The "Retro Game Reviews" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
This thread has been linked to the game 'Gran Turismo 5'.
The last thing one needs after waiting 6 years for a game to be released is an even longer wait to play it. And yet, that is precisely what is in store for anybody who inserts the Gran Turismo 5 disc into their PS3. First off, there is the latest update. Then, there is the theoretically optional install. And finally, there is the antiquated menu system to plough through. Controlling an arrow to select where you go and what you do, with no quick option to just 'backup', it feels very much like it did back when we first got to play the series.
Menus are not the only casualty of the development time, either. Out of the box, you simply cannot race online. That comes via the massive update that faces you when you try to play. Even when you have the game online, things are not as straightforward as we have come to expect. Setting up a race with friends is a tortuous process, and the lack of leaderboards for the tracks is a mind-blowing oversight. This is 2011, Polyphony, get with the times! In an age where we can race our friends within 2 or 3 button-presses, the step back to this less user-friendly age is quite jarring.
Eventually, you find your way around the seemingly endless menus. Soon, you know what to do to start a race. You have designed your driver, wasted time making your homepage, bought a car, and are finally at the starting line ready to put the pedal to the metal.
Which is the point where everything falls into place, and you forgive everything. Suddenly, it feels like 1997 all over again for the RIGHT reasons. The detail is flawless, the feel is perfect, and the love for the subject matter simply shines through every single pixel. When push comes to shove, the actual meat and drink of a game is how it plays. This is where Polyphony Digital have clearly focused, and this focus has paid off in spades.
A sense of speed is all well and good, and is possibly the easiest thing for a racing game to convey. What most lack alongside this is a sense of weight. Cars in games tend to be unrealistic, hyper-sensitive, and can feel little to no connection with the actual roads. Not so here, for every car is a machine that demands full control from you. Instead of top speed being a mere function of holding the accelerator down for long enough, Gran Turismo has only ever rewarded players who understand that top speed has to be earned. Go into a corner too fast, and you will lose ground on your fellow racers. Enter too fast, and the likelihood of losing control and spinning around helplessly is increased tenfold.
Speed is not about going fast; it is a side-effect of controlled driving. Gran Turismo lives by this creed.
As a series, it has always been a sort of obsessive-compulsive crawl towards a virtual reality recreation of motor racing. As such, there have been a few small changes over each of the sequels in technical terms, but the format has remained largely untouched. The same can be said for this latest incarnation, with the same style of events given even the same names as they have had all along. Starters get to race in the same old Sunday Cup on some of the exact same tracks as before, with trickier events unlocking as experience is gained. Rewards for events are even familiar. The traditional career path is a well-read map, and is adhered to as rigidly as ever. There is, however, a whole new addition to get to grips with.
Special Events exists outside of the standard GT mode, but simultaneously outclasses it as the most enjoyable part of the title. This where you get to race in Go-karts. This where you will find the Rally stages. And this is where the fun is found. Whilst GT mode is highly polished, it is also more than a little po-faced and self-important. Special Events has a much more refreshing take on things.
Even here, though, the dichotomy that is this game slaps you around the face. Your joy at being able to race on the Top Gear test track will instantly be tempered by your annoyance at being unable to drive more than 50 mph in a VW Camper van. Likewise, you will be frustrated to find that despite there only being one go-kart vehicle in the game, you still have to literally go and get in the thing in order to take part in the go-kart events. But then you forgive the game because the go-karting is just such an enjoyable pastime.
So, overall, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The GT mode is functional, the special events are a revelation, and the online is almost shockingly incomplete. Vast chunks of your time with the title will be spent not actually enjoying what you are doing. And yet, just when you think that this is the biggest waste of time ever, it goes and does exactly what it set out to in the most wonderful way possible.
This truly is the Real Racing Simulator we have been waiting all this time for. For, everywhere that it matters, Polyphony Digital have done a stunning job of work. Graphically, you would be hard pushed to find a better looking title. The Premium models in particular are breathtakingly pretty, with full in-car views available. Even the standard models still look the part, but the new cars that have been made purely for this game basically raise the bar out of sight.
The driving experience itself is as nailed on as you would expect. At times it weighs itself down in details, but at other times it is spectacularly entertaining. NASCAR racing is superb fun, rallying on procedurally generated roads is exhilarating, and racing online can lead to some true ding-dong battles. It can honestly be said that this is a title that shines despite its faults. That it can be recommended at all speaks volumes, but that it can be recommended wholeheartedly speaks of an astonishing achievement.
