Gran Turismo 5

[TroyV]

I played GT5 for a few hours yesterday at a friend's place. It is very good. I guess I have to go out and buy a PS3..

[OBrien839]

So far I would have to say GT5 is great...there are a few things I wanted to see improved but I'm having alot of fun with it.

I do agree with the earlier post, the AI is atrocious (biggest issue I have.) Driving down the straights they will just bash into you from the side or worse rear end you and make you spin out. Even if you are behind a pack they play bumper cars.

Have you tried the Karts yet? They are real fun to drive. I've been doing alot of rallying with the 07 STI (premium model) and that has been a blast. The physics are greatly improved and each car has a unique feel. I havent gotten too far into it to drive any high end race cars yet. Overall its alot of fun...should keep me entertained all winter which is nice

[Mario Fallas]

I'm good to go now!!!!!
between Iracing & GT5 my wife started to wonder if i still live in the house or New York state for that mater
with Iracing i developed a whole new respect for the boys driving the miatas, for the life of me i can't get a handle on those little cars (I SUCK) I'm moving on to to the mustangs next
so after 2 days playing with i racing i finally got around opening & installing GT5 & i'm loving it but i must admit not having any patience for the licence process, i've been there & done that, i'm surprised the game does not transfer (so far) any credits from prologue, i have 12 or so F1 Ferrari's + a few dozen cars that i always figure they'll be worth something once GT5

BTW, just yesterday i read on line about a porsche 911 turbo wheel ($170)setup that has an adjustment that supposed to take care of the wondering (dead spot) on the long & fast straights mentioned before!
M

[blindsidefive0]

Troy – a must buy, especially for a miata driver considering the 30+ variations/models of miatas in the game.

David – the AI drivers drive as if you don’t exist. Also, before I was complaining about the “variation” in difficulty between events – perfect example is the Tour of Italy special event. A couple of the races you can win 1st or 2nd try with ease. However, then there is this ridiculous point-to-point course in a 640hp lambo in the pitch black. You can’t see anything and need to memorize the course to go balls out for the win, probably took me over an hour.

Mario – glad to see you are up and running in the virtual world. IRacing took me a while to just get the feel for the game – stick it out with the mx5 cup car, but don’t do NH or Laguna Seca at first because they are really technical. I would actually suggest starting at the Glen or Mosport as they have fewer turns to learn (even if they are more dangerous in real life). In GT it would have been nice to import some cash or cars. Between GT3 and GT4 you could bring over up to $100,000 (and maybe a couple licenses?). That allowed you to get something real, and not just a Vitz or something stupid like that.

I got to play GT5 for an embarrassing amount of time this weekend. I started with the license tests to get those out of the way, get used to the physics model, and win some cars. I had to mix in some special events to “level up” to run the International and Super licenses. Now I’ve moved on to the Special Events, and just have a couple left.

Although I was mildly disappointed about the car list (no Porsches, e30’s/36’s) and stupid AI, the rally mode is awesome (you have a navigator call out turns), and the Nurburgring special event is great. They break down the course into 4 sections and then you have to run a full lap with other “public road” traffic out there, basically 15 other cars that actually light up their blinkers and pull over to let you buy. These types of events and details really are “beyond expectations” for this game and more than make up for the few cons…and I haven’t even started the real racing yet. After gold on all licenses and all the special event that I can run (need to increase my GT “driver level” to do Nurburgring Expert), I’m ready to start the Sunday Cup (beginner races) – with 30 cars and $3.5M in the bank.

[CP]

I got to take the iRacing MX5 for a spin at NHMS and LRP at SEMA a few weeks ago and it's pretty accurate. The new T6 runoff area at NHMS doesn't exist in the game yet though, and I was 3-4 seconds off my usual real-life pace at Lime Rock in my Spec Miata. This is the racer's game of choice.

