Gran Turismo 5 is a grower; after five years of development time you’d expect the game to wow you in the first minute of putting it in your PS3. Instead you’re greeted to a lengthy install (a record breaking hour and 30 minutes for me) and then a bunch of confusing menus. No, it doesn’t exactly ooze of half a decade’s worth of development but at its core there’s a heck of a lot of content and a near flawless driving sim. It’s just mixed in with a presentation and design choices that don’t meet the series’ usual high standards.
At the heart of any Gran Turismo game is the GT mode, a career style campaign that sees you buying cars, tuning them up and then sending them out for a few laps. The same holds true for Gran Turismo 5, starting you off with a small sum of money that you’ll spend on your first vehicle and then slowly but surely climbing up the ranks until you’re taking part in some seriously challenging races with some seriously awesome cars.
Franchise fans will eat this mode up as you’ll be able to jump straight in to the familiar setup and race from the word go. Anyone new to the series will also be able to head over to the licenses to play through a tonne of tutorials. They move slowly but there’s a ridiculous amount to learn here so it makes sense to take the time to get it right if you want to secure that gold trophy.
But let’s be honest, you expect all this stuff; what’s new? Well several cars, tracks, and events make their series debut with Gran Turismo 5. Perhaps the most radical changes are the rally, NASCAR and karting events that are kept out of the A-Spec mode. They sit in the special events menu, meaning you only have to take part in them if you want to, but you’ll earn money and rank up just like any other race by playing them. It’s a little disappointing that this is about as far as innovation goes in GT5 but at least they provide something fresh for seasoned veterans.
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