It is po-faced, pretentious, and full of itself. It ploughs its own furrow, and doesn't listen to its contemporaries. It may initially seem impenetrable, but once you get past the early frustrations it reveals itself to be something completely unique. For better or worse it is a title that revels in what it is, which is the culmination of a long-standing dream. If you have even a slight interest in racing games, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
9/10
Menus are not the only casualty of the development time, either. Out of the box, you simply cannot race online. That comes via the massive update that faces you when you try to play. Even when you have the game online, things are not as straightforward as we have come to expect. Setting up a race with friends is a tortuous process, and the lack of leaderboards for the tracks is a mind-blowing oversight. This is 2011, Polyphony, get with the times! In an age where we can race our friends within 2 or 3 button-presses, the step back to this less user-friendly age is quite jarring.
Eventually, you find your way around the seemingly endless menus. Soon, you know what to do to start a race. You have designed your driver, wasted time making your homepage, bought a car, and are finally at the starting line ready to put the pedal to the metal.
Which is the point where everything falls into place, and you forgive everything. Suddenly, it feels like 1997 all over again for the RIGHT reasons. The detail is flawless, the feel is perfect, and the love for the subject matter simply shines through every single pixel. When push comes to shove, the actual meat and drink of a game is how it plays. This is where Polyphony Digital have clearly focused, and this focus has paid off in spades.
A sense of speed is all well and good, and is possibly the easiest thing for a racing game to convey. What most lack alongside this is a sense of weight. Cars in games tend to be unrealistic, hyper-sensitive, and can feel little to no connection with the actual roads. Not so here, for every car is a machine that demands full control from you. Instead of top speed being a mere function of holding the accelerator down for long enough, Gran Turismo has only ever rewarded players who understand that top speed has to be earned. Go into a corner too fast, and you will lose ground on your fellow racers. Enter too fast, and the likelihood of losing control and spinning around helplessly is increased tenfold.
Speed is not about going fast; it is a side-effect of controlled driving. Gran Turismo lives by this creed.
As a series, it has always been a sort of obsessive-compulsive crawl towards a virtual reality recreation of motor racing. As such, there have been a few small changes over each of the sequels in technical terms, but the format has remained largely untouched. The same can be said for this latest incarnation, with the same style of events given even the same names as they have had all along. Starters get to race in the same old Sunday Cup on some of the exact same tracks as before, with trickier events unlocking as experience is gained. Rewards for events are even familiar. The traditional career path is a well-read map, and is adhered to as rigidly as ever. There is, however, a whole new addition to get to grips with.
Special Events exists outside of the standard GT mode, but simultaneously outclasses it as the most enjoyable part of the title. This where you get to race in Go-karts. This where you will find the Rally stages. And this is where the fun is found. Whilst GT mode is highly polished, it is also more than a little po-faced and self-important. Special Events has a much more refreshing take on things.
Even here, though, the dichotomy that is this game slaps you around the face. Your joy at being able to race on the Top Gear test track will instantly be tempered by your annoyance at being unable to drive more than 50 mph in a VW Camper van. Likewise, you will be frustrated to find that despite there only being one go-kart vehicle in the game, you still have to literally go and get in the thing in order to take part in the go-kart events. But then you forgive the game because the go-karting is just such an enjoyable pastime.
So, overall, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The GT mode is functional, the special events are a revelation, and the online is almost shockingly incomplete. Vast chunks of your time with the title will be spent not actually enjoying what you are doing. And yet, just when you think that this is the biggest waste of time ever, it goes and does exactly what it set out to in the most wonderful way possible.
This truly is the Real Racing Simulator we have been waiting all this time for. For, everywhere that it matters, Polyphony Digital have done a stunning job of work. Graphically, you would be hard pushed to find a better looking title. The Premium models in particular are breathtakingly pretty, with full in-car views available. Even the standard models still look the part, but the new cars that have been made purely for this game basically raise the bar out of sight.
The driving experience itself is as nailed on as you would expect. At times it weighs itself down in details, but at other times it is spectacularly entertaining. NASCAR racing is superb fun, rallying on procedurally generated roads is exhilarating, and racing online can lead to some true ding-dong battles. It can honestly be said that this is a title that shines despite its faults. That it can be recommended at all speaks volumes, but that it can be recommended wholeheartedly speaks of an astonishing achievement.
It is po-faced, pretentious, and full of itself. It ploughs its own furrow, and doesn't listen to its contemporaries. It may initially seem impenetrable, but once you get past the early frustrations it reveals itself to be something completely unique. For better or worse it is a title that revels in what it is, which is the culmination of a long-standing dream. If you have even a slight interest in racing games, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
9/10
Great review Lee. Fully agree with everything there.