For the video gamer in all of us, GT5 is the way to go. I too logged some time with it this weekend. The game is huge and I still haven't figured out how to race online. The license tests are generally pretty easy to get at least a bronze. I'm working on my International-A license right now. The final license tests (races) are a bitch. Those freaking Lambo drivers block, bump and brake check so watch out. The Special Events have been good to earn money quickly (the karts are fun). The used car list is constantly changing. I'm hoping to pick up the Audi R8 if I can ever save $4M+.

[TroyV]

Screw Miatas!! I already have one of those. I'm going for stuff with mad hosspowah.....especially in a game where there is no such thing as burn rate on consumables..

That would be awesome in real life.......spend a chunk of cash, and get a lifetime supply of Hoosier A's for your car.

[WillM]

I got to take the iRacing MX5 for a spin at NHMS and LRP at SEMA a few weeks ago and it's pretty accurate.

Cy, you know you are famous now, right?

Inside Sim Racing @ SEMA 2010 Your interview starts at ~2:10 minute mark.

Despite that particular interviewer, the show is actually pretty informative. I watched a few of their web-based shows & product reviews about a year ago, and it inspired me to build a PC, check out iRacing, and pick up a Fanantec Porsche 911 GT3 RS steering wheel with pedals (by the way, the steering wheel is A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Thanks for the reviews guys. Not having played the game yet, I'm a bit disappointed to hear some of the comments. I would have thought that the 5-6 years Sony has worked on this title would have been enough to create a quantum leap or two in the game/experience. GT5 follows the old recipe? Sounds like the game is the same old formula of starting with lowly cars, with a series of driving tests and licensing levels, with crappy computer-drivers? If that is the case, are those licenses/tests still horsepower races, where you need to have the fastest car in order to deal with the crappy drivers? That would be a shame. I always thought it would very fun, and helpful, if you could buy a coach in the game. Someone to help you with car setup and technique. The dizzying array of car modifications and adjustments had a wow-factor, but seemed to make the whole thing too complex and took some of the fun out of it. So after all of these years, it seems that GT5 offers the same game play with slightly better physics engine and some better looking cars?

That said, can the new GT5 do multi-player system link? Maybe we could have a show-down at the COM banquet in January...

[WillM]

I got to take the iRacing MX5 for a spin at NHMS and LRP at SEMA a few weeks ago and it's pretty accurate.

Cy, you know you are famous now, right?

Inside Sim Racing @ SEMA 2010 Your interview starts at ~2:10 minute mark.

Despite that particular interviewer, the show is actually pretty informative. I watched a few of their web-based shows & product reviews about a year ago, and it inspired me to build a PC, check out iRacing, and pick up a Fanantec Porsche 911 GT3 RS steering wheel with pedals (by the way, the steering wheel is A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Thanks for the reviews guys. Not having played the game yet, I'm a bit disappointed to hear some of the comments. I would have thought that the 5-6 years Sony has worked on this title would have been enough to create a quantum leap or two in the game/experience. GT5 follows the old recipe? Sounds like the game is the same old formula of starting with lowly cars, with a series of driving tests and licensing levels, with crappy computer-drivers? If that is the case, are those licenses/tests still horsepower races, where you need to have the fastest car in order to deal with the crappy drivers? That would be a shame. I always thought it would very fun, and helpful, if you could buy a coach in the game. Someone to help you with car setup and technique. The dizzying array of car modifications and adjustments had a wow-factor, but seemed to make the whole thing too complex and took some of the fun out of it. I'm a bit disappointed to hear that something along those lines didn't make it into the game. So after all of these years, it seems that GT5 offers the same game play with slightly better physics engine and some better looking cars?

That said, can the new GT5 do multi-player system link? Maybe we could have a show-down at the COM banquet in January...

[TroyV]

I'm not bothered so much by the lowly cars. It is pretty easy to spank the bot cars in the early stages with just a tire upgrade. It is very annoying how the bots drive into you if you are busting your ass trying to stay ahead. I do believe there is a multi-player component, so online battles with com regulars could be a common occurance. Assuming the drivers keep it clean, I think it could make for some real fun.

