- Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

It's amazing how critical some have been toward GT5 Prologue. In a sense it's deserved but in other ways it's very unfair. Yes Prologue is a game with less content than previous GT games but still it has as much content as many other racing games. I have always love the Gran Turismo series. From it's humble beginning on the Playstation to it's trumped up GT4 on the PS2. What has never lacked is vehicle selection. Although in this game you are getting a rather limited 60 plus vehicles. Compared to the previous GT4's 500 vehicles this seems rather minimal. Although compared to some games that offer less than 50 vehicles, Prologue seems standard.

Gran Turismo: 5 Prologue begins like any Gran Turismo game. Stunning and beautiful intro transitioning to the menu. What is a first is the ability to play online and GTTV. Both are welcome editions in my book. The racing physics have improved in this version which make it much more challenging. With previous iterations there were times when you could slam your call into a wall when coming into a curve without any consequence. This game makes you pay for arcade racing. What is an added bonus is the ability to use the all new Dual Shock 3 controller. The DS3 makes racing that much more enjoyable.

Their are nearly two dozen makes of cars. Although each dealer is only limited to two or three cars. What is missing is the ability to tune your car. That is probably the biggest drawback for me. Now you do get the ability to do this after finishing all three licenses. There are no skill tests to acquire these licenses. Just completing a license to get to the next. The first license is easy to complete but it does get more challenging after you finish the first license.

With this game you only get a paltry six tracks. Although each track has different variations which does add more to the game. This is one of the few games where I enjoy mastering the tracks. So playing on the Suzaka or London track is a lot of fun for me. The tracks are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen on any game. Playing in London looks so real I almost think I am watching the real thing. Watching the replays are so incredible that they are great ways to show off your PS3.

Lastly I want to talk about GT online. The format is rather simple. Pick a experience level based on how far you have progressed in the game. Getting into the race is simple and only takes a few seconds to get into a race with eleven others. You position in the race varies depending on nothing. What is irritating is some of the people you may play against. On more than one occasion I have been knocked off the road by others who seem to have only one intent. This makes the racing not much fun as people tend to not want to play right. I am hoping they will eventually allow for more user control on these races to help avoid these problems from becoming overwhelming.