Having driven 400 kilometers to get there and face the enormous amount of people to get to GT5, I thought I'd give my impressions from the latest GT5 build. I hope you enjoy.
First of all, I don't think I'll be going to Gamescom again IF there is no GT present(or Diablo 3); It was way too crowded on the Saturday. Believe it or not, I just played TWO games: GT5 (twice) and Diablo 3 (waited 3,5 hours...for real).
The GT5 area wasn't all that big, but compared to other companies (not taking Blizzard into account) it was a decent size with lots of racing pods. There was one 3D screen and the rest were very dusty Bravia LCD screens. All except one were hooked via HDMI, but for some odd reason one PS3 was hooked via SCART.
The wheels and pedals had really been abused though. The first pod I tried out didn't feel right and I found out that the acceleration peddle was damaged since the on-screen throttle indicator was jumping all over the place. The screens put my off though as I was expecting top of the line LED screens (such as the one I use at home) but sadly that wasn't the case.
The game itself was incredible, but let's begin with the menu navigation.
The menu navigation was easy, intuitive and great looking. Sleek design throughout which will make it a joy to simply select a car. Selecting the car also gives you all the necessary info about the car itself. Unlike prologue, the car models spin slowly around without any camera breaks. However, press and hold the triangle button and the cars spin around much faster making it great if you just want to see the entire model. As you all know by now the car selection was great!
All these videos you've seen of the Nürburgring will not prepare you for the actual experience. The track looks very good; the shadows that are on the track look very detailed and realistic, and so is the contrast although I doubt the screens were all set up properly. Nevertheless, driving is such a smooth and awesome experience, going from corner to corner and looking at the track flying by. To all those naysayers about trees and the environment all I have to say is that they have probably NOT played this build or any other for that matter because from what I've seen it looks unbelievable good!
Before starting to race I set up the game properly seeing as everyone there was driving with standard physics and other assists. So I did what I always do, professional, no ASM, no TCS, no ABS. Then I decided to take the 458 to the Ring...
It was breathtaking, no were near prologue and nothing like the TT. It felt to me like a new build, but most likely they simply improved the FF on the DFGT A LOT! I simply felt every twitch and could really push the car to the limits of its traction and after that it broke loose....but the astonishing thing was that catching a slide required quick thinking but if you gripped the DFGT as you should you could actually feel the slide coming on a second before it does and the moment its breaks traction and providing you're quick enough you can catch the slide, correct it and drive on: so satisfying to be able to use real life techniques and seeing GT5 respond in a correct manner! All I have to say is that I felt every bump and corner on the Ring. It felt so special and trust me, once the game is out and we can simply take a car and drive the Ring you will instantly LOVE the physics and the FF.
I cannot praise PD enough for this because finally it felt the way it should have felt many years ago starting with prologue; this feels real, it feels exciting and makes you try harder; you can now without doubt be a great consistent driver. I LOVED IT!
regarding skid marks, I actually got shunted real bad from behind and slided around making skid marks. However, this was on the first lap 2 minutes in or so...and if I'm correct the marks were still there the second lap...on the RING
If you have any questions, please ask!
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Anyway, thanks for the effort.
