Gran Turismo: The Real Driving Simulator

Gran Turismo is a good game. Driving mechanics are great, but its visuals and game modes are not what we expected.

Gran Turismo PSP is Polyphony's Pokémon and, as such, one that's more for the Jay Lenos amongst us rather than the James Hunts.

It’s a graceful, carefully contained experience, heavy on finesse and features but oddly short on competitive spirit.

The unfocused nature of the single-player feels cursory in comparison to the depth of its predecessors, making this a notable but certainly not extraordinary racer. [Dec 2009, p.98]

There is no other option if you take driving simulation seriously on the PSP console. Pity Gran Turismo lacks the internet multiplayer option and single-player campaign deserves better structure. [Oct 2009]

Gran Turismo is fun to take out for a test drive, but for the long haul it lacks the depth that players have come to expect.

Coupled with archaic AI and the isolating absence of PlayStation Network support, this makes for a game that feels unfocused and regressive, despite its considerable technical and mechanical accomplishments.

Gran Turismo hits shelves at the same time that PSP Go does. At first, anyone would assume that it's one of the most important games for the handheld, but its visuals and the number of cars available are not what we expected. If we take into account the whole series thus far, we don't understand why they decided to don't add the Career mode to the mix, and just four cars racing at the same time doesn't seem enough.

The iconic series has always been first and foremost about the driving, and Polyphony Digital has managed to encapsulate that perfectly. It’s just a shame that some of the more endearing bells and whistles have had to be removed.

If it wasn't for the lack of options this game would be a must buy, though GT PSP is still a great racer which you should at least consider.

With the transition to the portable format, Gran Turismo PSP has managed to bring most of the selling points of it's stationary console siblings. The presentation is great, controls are solid and the content well crafted. But the omission of a true career mode is baffling. Being limited to single races only is a strange shortcoming given the many years that have passed since Gran Turismo PSP was originally announced. Though limited in scope, the actual driving experience is superb and easily one of the best on the PSP.

The presentation is the best we've seen yet for a PSP racing game, and the controls are surprisingly manageable. Still, the missing online compatibility and extremely limited car store leave this entry feeling above average when it should've been superb.

Gran Turismo failed primarily on providing a good gaming experience on single-player mode, since we are confined only to events rather than the races themselves, something that gets worse given the fact that we can’t really choose which car to buy.

It’s easy to feel like you’re a kid in the candy store with GT’s open format, but this edition of the franchise has none of the sweet, satisfying racing that has been its hallmark.

Whilst fans of previous series entries will doubtless drag plenty of enjoyment from having such a revered title in portable form, players less influenced by rose tinted memories of GT’s past may find it harder to forgive the limitations of the game structure and the similarly limited reasons to progress.

For all the years of development and jokes about Gran Turismo PSP being vaporware, the finished product is just fine in the gameplay department, but lacking almost everywhere else.

While the driving mechanics are great, if somewhat dated, the numerous presentation issues (like the complete lack of a career mode) really keep this from being what it could, and should, have been.

Gran Turismo on PSP is a disappointment even for the most hardcore fan of the Polyphony's franchise; the huge selection of cars and tracks can't compensate the lack of content and the crazy game design choices.

Superb car handling is the only redeeming factor for GT PSP. It feels great to drive. But that driving needed to be packaged with an actual racing game and that game isn't here.

I wanted more. I expected more.

I'm sorry, but this isn't Gran Turismo -- it isn't even a good clone of a GT game. It's some kind of weird, neutered offspring that lacks all of the attraction yet tries to boast all of the basic numbers.

The graphics and handling can't be faulted, and the game is one of the best looking titles on the PSP, but strangely, Gran Turismo PSP just feels rushed; a half-hearted attempt at perfection.

Fans waited for Grant Turismo more than they had to do, and the final result is not worth as much as the other chapters of the franchise. Everything is scaled down considering the nature of the project and the fact that we're talking about the handeld version of the game but a few choices of the team have been disappointing. It is an average game but not able to sustain the hype, what we were expecting and what has been promised.

Even an endless list of cars can't compensate for Gran Turismo's shortcomings.

Our problem is where Polyphony Digital has focused their content here. 800 cars and 35+ tracks(which can be played in reverse) is super generous and no small feat to cram into a PSP. We'd trade half of them for a career mode – even if it was a cut-down version of past GT games – so we'd feel like picking the game up for a quick race was actually progressing something more than our track and car count.

Hugely disappointing portable debut that replicates the basic look of Gran Tursimo but rips out its heart.

The presentation is the best we've seen yet for a PSP racing game, and the controls are surprisingly manageable. Still, the missing online compatibility and extremely limited car store leave this entry feeling above average when it should've been superb.

Gran Turismo was most definitely not worth the wait. It’s a good looking game that plays well, but the lack of game modes, the poor car acquisition system, and the absence of more online features completely deflate the experience.

Simulating a realistic driving experience is something Polyphony Digital has mastered. The tragic part of this game is the lack of cars and tracks. The bad AI and low number of participants in a race bring the experience down. The biggest problem is the lack of focus thanks to the completely detached races: Gran Turismo PSP would have greatly benefited from a career mode. Only the biggest GT-fan will spend hours expanding his car collection thanks to its long-windedness.

Gran Turismo for the Playstation Portable is a rare case. In one hand you have an extremely well made and polished game engine with spectacular graphics, and in the other you have absolutely nothing to do.

It's a great racing game and fits in well with the Gran Turismo family in terms of audio-video presentation. But the lack of an actual career mode and the broken storefront only act as a counter-weight to how much you'll actually want to play, other than building up a car nut's dream collection like a Pokémon master does his own. It won't hold your attention for long, though, if you are after an increasingly challenging game to slowly plow through, and that's its biggest flaw.