Die hard Gran Turismo fans have been chomping at the bit for more 1080p racing goodness ever since the GT HD demo was released on the PlayStation Network shortly after the release of the PS3. With Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, their prayers have been answered. GT5 Prologue is the best looking racing game on the market, but the content falls a bit short.

It’s tough to deny the beauty that is GT5 Prologue. The game runs at 1080p at a blazing 60 frames per second. Car models are intricately detailed to exactly mirror their real life counterparts and these are easily the best car models in any game on the market. The courses in the game are a mixed bag. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all beautiful, but some are more detailed than others. London is a beautiful recreation of the city, but don’t expect too much going on at Daytona. Being the best looking track in the game, it’s a shame you don’t get to see London too often in single player until the end. To complement the graphical engine, GT5 Prologue has an amazing soundtrack. Each of the tracks chosen fits well and keeps your adrenaline level up while making sharp turns and trying not to slam into the wall. Sound effects are also done well with each car having a unique sound for its engine.

If you’ve never played a Gran Turismo game, the series is all about realism. Coming in looking for arcade style gameplay is setting you up for a bad experience, as Prologue isn’t for you. For everyone else, GT5 offers some of the best driving gameplay this generation. Each of the game’s 70 cars handles like the real thing, so your strategy will depend on what you’re driving. A Suzuki Cappuccino will drive a bit different than a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII. With both a controller or a racing wheel, you get a great sense of being in control of your car. GT5 Prologue introduces an in-car view while driving which features working gauges and real time rear view mirrors, which serves to bring you even further into the game. DualShock 3 support is done well, to the point that you won’t know it’s there if you’re a good driver. You only feel the vibration when you go off-road or hit the wall.

In the single player Events, you progress through three license classes, each with 10 races. Many will require a certain car, so like the previous Gran Turismo games, you’re going to have to grind away at the same race a few times to build up your bank roll. I got annoyed a bit early on when I needed to run a race three times with my RX-8 to buy a cheap little Suzuki Cappuccino with 63 HP. That’s the nature of simulation racing games, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. You need a bit of skill to make it past the A license class with all gold medals. Beating the A class will unlock an even more difficult S class for those who are looking for an even greater challenge. Also by completing the A class, you will unlock the Quick Tuning option before races where you can tune certain parts of your car for a performance gain. I understand this is a Prologue game, but I would have liked to see the Quick Tuning available from the start. For me, the Gran Turismo games have always been about tuning your car to get the best performance possible. I’d rather not have to play through the entire game to unlock that option.

Other than the Event mode, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue features an Arcade Mode where you can run Time Trial and Drift Trial races as well as standard races on any track of the game. You can also play a 2P Battle where you can race it out against a friend. The biggest addition, other than game modes and such, is GT-TV. Polyphony Digital is constantly updating this section with new videos about cars in the game, making of videos, etc. It’s a great place for car enthusiasts to check out some mini shows. There are only five videos available at press time, but you can expect that number to grow continuously as Polyphony Digital will be supporting and updating GT5 Prologue up until the release of the full Gran Turismo 5.

Speaking of the support of the game, we are already aware of future updates to expect in Prologue, such as damage modeling coming later this year. I can only hope this gets extended to more cars and tracks as well as giving players the option of Quick Tuning at any point during the course of play.

A first in the Gran Turismo series is the addition of online multiplayer. You can hop on and race with up to 16 players in any of the game’s six tracks. Instead of a lobby system, when you access the Online menu in the game, you are given the option to choose a race type and track. Races are broken down into Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert with additional types for those who can use Quick Tuning to give performance boosts to their cars. The races are further broken down into car type, such as Sports Car Class or Super Car Class, so you’ll need the right car to get into the right race. Polyphony Digital will be updating the Online Events periodically, so new types of races may show up.

Personally, I’d like to see an online system where you can create your own race with your own parameters. If I want to race in London with a certain car against friends, I want to be able to do so. Mainly, I want to be able to race with friends online. With the current model, it’s difficult to get everyone into one race. A lobby system with proper invites and such would alleviate these issues.

Even before release, many were accusing Gran Turismo 5 Prologue of being an overpriced demo, and that is certainly not the case. Prologue is a full fledged game, as have been the previous Prologue titles released in Japan and Europe. With 70 cars and six tracks, there is plenty to justify the $40 price tag. With some tweaks from the developers, GT5 Prologue could be great. As it stands, it’s just a pretty good game. If you’re a fan of the series and tweaking your cars, this is definitely for you.

Overall: 8.5 of 10

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