Wanted to make an effort to complete my own review before I read everyone else's. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea, now mine seems inferior!
Wanted to make an effort to complete my own review before I read everyone else's. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea, now mine seems inferior!
The last thing one needs after waiting 6 years for a game to be released is an even longer wait to play it. And yet, that is precisely what is in store for anybody who inserts the Gran Turismo 5 disc into their PS3. First off, there is the latest update. Then, there is the theoretically optional install. And finally, there is the antiquated menu system to plough through. Controlling an arrow to select where you go and what you do, with no quick option to just 'backup', it feels very much like it did back when we first got to play the series.
Menus are not the only casualty of the development time, either. Out of the box, you simply cannot race online. That comes via the massive update that faces you when you try to play. Even when you have the game online, things are not as straightforward as we have come to expect. Setting up a race with friends is a tortuous process, and the lack of leaderboards for the tracks is a mind-blowing oversight. This is 2011, Polyphony, get with the times! In an age where we can race our friends within 2 or 3 button-presses, the step back to this less user-friendly age is quite jarring.
Eventually, you find your way around the seemingly endless menus. Soon, you know what to do to start a race. You have designed your driver, wasted time making your homepage, bought a car, and are finally at the starting line ready to put the pedal to the metal.
Which is the point where everything falls into place, and you forgive everything. Suddenly, it feels like 1997 all over again for the RIGHT reasons. The detail is flawless, the feel is perfect, and the love for the subject matter simply shines through every single pixel. When push comes to shove, the actual meat and drink of a game is how it plays. This is where Polyphony Digital have clearly focused, and this focus has paid off in spades.
A sense of speed is all well and good, and is possibly the easiest thing for a racing game to convey. What most lack alongside this is a sense of weight. Cars in games tend to be unrealistic, hyper-sensitive, and can feel little to no connection with the actual roads. Not so here, for every car is a machine that demands full control from you. Instead of top speed being a mere function of holding the accelerator down for long enough, Gran Turismo has only ever rewarded players who understand that top speed has to be earned. Go into a corner too fast, and you will lose ground on your fellow racers. Enter too fast, and the likelihood of losing control and spinning around helplessly is increased tenfold.
Speed is not about going fast; it is a side-effect of controlled driving. Gran Turismo lives by this creed.
As a series, it has always been a sort of obsessive-compulsive crawl towards a virtual reality recreation of motor racing. As such, there have been a few small changes over each of the sequels in technical terms, but the format has remained largely untouched. The same can be said for this latest incarnation, with the same style of events given even the same names as they have had all along. Starters get to race in the same old Sunday Cup on some of the exact same tracks as before, with trickier events unlocking as experience is gained. Rewards for events are even familiar. The traditional career path is a well-read map, and is adhered to as rigidly as ever. There is, however, a whole new addition to get to grips with.
Special Events exists outside of the standard GT mode, but simultaneously outclasses it as the most enjoyable part of the title. This where you get to race in Go-karts. This where you will find the Rally stages. And this is where the fun is found. Whilst GT mode is highly polished, it is also more than a little po-faced and self-important. Special Events has a much more refreshing take on things.
Even here, though, the dichotomy that is this game slaps you around the face. Your joy at being able to race on the Top Gear test track will instantly be tempered by your annoyance at being unable to drive more than 50 mph in a VW Camper van. Likewise, you will be frustrated to find that despite there only being one go-kart vehicle in the game, you still have to literally go and get in the thing in order to take part in the go-kart events. But then you forgive the game because the go-karting is just such an enjoyable pastime.
So, overall, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The GT mode is functional, the special events are a revelation, and the online is almost shockingly incomplete. Vast chunks of your time with the title will be spent not actually enjoying what you are doing. And yet, just when you think that this is the biggest waste of time ever, it goes and does exactly what it set out to in the most wonderful way possible.
This truly is the Real Racing Simulator we have been waiting all this time for. For, everywhere that it matters, Polyphony Digital have done a stunning job of work. Graphically, you would be hard pushed to find a better looking title. The Premium models in particular are breathtakingly pretty, with full in-car views available. Even the standard models still look the part, but the new cars that have been made purely for this game basically raise the bar out of sight.
The driving experience itself is as nailed on as you would expect. At times it weighs itself down in details, but at other times it is spectacularly entertaining. NASCAR racing is superb fun, rallying on procedurally generated roads is exhilarating, and racing online can lead to some true ding-dong battles. It can honestly be said that this is a title that shines despite its faults. That it can be recommended at all speaks volumes, but that it can be recommended wholeheartedly speaks of an astonishing achievement.
