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 - Disappointing introduction to the franchise. I've been a fan of racing games for a long time, and actually race in various forms of SCCA racing myself. I've raced high and low powered front and rear wheel drived cars and have learned a lot through competing and the various schools and classes I've attended. I had never played a Gran Turismo game prior to Prologue, having always had XBox or other consoles previously. I had heard so much about it that I didn't even bother with demos and simply bought the game the day it was available. Now having played it for several months all I have to say is I don't think I'll even consider buying the full GT5 whenever it makes it here. My major gripes are as follows: 1) Atrocious game play layout 2) Poor physics 3) AI and damage are absolutely laughable. To start with the game play is ridiculous. It reminds me of the old days of games where you do routines over and over and over to gain points/experience/money to buy the next level. The success you have in the races and your carrer mean little in GT5, only if you have the right car or not. You can breeze through each of the various classes by simply buying the right car. Buy the Ford Focus for C class and you cruise through... buy the GT-R for B class and you cruise right through. Buy the Ford GT for the A class and you cruise right through. The only hitch is the little added difficulty of the car specific races. So then you have to repeat races over and over to get enough money to buy the random extra cars. Disappointing, tedious and overall abysmal game play layout. The online gameplay is even worse... it degrades into bumper cars with idiots and no penalties of meaning, and the pairing system and time from game to game is horrible! It is a very nice touch though that you can actually earn money racing online for your offline activities. That I thought was well though out and appreciable. On to the physics. I've spent years learning to drive the right way and how to execute proper control. There are tricks of the trade on how to guide a car through certain types of corners and how to achieve certain handling. It simply does not exist in this game. Trail braking and various power on scenarios are not met with the appropriate vehicle responses. Additionally, vehicles with wildly different characteristics will handle nearly identical in this game. It doesn't matter what aids are or not enabled, or what level of physics you choose. Throttle on response was one of the poorest aspects I though in general, but turn in effects weren't far behind! Amazingly pathetic for a game that bills itself as a "the real driving simulator". It also appalling that in some cases the fastest way to execute part of a track is to bounce yourself off a fence or wall. I started doing it out of humor and was horrified to see it actually help in certain situations. The AI and damage are really in that same vane. They do nothing, they don't exist, and it's all just superfluous featuring. Everyone else has covered these in other reviews, so no need to rehash the well known here. All griping aside. The graphics are beautiful. The tracks are well rendered. The overall effects and feel of the game are beautiful. But as far as a driving experience and something fun to play... it just doesn't hold any allure in any way for me. Really a true disappointment on many levels from a franchise that I had always heard to be the best out there. There are already much better other racing games out there on the PS3 that I feel have given a lot better game play experience as well and while their physics engines aren't anything great either, at least they don't try to claim "simulation" and get at least a few things down better than GT5 even does even if they are less complete packages for the physics. Rating:  - Great gameI am a casual gamer who likes the stress relief of a good game. I have to say this is an excellent one. It is pretty easy to pick up so if you aren't playing for hours every day you can still sit down and race competitively. To top it off the look of the game is incredible! I would highly recommend this game to anyone who wants to race! Rating: - Still setting the barI've read where people say this is too hard. Not true if you understand what it means to race and how to race. You should not be able to butcher turns, run off the track and still win (as you can in other titles). One of the best feelings in this game, this platform if you will, is winning a difficult race. Yes - you may have to run it dozens of times to win it, but that's the fun and the challenge all rolled into one. We all know the graphics are top-notch. We all know that damage is coming in the full version. We all know that the car selection is second to none (albeit, it can get a little tiresome racing, for example, Mini-Coopers). Let's not review this game as if it the final version. At $40, a tad expensive perhaps, but still the most realistic, beautiful and comprehensive racing game/simulator on the market. Rating: - TurismoExcellent graphics, precise response, and very challenging. When I first got it, I spent 5 straight hours playing. Rating:  - Great racing funGT5:Prologue does a great jog whetting the racing enthusiasts' appetite in preparation for the full game release next year (hopefully). With unparalleled graphics, a wide variety of cars, and some very challenging courses, GT5:P will keep you busy and entertained. Buckle-up though, as this racing simulation will stress precision and accuracy at every turn. The best way to play is with a quality racing wheel. A regular controller does not do this game justice. I recommend the Logitech Pro GT, which was specifically designed for GT5:P. However, it has worked on nearly every PS3 racing game I've tried it with too. Overall, GT5:P may not be a "full" game and is not without some flaws (no car damage modeling for example). But for true racing game fans as well as those interested in trying out the genre, this game makes for an excellent buy for the racing simulation experience.
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