It is a good game but Sony and Polyphony really dropped the ball this gen with this series.
First of all, if you don't have a 360 or hate Microsoft for whatever reason you might as well buy this. This review will not change your mind.
Presentation- Well the case is nice. In all honesty the load times and install are terrible. The menu system is cluttered and the option menu for controlsIt is a good game but Sony and Polyphony really dropped the ball this gen with this series.
First of all, if you don't have a 360 or hate Microsoft for whatever reason you might as well buy this. This review will not change your mind.
Presentation- Well the case is nice. In all honesty the load times and install are terrible. The menu system is cluttered and the option menu for controls and music and such is hidden. The music in the menu sounds like something off of a Sears Shopping Network.
Graphics- Mixed. Sometimes it is the best looking racer and sometimes...well? The premium cars are great but most cars look like a PS2 reject. The premium choices are dumb, the tree's and spectators look like cut outs at times, there is pop-up in some courses that are empty and bland yet, there is none in the most visually impressive tracks. Why? Aside from the cars and lighting, It has fallen way behind Forza 4 and even Grid at times. The lighting is very well done here.
Sound- Sounds like a racing game and this is what is a downer. You hear stories of Polyphony spending ludicrous amounts of time on sound design and you never notice it. There is also a Soundtrack but again.....I didn't notice. And I was not gonna search the menu's to find out who was on it.
Cars- The Premium cars are great. The others are not. Clearly they are hear to make the box look impressive with the "We have this many cars!" ad. I guess they want to please everyone but one question? With this many years of development time, How did Microsoft get a larger number of cars that have a premium look and car interiors? Long lunches?
Tracks- Again, developers need to quit using the same assets over and over. Real world tracks usually are not very fun to race on. The good tracks here are sadly the same ones we have seen since the original. The new tracks do nothing for me either. They look good but when the same tracks are in Forza, Shift, Grid.....It just gets old. Gran Turismo's fantasy tracks or whatever you wanna you want to call them really has not been upgraded much from the PS2 versions. Again. What has Polyphony done all of this time? The new tracks in Forza and Grid are much much better.
Online-Again. They have fell behind.
Extras- B Spec sucks, I don't care to wash my car, the License test are fun for the most part, the garage is nice, deep, and detailed. But again, The exterior customs are a joke compared to Forza 4. And the models in Shift 2 with the different vinyls and stickers are better to look at when taking pics and replays. The Top Gear license was wasted here as well. The Nascar and Go Kart races sections of the game are cool bonus levels and the dirt racing is a nice edition. But all of these suffer from boring tracks with graphical glitches. Again, Why? Also- The damage is decent but Shift and Grid do it way better. Also the night racing is cool but done better in other games as well as the weather. But GT5XL has all of them in some form and for the most part does a pretty good job.
As for the most important thing- Control is fine. The steering wheel control is flawless. With a controller every car has its own feel and the DS3 controller does a good job. No complaints. Also- The enemy AI is still the same old thing. It is like they drive a perfect line and when you bump them or spin them out they get back on it again. Fun factor? Not much. The career mode has a structure problem. There is not any variety in the racing but there is a good amount of racers on the track compared to competitor's games. But the mode is just set up to bore you and the long load times bore you before you get bored with the racing. If only they would mix it up some.
Bottom line- It is a good racer with plenty to do but it is just so damn boring. Buy it on Thursday and them play it Thursday night when it finally finishes installing. Polyphony Digital did add plenty and patch it up and down to try and make it a better racing experience but they have just let the genre pass them by it seems. I do not care if they spent six weeks or 6 months perfecting engine sounds. That is not gonna make the game any better, Realistic? Sure. Fun? Nope. The racing here is great but it is a shame I am still driving on these real world bore fest and the same original from the PS1. I should also mention the game will do a number to your hard drive space. Not only has it's main competitor (Forza 4) beat it in almost every category, But PGR, Grid , and Shift 2 have beaten it where it counts. The tracks that make using the cars fun and the fun of playing the game either online or the modes the games provide.
Let's hope we do not have to wait 5 or more years for the next version and Polyphony throws there bad habits out the window and approaches GT6 in a different way.
For hardcore GT fans only......… Expand
Gran Turismo 5 XL EditionYour Score0 out of 10User Score
