Gran Turismo 5 Mini Review!

[Suave]

You may already know from reading the magazine that in addition to audio video, my other passion is cars. For a number of years now, car racing video games have allowed my to connect the two hobbies. Hence it should come as no surprise that I'm super excited about the launch of Gran Turismo 5, one of the best car racing games ever made (hopefully!).

Late last week, Sony announced that in addition to the standard edition of this game, it will also offer a collector's edition which comes with a 1:43 scale diecast 2009 Nissan GT-R Spec, a 300-page car-lover’s guide, a custom etched Gran Turismo key chain and a voucher for 5 exclusive high-end cars with custom Gran Turismo livery and performance upgrades.

You can check it out here:
http://us.gran-turismo.com/us/news/d5232.html

But perhaps the most exciting news came out of the E3 show eariler this year, that Gran Turismo 5 will be in 3D! Presumably this will be through a downloadable update, since the current press release doesn't mention it.

[Suave]

It seems that the Collectors edition sold out the day it came out. I've finally found one for a reasonable price on eBay and bought it . I'll post my comments as soon as it arrives. Can't wait - finally 3D racing is here!!!

[Suave]

Alright - my Gran Turismo 5 arrived yesterday.

I played it for about 2 hours last night and I'm completely addicted. Without doubt this the greatest racing simulator in the world with some 1000 licensed cars . I absolutely love the addition of kart, rally and NASCAR in this version. They even added the infamous Top Gear test track!!!

And then there is the 3D, which is done extremely well. In fact this the best looking, cleanest 3D I've seen from any game/movie to date. For the first time, there is virtually no crosstalk (ghosting) between the left and right images. The result is a perfectly sharp 3D image almost all the time. And this isn't some kind of gimmicky 3D - as you speed down a track the trees, hills, buildings and overpasses (just to mention a few) come at you just like in real life. Every aspect of this game has a convincing perspective and realistic depth. Playing this game in 3D raised my enjoyment to an unprecedented level and reignited my passion for car racing like never before!

I give this game my highest recommendation. If you've been looking for a reason to but a 3D TV this is it

[Suave]

A friend just forwarded this to me - if you love Gran Turismo 5 as much as I do, this is a must read!!!

http://gear.ign.com/articles/113/1136731p1.html