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[ludacrisvp]

Since the USA PSN store doesn't have GT5 Prologue Demo available yet I obtained the Japanese version of the Demo, I don't think it is against any law since PS3 games are region free. It will be referred to as GT throughout the post.

I have GT running in blissful 1080p and it is stunning to say the least. There is a surprising amount of English in the Japanese version of the game.

The main menu of the game shows the car you are racing with inside the garage in the pit area at the track, it shows a looping video of the race car driver talking to the manager of the team and the pit crew is checking out the rims and tires before the race.

There is only one track in GT and it is the Suzuka Circuit. This is not one of my favorite tracks but it is way better to race on than the GTHD track was.

The demo has a total of 16 cars on the track. You start in 8th place each time. NO DAMAGE OF ANY KIND.

The showroom has a few cars to choose from and they are:

Nissan GT-R Black Mask (the new Skyline GT-R with masking on the bumpers that is normally used when car companies test drive prototype vehicles that may be in view of general public)
Locked car with a blue tarp over it (coming soon at bottom of picture, kind of looks like a Mazda hatchback)
2007 - Lexus ISF (Locked)
2007 - Mazda Atenza Sport (Locked)
2007 - Daihatsu OFC-1
2007 - BMW 135i Coupe
2007 - Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR

The cars you race against vary depending on the card you drive, the race field includes cars that you cannot drive in the demo.

The cars handle like real cars should, it made me miss playing the rest of the GT series.
This game makes the handling of all other racing games feel extremely unrealistic.
Forza 2 is close to GT handling but PGR 3 & 4 are WAY wrong, PGR is like playing an EA racing game and expecting realistic handling. GT is the only racing simulation game that deserves the title of Racing Simulator.

The views you have for the cars are Chase Cam, Road/Bumper Cam, Hood Cam, Interior Cam.
I can say this about the Interior Cam its like Test Drive Unlimited but it actually looks REAL.
I was driving the BMW on my 120" projector screen in the interior cam and it was like I was actually in the car. The way the body rolls and the weight transfer from front to rear gives you a real inside the car feel.

The graphics are beyond anything out there right now in the racing genre, it probably beats many other genres too.

For a demo I was very impressed and this will give the 360 a run for its money, I have never written a review for any game, much less a demo.

One game may not Make or Break the PS3, but with the new $399 40gb and the large number of PS3 games coming out this holiday season this game will certainly pull the tides away from the PGR series.

Can't wait for the Full version of GT5 Prologue, and the subsequent release of GT5.

To those that complain about the full GT5 Prologue costing about $40 USD, it is not a demo it is a fully featured racing game with online play. Thanks to region free PS3 the USA will actually see this Prologue version, the one for GT3 never hit US soil. Would you rather be forced to wait until the next game in the series and miss out on some great action? No.

This post has been edited by ludacrisvp: Oct 21 2007, 08:51 AM

[Foe-hammer]

Sound very good.  But to say that Forza is not a real racing sim, is assinine.  I doubt that GT5 will even have real-time physics calculations like forza 2 has.

That being said, the graphics and having an inside car cam would make GT5 more enjoyable to me then Forza 2.

[Thraxen]

QUOTE(ludacrisvp @ Oct 21 2007, 02:45 AM)

Forza 2 is close to GT handling but PGR 3 & 4 are WAY wrong, PGR is like playing an EA racing game and expecting realistic handling. GT is the only racing simulation game that deserves the title of Racing Simulator.

I don't think the PGR series was ever intended to be taken as a sim-type racer.  Forza and GT are definitely further down the scale toward the sim side than PGR.  But PGR is not nearly as far to the arcade side of the scale as a game like Burnout.  PGR has always been one of my favorite racers for that reason.  I like having the real cars to drive, but I also enjoy having a splash of the arcade-like control thrown in.  I think it sits nicely in the middle between games like GT on one side and Burnout on the other.  Which you prefer is all purely personal preference as each of the games mentioned here are all very well made racing games.

This post has been edited by Thraxen: Oct 27 2007, 08:40 AM

[Kamasutra318]

QUOTE(Foe-hammer @ Oct 24 2007, 09:37 PM)

I doubt that GT5 will even have real-time physics calculations like forza 2 has.

Any particular reason that you believe this will be the case?

[ludacrisvp]

Oh by the way the GT-TV feature works now and they unlocked the locked cars and the car that was covered up was an STI Wagon or hatchback anyway.

There is also a news feature, however since it is in Japanese I cannot read any of it.
The GT-R black mask is now a normal GT-R with full interior view.

I have raced up against Ferraris, Vipers, and other sports cars that I cannot name off the top of my head.

I think that GT will certainly give the PS3 that edge it is missing, hopefully people see the GT5 Prologue as a full game and not a demo.
It may be a lightened version of GT5 but it will have some features never seen on the GT series.
 - 16 cars
 - online play
 - race video downloads
 - race news updates
 - intense HD graphics
 - interior camera

I will buy both GT5 and GT5 Prologue for sure. Along side of MGS4 and MGS online (not sure if they are separate games or not)
these will compliment Lair, Heavenly Sword, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Motorstorm, RFOM, Warhawk.

Oh and on a side note Pearl Harbor on BluRay is stunning, and guess what I don't have to stop mid movie and change disc like I had to on DVD.

[Foe-hammer]

QUOTE(Kamasutra318 @ Oct 28 2007, 02:51 PM)

Any particular reason that you believe this will be the case?

Because the demo does not have it.  If this were in the final version of the game, they would be advertising it already.

[Mr Invader]

QUOTE(Thraxen @ Oct 27 2007, 02:38 AM)

I don't think the PGR series was ever intended to be taken as a sim-type racer.  Forza and GT are definitely further down the scale toward the sim side than PGR.  But PGR is not nearly as far to the arcade side of the scale as a game like Burnout.  PGR has always been one of my favorite racers for that reason.  I like having the real cars to drive, but I also enjoy having a splash of the arcade-like control thrown in.  I think it sits nicely in the middle between games like GT on one side and Burnout on the other.  Which you prefer is all purely personal preference as each of the games mentioned here are all very well made racing games.

Completely agree 100%