It is po-faced, pretentious, and full of itself. It ploughs its own furrow, and doesn't listen to its contemporaries. It may initially seem impenetrable, but once you get past the early frustrations it reveals itself to be something completely unique. For better or worse it is a title that revels in what it is, which is the culmination of a long-standing dream. If you have even a slight interest in racing games, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
9/10
Menus are not the only casualty of the development time, either. Out of the box, you simply cannot race online. That comes via the massive update that faces you when you try to play. Even when you have the game online, things are not as straightforward as we have come to expect. Setting up a race with friends is a tortuous process, and the lack of leaderboards for the tracks is a mind-blowing oversight. This is 2011, Polyphony, get with the times! In an age where we can race our friends within 2 or 3 button-presses, the step back to this less user-friendly age is quite jarring.
Eventually, you find your way around the seemingly endless menus. Soon, you know what to do to start a race. You have designed your driver, wasted time making your homepage, bought a car, and are finally at the starting line ready to put the pedal to the metal.
Which is the point where everything falls into place, and you forgive everything. Suddenly, it feels like 1997 all over again for the RIGHT reasons. The detail is flawless, the feel is perfect, and the love for the subject matter simply shines through every single pixel. When push comes to shove, the actual meat and drink of a game is how it plays. This is where Polyphony Digital have clearly focused, and this focus has paid off in spades.
A sense of speed is all well and good, and is possibly the easiest thing for a racing game to convey. What most lack alongside this is a sense of weight. Cars in games tend to be unrealistic, hyper-sensitive, and can feel little to no connection with the actual roads. Not so here, for every car is a machine that demands full control from you. Instead of top speed being a mere function of holding the accelerator down for long enough, Gran Turismo has only ever rewarded players who understand that top speed has to be earned. Go into a corner too fast, and you will lose ground on your fellow racers. Enter too fast, and the likelihood of losing control and spinning around helplessly is increased tenfold.
Speed is not about going fast; it is a side-effect of controlled driving. Gran Turismo lives by this creed.
As a series, it has always been a sort of obsessive-compulsive crawl towards a virtual reality recreation of motor racing. As such, there have been a few small changes over each of the sequels in technical terms, but the format has remained largely untouched. The same can be said for this latest incarnation, with the same style of events given even the same names as they have had all along. Starters get to race in the same old Sunday Cup on some of the exact same tracks as before, with trickier events unlocking as experience is gained. Rewards for events are even familiar. The traditional career path is a well-read map, and is adhered to as rigidly as ever. There is, however, a whole new addition to get to grips with.
Special Events exists outside of the standard GT mode, but simultaneously outclasses it as the most enjoyable part of the title. This where you get to race in Go-karts. This where you will find the Rally stages. And this is where the fun is found. Whilst GT mode is highly polished, it is also more than a little po-faced and self-important. Special Events has a much more refreshing take on things.
Even here, though, the dichotomy that is this game slaps you around the face. Your joy at being able to race on the Top Gear test track will instantly be tempered by your annoyance at being unable to drive more than 50 mph in a VW Camper van. Likewise, you will be frustrated to find that despite there only being one go-kart vehicle in the game, you still have to literally go and get in the thing in order to take part in the go-kart events. But then you forgive the game because the go-karting is just such an enjoyable pastime.
So, overall, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The GT mode is functional, the special events are a revelation, and the online is almost shockingly incomplete. Vast chunks of your time with the title will be spent not actually enjoying what you are doing. And yet, just when you think that this is the biggest waste of time ever, it goes and does exactly what it set out to in the most wonderful way possible.
This truly is the Real Racing Simulator we have been waiting all this time for. For, everywhere that it matters, Polyphony Digital have done a stunning job of work. Graphically, you would be hard pushed to find a better looking title. The Premium models in particular are breathtakingly pretty, with full in-car views available. Even the standard models still look the part, but the new cars that have been made purely for this game basically raise the bar out of sight.
The driving experience itself is as nailed on as you would expect. At times it weighs itself down in details, but at other times it is spectacularly entertaining. NASCAR racing is superb fun, rallying on procedurally generated roads is exhilarating, and racing online can lead to some true ding-dong battles. It can honestly be said that this is a title that shines despite its faults. That it can be recommended at all speaks volumes, but that it can be recommended wholeheartedly speaks of an astonishing achievement.
It is po-faced, pretentious, and full of itself. It ploughs its own furrow, and doesn't listen to its contemporaries. It may initially seem impenetrable, but once you get past the early frustrations it reveals itself to be something completely unique. For better or worse it is a title that revels in what it is, which is the culmination of a long-standing dream. If you have even a slight interest in racing games, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
9/10