Ok although racing games are not really my thing I thought this particular racing game deserved a review.
I originally got this game for my boys as I promised them they could play some games on my PS3. Gran Turismo 5 was the first real game I let them spend any length of time on.
Firstly i’d like to mention that if you plan on getting the platinum trophy for this one you better plan on playing for many, many hours, it’s a huge game and there is absolutely no quick way to get platinum on a game like this, we talking several hundred hours for most players, as yet I haven’t found anyone who has got platinum.
As far as the game goes, this has got to be the most realistic racing game i’ve ever seen and with more than 1,000 cars there isn’t a shortage of choice.
To give a better example of the time playing involved, between me an my two teenage sons we have been playing around 3 weeks, one son has 4hrs in the morning, the other son has 4hrs in the afternoon and myself between 2 and 4hrs in the evening. that’s 10hrs+ per day for 3 weeks. We have 49% of trophies with my driver level at 31 and personal driver level at 30 and we have around 130 cars, this shows you the time that can be spent on this game.
The graphics are extremely clear, lifelike and actually a joy to watch, very crisp. The driving is about as realistic as you can get. The licenses are extremely hard to get for the player who doesn’t play many racing games (myself). We did manage to get all licenses but no gold, only bronze and silver places.
B-spec races can be tedious so I switch those on at night before I go to bed, at least the endurance ones. The rest of B-spec is quite enjoyable to watch. A-spec can get a bit frustrating, especially if you don’t have the correct car for a particular race. We’ve managed to acquire some extremely good cars, we have the 20,000,000 credit jag, the toyota 7, Bugatti veyron and a good few more, we can win most races fairly easily now although there are a few which require a specific make and model which are a bit harder to win.
The adjustments you can make to your car are by far the most detailed i’ve ever seen in a racing game, from tweaking the suspension or upping the speed to adding ballast for extra weight. Upgrading each car with a new engine type, intake, exhausts and so forth all help add additional HP to your ride.
Even though i’m not a big racing fan I would have to say this game deserves a 10/10 as I don’t really see how you could improve on a game this real. To get the most out of each car you really have to spend a little time on adjustments and even a newbie to racing games can learn everything by reading the related info for each section. It explains in detail what each section does to improve speed and handling as well as power increases.
The AI is pretty realistic too, we’ve ran races where the AI even crashes into walls or spins out whereas in many racing games the AI doesn’t quite behave in the same realistic manner.
There are some disappointments from what i’ve read elsewhere, mainly in the updates, like the one where you cannot trade cars that are worth more than 1,000,000 credits now. I think most wish that option hadn’t been available from the start and I would agree with that, if you have something in a game at the start you shouldn’t be able to take that feature away.
I would have to say to get platinum on this one is a rating of “very hard” as one trophy is to get all gold in every race and license. It would be interesting to find someone who actually platinumed this one just to find out how long it took.
All in all, if you enjoy most racing games, you’ll love this one. If your not a big fan of racing games but want to try one, this would be the one to try. I even find myself wanting to see/get the next available car, for fans of racing games this one could be extremely addictive.
If your new to this game and want some help, ask here and between me and my two sons we may be able to offer some tips and advice for you.
Tony:)