So I downloaded Gran Turismo HD on Christmas Day from the PlayStation Store. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. One track, 10 cars, time trial and drift trial modes only. I fired it up for the first time and my fiance said, and I quote, “Holy fucking shit. There’s no way that’s a video game.” She hit it dead on. My impression was the same. WOW. This is the best looking driving game I’ve EVER seen. At 1080p with a slick framerate, the game looks fantastic. The lighting on the cars and car models are insane. The backgrounds on the course are the best I’ve ever seen. It puts Project Gotham 3 to shame.
The car handling is just as expected with an Gran Turismo game. Each car handles uniquely, and I can confirm that the Acura RSX Type S in the game handles very close to the real thing. You start out with the shitty car that can’t do more than 45mph, but as you beat the times in Time Trial mode, you unlock new cars up until you get the coveted Ferrari. By starting with a slow, shitty car, those new to the game get a feel for the realistic style of driving. It’s almost like a mini license test mode.
The drift mode is interesting, although I’m not a fan of it with this series. It’s always been about realistic racing, and I think adding drifting to the game brings the ghetto to it, which isn’t needed. That’s not what the series has ever been about.
I’m hoping they release some more tracks, hopefully free. I’m satisfied with the number of cars for a glorified demo. An extra track or two would be nice, but we’ll see.
The only gripe I have, which I’ve heard from other people, is that you can’t really customize your car like in the full game. It’s a demo, I know, but at least allow people to customize the parts on the car fully. I’d love to re-work the gear ratios and downforce on some of the cars to get tighter turns and better acceleration.
As a free demo, I give this a 9.5 out of 10. Can’t wait for the full game, but I’m expecting late 2008 or early 2009 for that. Poliphony Digital always takes forever to make their games.
