Today the review embargo has been lifted on media outlets with copies of Gran Turismo PSP, and thoughts and opinions are quickly popping up across the web. Unfortunately, however, not all are postive, with critics missing the “career mode” that made previous GT games so enjoyable. Indeed, Kazunori Yamauchi has been telling us this game would be structured differently than any of the others since June, focusing on “driving missions and tasks” as opposed to working your way up the ladder, tweaking your cars to win more money. Yamauchi defended this decision with the assumption that players will only play the game for short periods of time, and may not be willing to dive as deep as they would have in the console games.
The question, then, is who missed the point: the reviewers, or Polyphony Digital? In their quest to make the game quick to pick up and play, did they water down the quintessential Gran Turismo experience, or did the critics miss the point? We’ll find out for ourselves come October 1st. For now, join the debate in our GT PSP forum, or keep reading of the latest reviews and scores for GT PSP…
IGN.com (6.8/10)
For me, and a lot of other Gran Turismo fans, the fantastic driving is coupled with starting out at the bottom, slowly tweaking and upgrading your starter car as you compete in event after event, and gradually buying new rides to take on bigger and better challenges. And then eventually, after lots of hard work, you’ll get a car that can crack the 200mph barrier and you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something great. Gran Turismo on the PSP contains none of this, and by and large, that’s the entire problem.
Eurogamer (7/10)
There’s no career mode to speak of – just Single Race, Time Trial and Drift Trial options, for which you pick a car and a track and then have at it, without any structured progression or notable unlocks […]. Instead you just bash away with no particular goal in mind besides accumulating credits to buy cars. The only restriction is that the Car Dealerships only show certain manufacturers at certain times. It’s not a great substitute for a career mode.
VideoGamer.com (9/10)
Gran Turismo on PSP feels like Gran Turismo, even when played with the usually less than satisfactory analogue nub. No other driving game on the handheld comes anywhere near to delivering a handling model this advanced, with tracks so detailed you can feel the bumps and undulations in the road surfaces. Stick with the game in the first hour or so, as you have to contend with driving in cars that have little to no sense of speed, and you’ll eventually be cruising around some stunning tracks and pushing supercharged beasts to their limit.
PocketGamer (8/10)
What GT does better than most is to provide one of the most exhilarating opportunities to take a car out on a track and push it to its limits. And here you’ve got that experience distilled into perhaps its purest pick-up-and-play form.
It’s you and your machine versus the circuit. In this respect, Gran Turismo PSP doesn’t stall, effortlessly powering to the front of the handheld field in a manner that is likely to leave many a petrolhead breathless.
Play (80%)
CVG (6.7/10)
ArsTechnica (“Buy”)
NowGamer (8.5/10)
Im not to worried about the Reviews to be Honest..
No Career mode?, Ah well, I’ll get over it, I’ve already done that 4 Times :p
Aslong as i can do my Time Trail Elimination Game, This Game should keep me Entertained for awhile :)
@John
Stop your whining, what meatball said is actually acurate;
If the game had been completely masked off as some other racing game, then majority of the reviews wud have been perfect.
Problem is that when ” the full GT experienced” was promised, they didn’t mean in terms of the depth of the game. In fact, they meant it in actual gameplay, in a race.
Being able to race through Laguna Seca on a PSP while retaining much of the iconic Gran Turismo feeling is just what he meant. It depends on who sees it, I happen to be fortunate to have both consoles, being a hardcore GT fan, I’ll naturally get both. And I don’t blame you for having only one console, reality is though, GTPSP will be like a arcade with some career foreground. That said it should feel like GT5P with more cars and tracks.
Here’s Inside Line’s review of GT for PSP:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/2009/09/video-game-review-gran-turismo-for-psp.html
In fact there “IS” simplied career mode. GTPSP challange includes mission race and license tests. There are also garages and dealers. All of those above are elements of “career mode” in previous GT series. But the IGN reviewer doesn’t think these elements are enough; he just wants more and more. However, we have to think over that when the career mode becomes more and more “complete”, fewer and fewer casual users will get interested in such kind of Gran Turismo. I think Kazunori Yamauchi has considered the balance between atrracting causal users and keeping enough elements for Gran Turismo PSP.
@meatbag what you say doesn’t make sense. Adding a mode doesn’t take much more size, it doesn’t invove new textures or car models or anything, it’s just coding in some stuff. The game clocks in at under 1GB and that leaves them almost 300MB to work with to code in a career mode. So “it’s a portable version” is just an excuse, not a solid reason. Especially cnosidering KY promised us the full gt eperience.
@abcaa a career mode ONLY might have hampered pick up and playability, but that’s what arcade mode is for, and that’s how GT has been for the most part. I wouldn’t want them to leave such an option out, but as I said above, there was room to do both. That’s what should have happened.
