Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

GC '07: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Hands-On

LEIPZIG, Germany--There are two versions of Sony's upcoming real driving simulator Gran Turismo 5 Prologue here at the 2007 Leipzig Games Convention, though it's probably fairer to call them slightly different aspects of the same game. In fact, if you want to be entirely accurate, you could say that there are actually three versions of the Gran Turismo series, if you count the downloadable Gran Turismo demo that's currently available on the PlayStation Network. Nonetheless, as we were roaming the massive Sony space in Hall 3 of the Leipziger Messe in search of all things Gran Turismo, our focus was on the two versions of Prologue.

The first version featured eight racing cabinets set up to show off the game in the way a game like this is supposed to be played: with racing seats (which proved to be nearly too narrow for our frame), a full HD screen, and a Logitech wheel-and-pedal setup. The featured track was Japan's Suzuka circuit, and the game presented us with a roster of 22 cars to choose from. The full list:

• Nissan Skyline GTR V-Spec '97
• Acura NSX '91
• Daihatsu Copen Active Top '02
• Dodge Viper GTS '02
• Audi R8 '07
• BMW Z4 '03
• Volkswagen Golf GTI '01
• Alfa Romeo Brera 3.2 JTS Q4 '06
• Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione '91
• Lotus Elise '96
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX '05
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X '07
• TVR Tuscan Speed 6 '00
• Renault Clio Renault Sport V6 '00
• Ferrari F430 '06
• Alfa Romeo 147 TI 2.0 Twin Spark '06
• Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG '02
• Audi TT Coupe '07
• Ford Mustang GT '07
• Nissan Xanavi Nismo Z '06
• Suzuki Swift Spark '05
• Nissan GT-R Proto '01

Not all of the cars were drivable, however; the Nissan Xanavi Nismo Z wasn't playable, which is a shame because it looked like one of the hottest cars on the list. Though we didn't try them all, every car we drove on the list boasted the new in-car cockpit view that will be a big part of the Gran Turismo 5 driving experience. The amount of detail in the cockpits is fantastic so far, from the complex yet elegant interior of the Ferrari F430 (with its different-colored gauges) to the futuristic-looking cockpit of the TVR Tuscan Speed 6. By the looks of things, though, there's work yet to be done. For example, when switching gears, there was no corresponding animation of your in-car driver switching gears with the gearshift. In addition, the rear- and side-view mirrors weren't working properly in the build we played.

After selecting a car and choosing options for things such as transmission, stability control, tire type, and so on (using a menu very reminiscent of that found in the GT HD online demo), you're given a five-minute time attack session on Suzuka to do as many laps as you can.

Though there seemed to be some technical issues with the connectivity between the eight on-hand cabinets, the game was networked in a sense. In addition to racing against a number of cars controlled by the artificial intelligence, you'd occasionally come across cars driven by players in other cabinets. In addition to the eight racing cabinets, there was a separate screen on hand, which displayed a live time sheet that broke down the sector times for all cars on tracks. A camera would periodically switch between all of the different cars on track as well.

The other version of Prologue was found not too far away, in a different part of the PlayStation area. Here, players could plop down on beanbags and enjoy the game with the more conventional Sixaxis controller. While the same car roster was on hand in this version (including the unplayable Xanavi Nismo Z), the race type was a 16-car offline competition, pitting our skills against 15 AI-controlled cars, again on Suzuka.

Racing against such a large field felt odd for a Gran Turismo game, especially after so many years of battling it out against just a handful of cars. The game AI displayed the typical GT tendency to stick to its racing line, and, as a result, the cost of being bumped off the road or making an error in a turn was all the more exaggerated. After all, in older GT games, a mistake meant you were passed by three or four cars; in Prologue a mistake can put you in the back, with 15 aggressive cars to pass to get back to the head of the pack.

Beyond the cockpit view and the large number of opponents, GT 5 Prologue is immediately recognizable by its handling, particular the extremely bouncy feeling of the shocks. Weight transfer between the rear and front wheels in a car is something the GT series has always taken seriously, and you need only slam the brakes before turning into a tight corner and watch the front of the car lurch forward to see that it's still a big focus. Another familiar "feature" for the GT series--a lack of damage modeling--was also in effect. Collision detection seemed spotty in places too but, like the rest of the game, there's time for things to improve before it's released.

One other crucial difference between the two versions of Prologue was the appearance of rumble in the racing cabinet version of the game. The rumble feedback was fairly light and noticeable mainly when driving over the rumble strips that line the side of the circuit. Naturally, rumble wasn't present when playing with the Sixaxis-controlled version of the game. Still the fact that it was present in the other version gives us hope that we won't be rumble-free for long once Gran Turismo 5 is released.

Our coverage of GT 5 Prologue will continue this week here at Leipzig as we learn more about this game, which is currently slated for release in Japan in October.