maintained control over the car, repeatedly crashing it into the pit wall until it passed the end of pit lane. The computer continued to drive the car round the track, on now destroyed tyres, spinning at almost every turn. I figured it would probably pit when the fuel ran out, so just let it be. I was 30 laps in front, so I didn't think it was a massive deal. That, and I'm a patient man. But no, the car ran out of fuel and continued to circulate at an almighty 49 miles per hour.
I shut the PS3 off and resumed again, thinking it may have been a fluke. But no, it wasn't. There was nothing I could do. Even wrenching the wheel hard to the right and slamming on the brake wasn't enough to point the car down the pit lane.
I was very much looking forward to this 'Suspend' feature, that worked so flawlessly on the Sega Dreamcast version of Le Mans 24 Hours (released almost twelve years ago), and had long said how GT4 needed it badly. Finally, it seemed my prayers had been answered. And the first three times I used it, they had. Not so much on the fourth.
I was one of those people who thought Polyphony could do no wrong and would go from strength to strength. I guess I was wrong. GT5 is a buggy, deeply flawed, unfinished game that they want me to pay another 20% of the price of admission for a couple of cars that have spoilers and stickers and a track that we had a fair inkling was in development before the game was even released. That just rubs salt into the wounds, as far as I'm concerned.
I was worried about Polyphony losing focus before it was even released, what with all the pandering to the American market. Half the RM cars are American, one of the nine ("there are only nine?!") endurance races is the insomnia curing Indy 500, and NASCAR is so heavily featured in the game.
It turns out I should have just gone with my instincts and left it on the shelf. Now I'm glad EB was out of the special edition on launch day when I bought it, that's for sure.
And what's the deal with the wet weather tyres? Why can I go faster round a soaked Suzuka Circuit on soft slicks than on treaded wets? It's ridiculous! Did anyone even play test the wet tracks before the game was released?
I'm considering buying a 360 and Forza. I love racing, and I love racing sims, but GT5 frustrates me so much that I can hardly bear to look at it.
I know none of this is really relevant to anyone, but I just had to vent. I'm sure some of you understand. I am a Gran Turismo fanboy no more.
If you'll excuse me, I'm off to spank a BMW 320si touring car round the Silverstone National circuit in rFactor.
While none of the games in the series has been perfect, they were all great.
Until now.
GT5, other than being visually stunning (except for about 80% of the cars) and having reasonably sound driving physics, has virtually no redeeming features. I've played most of the way through, almost out of a sense of duty, constantly picking at flaws, missed opportunities and lack of decent content, desperately trying to find any sense in which it's better than GT4.
And tonight, the final nail was driven hard into the coffin as I resumed my Tsukuba 9 Hour enduro at the 6 hour mark and my '91 NSX RM just ploughed straight on, missing the pits completely, after which the CPU maintained control over the car, repeatedly crashing it into the pit wall until it passed the end of pit lane. The computer continued to drive the car round the track, on now destroyed tyres, spinning at almost every turn. I figured it would probably pit when the fuel ran out, so just let it be. I was 30 laps in front, so I didn't think it was a massive deal. That, and I'm a patient man. But no, the car ran out of fuel and continued to circulate at an almighty 49 miles per hour.
I shut the PS3 off and resumed again, thinking it may have been a fluke. But no, it wasn't. There was nothing I could do. Even wrenching the wheel hard to the right and slamming on the brake wasn't enough to point the car down the pit lane.
I was very much looking forward to this 'Suspend' feature, that worked so flawlessly on the Sega Dreamcast version of Le Mans 24 Hours (released almost twelve years ago), and had long said how GT4 needed it badly. Finally, it seemed my prayers had been answered. And the first three times I used it, they had. Not so much on the fourth.
I was one of those people who thought Polyphony could do no wrong and would go from strength to strength. I guess I was wrong. GT5 is a buggy, deeply flawed, unfinished game that they want me to pay another 20% of the price of admission for a couple of cars that have spoilers and stickers and a track that we had a fair inkling was in development before the game was even released. That just rubs salt into the wounds, as far as I'm concerned.
I was worried about Polyphony losing focus before it was even released, what with all the pandering to the American market. Half the RM cars are American, one of the nine ("there are only nine?!") endurance races is the insomnia curing Indy 500, and NASCAR is so heavily featured in the game.
It turns out I should have just gone with my instincts and left it on the shelf. Now I'm glad EB was out of the special edition on launch day when I bought it, that's for sure.
And what's the deal with the wet weather tyres? Why can I go faster round a soaked Suzuka Circuit on soft slicks than on treaded wets? It's ridiculous! Did anyone even play test the wet tracks before the game was released?
I'm considering buying a 360 and Forza. I love racing, and I love racing sims, but GT5 frustrates me so much that I can hardly bear to look at it.
I know none of this is really relevant to anyone, but I just had to vent. I'm sure some of you understand. I am a Gran Turismo fanboy no more.
If you'll excuse me, I'm off to spank a BMW 320si touring car round the Silverstone National circuit in rFactor.
I'm sure if there were snakes in the cars, I'd have had enough of those too! They'd no doubt be very realistic looking snakes, but they'd sound pretty weak.