There probably should be a few spec cars for users to go head to head with.....and by spec, I don't mean zero mods and no power.

[paultg]

So, how does this compare to Forza 3 for xbox? Anyone have both?

[962porsche]

i like forza 3 . i play it quight often . i'm think its on par with GT4 .i can't say how it is to gt5 . i'm not loving GT5 its about the same game play as GT4 . but i only have about 3 hours into the new game so its hard to say just how good it is .1st thing i don't like is the licensing is to ez . i know its for people of all ages but please !!!!!

[OBrien839]

I have done some online racing in GT5 and its not bad...better than prologue. You still have bonehead drivers but the speed/integrity of the game is improved. One cool feature I saw was before a race there was a 6-7 minute open track practice session. People could enter and leave as they wanted (until the session filled up.) Once the practice session ended it automatically places you at the grid for thstart of the race. You can specify anything for a room/session (cars, HP limits, driver aids,tracks etc.) It wouldnt be hard to make a COM room... I don't know how we would enforce point bys though

[962porsche]

point bys thats to funny lol

[blindsidefive0]

COM room on GT5 would be awesome, and clearly there is some interest on this forum. I think it would be fun to run a race within an existing COMSCC class, e.g. SPB with a bunch of STi’s, RX-7’s, and maybe a nice modified 135i. As for point by’s, I think GT added in high-beam flashes and maybe even blinkers?

Stick it out with GT5; I think it’s a bit better than GT4 (if you enjoy some of the new features, particularly in the special events – you said you love lapping at the ‘ring, and I think they did a great job on the Nurburgring special event IMO). I agree that the license tests are insanely easy to get bronze. It didn’t even take me long to get gold on all 60 tests – there were only 2 that got frustrating and one other that was moderately challenging, and that’s mostly because I had to learn the Rome course and the Indy double hairpin since they are new to GT5. I guess the good thing is that at least you get about 18 cars out of all of that (a new car for bronze, silver, gold for each license).

I played a bit of Forza 2, and some Forza 3. There’s basically a spectrum of racing games between a true arcade (maximum accessibility, minimum realism) and a true simulator (maximum realism at the expense of accessibility). Forza and GT seem to be pretty close together on that scale, with Forza being slightly more accessible to new gamers. Neither is as real as iRacing, but both are a bit more authentic than Need for Speed. Forza has a few more real life tracks than Gran Turismo (Road Atlanta, Road America, Sebring, Homestead, Infineon), and I actually like the Forza car collection – even though GT has more, Forza has Porsche, my car (e36 M3), and some of my other favorites (better selection of Ferraris). On the track, I don’t like the Forza tire physics nearly as much – I don’t think that sliding is as realistic in Forza. Also, Forza has a “replay” button that will rewind a race like 10 seconds or something – this is for when you are about to win a 10 lap race and eat it in the last corner. Overall, it’s a pretty similar experience where you earn driver points and credits and compete in a bunch of races, starting with crappy cars and working your way up to full on race cars.

[CP]

Cy, you know you are famous now, right?

Inside Sim Racing @ SEMA 2010 Your interview starts at ~2:10 minute mark.

Despite that particular interviewer, the show is actually pretty informative.

Yeah, they sent me the link when it went live. I sound like a boob. It took all of my strength and determination not to stare at those high beams (and my wife glaring at me from off-camera ;^) She was a moron. First I was driving at Lake Rock Park, then it was in Lime Rock, Arkansas. After a few more tries she finally got it right. Those setups at the show retail for $15K and include the frame, tv, sound system, wheel/pedals and the force feedback seat. If I can scratch some money together in the next few years (that doesn't get spent on fixing my race car) I'd like to get the basics to allow me to go iRacing (pedals, used tower computer and a $$ graphics card). I've got some stock Miata seats that would be perfect for my basement sim-racing den!