The first outing for Gran Turismo on the PS3 heralds over a thousand individual cars,
71 tracks, online racing for up to 16 players and the return of night racing. The damage
model has had an overhaul, with improved details all round. Indeed, it is the detail of this
game that really shines through, and it is not hard to see what the developers Polyphony
have been focusing on in the five years since the last proper instalment of the series.
The attention to detail in the visuals is particularly impressive, with painstaking detail put
in to the reflections on all parts of the car, the sculpting of the bodywork, even down to
the nuts and rivets. The scenery is crisp and life-like, with the game being a joy to look
at. The improvements to the damage model result in realistic rendering of everything
from the scrapes and bumps picked up in the jostle of the race, to crumpled write-off after
you mess up that hairpin at 200mph and end up in a concrete wall!
The gameplay itself is just as detailed, with the braking system and zones really revealing
which players have the most racing ability. Anyone used to racing with the accelerator
flat down the whole way round the track is going to have a rude awakening at that first
tricky corner. The feel of accelerating is as impressive as the braking zones, one must
learn to accelerate carefully as it is possible to fishtail wildly if you just accelerate as fast
as you can, you’ll soon discover each car has it’s own quirks and feel to it.
As you move up to more powerful cars you’ll find the cars are even less forgiving, the
screen vibrates and judders as the horsepower rises, and you soon find it difficult to spot
corners ahead. Here is where the most satisfying racing is to be had though, as practice
and skill are rewarded with exhilarating thrills, although those not as accomplished in
racing games may feel intimidated by the difficulty.
The engine sound is fantastically accurate, with each car having its own unique sound,
and the work that has gone in to the crashes and collisions with other cars is impressive.
The differences in sound between the different styles of stages are also well executed
with the softening of sounds on the snowy off road rallies contrasting with the roar of the
track races.
The game definitely succeeds in taking the series to new levels of detail and it will take
months of play to appreciate all the game has to offer. It is probably the most accurate
driving simulation available and although there are some gripes to be with the reliability
of the online mode and the unimaginative AI drivers in the single player game, it is still a
hugely enjoyable game and just about worth the epic wait.