(wrong word) complication > completion sorry^^
However, a complete careen mode means that it is hard for causal users. Kazunori Yamauchi said that he wants to attract entry users of Gran Turismo, in other words , increasing the number of players, just like what Nintendo did in DS and Wii. Therefore a simplified Gran Turismo is necessary, especially for casual players. In fact GT PSP itself looks like a complication of GT5 Prologue, which is suitable for entry users and casual users. As for some serious GT fans, there is Gran Turismo 5 several months later. In summary, GT5 is for traditional GT fans and GTPSP is for GT beginners, casual users and those who are interested in collecting cars in both GT versions. In fact it’s very good marketing strategy.
To add: While I think GTPSP will more than stand on it’s own without the career mode, people like me bought the original fat 1.00 Firmware PSP on release day, waiting for a portable Gran Turismo we’ve all grown to love. There’s lots of great simulators out there…but none that did what the sim mode of GT did :(
I dont think “But it’s on the PSP, so they had to cut corners” is a viable excuse. Gran Turismo 1 and 2 have been available through the Playstation One online store, which are essentially official Playstation ports from the classic PSX games, to PSP. I would have rather they cut corners elsewhere and kept the Career Mode. Career Mode (aka Simulation Mode) has been one of the big things about Gran Turismo. Removing Career Mode is like removing the “level gaining” aspect from an RPG.
No matter what happens or how much we get and so on, people will ALWAYS complain. My god :p
As I said GT PSP is a portable version for casual users. IGN often give low score for casaul games, like Wii play (5.5), Wii music (5.0)…etc. A 6.8 score for GT PSP just means that the reviewer of IGN, a GT fan, cannot accept the GTPSP change for casual users. That’s all.
John your internet sarcasm is through the roof..
I respect your opinion but you don’t need to write so negatively and forcefully *sad face* lol.
Please don’t reply to this, I don’t want to start an internets argument here :(
^_^
@ John:
GT PSP is not a console replacement game. end of story. thats why. Gran Turismo games are BIG. it wouldnt all fit on a UMD. if the game had been called “Billy Bobs Racing Game” or anything other tahn Gran Turismo it would have gotten better reviews from IGN. the fact is people were expecting the wrong thing with GT PSP
Oh and BTW, I have a job, but I don’t live at home with my parents anymore so I can’t just spend all my allowance and xmas money on game consoles… so while it might work for you, let’s not forget you aren’t everyone.
And you still haven’t really answered why the fact that you can buy other games on other consoles somehow makes it ok that this one is lacking a major feature…
@masfer- someones got their panties in a bunch :D
First off, I haven’t finished entire games in an airport before, but I have had some long layovers (18 hours is my record, that’s before I had a PSP). And secondly EVERY time I am at the airpot, it’s plenty long enough to get through a couple of sections of career mode in GT, so again, the point is there are indeed times when career mode is completely playable and that’s just ONE example of when ONE person might get that kind of time. Factor in everyone else and all the stuff they have to deal with (how many commuters might have gotten a PSP for their 30 minute+ commute?
And as for saving money and buying a console… are you saying the PSP is NOT worth buying? What do you mean if I am buying PSP games? Is your solution that I should just pirate them? That’s some great advice.
And you never promised me a PS3, but the reason you told me to shut up is because I play my PS3 more than I play my PSP… well I don’t have a PS3 so I guess since you are so smart and obviously right, that must mean you are getting me a PS3 so I can play it more than my PSP…
Sorry about my spelling, guess it’s better to make no sense and be all arrogant and rude than it is to have a few spelling mistakes :D
There’s no point in waiting for a game to release for its review really. I don’t see how seeing the product in person helps. The only way to know is to actually play it. Plus I like it for the review to release early because it can give me an insight on whether I want to buy it or not on its day of release or later on.
Anyway, I’m not going to complain about GTPSP, because Kaz has already said MULTIPLE times that the gameplay will not include a career mode itself, but rather in a fashion that’s for quick gameplay. However, I disagree with Kaz saying that you’ll still get the GT experience when you play it. Not sure what he means, but to me the real GT experience is the career mode itself. I’m sure there more to it on the GT experience than just a bunch of cars, tracks, and good graphics…
Why are all these game sites giving reviews on a game thats not even out (and ya I know its for publicity but still). I’d wait till the final products out the door for all to see, then review it.
LMAO @ the idiots ranting on about the IGN review. Don’t agree with the review, fine. If you choose to only take notice of reviews that give it a good rating just because that’s what you want to hear, that’s also fine. Pointless, and very sad indeed, but fine, if that’s what floats your boat.
Me? I’ll form my own opinion of the game and compare it to the reviews when I’ve actually played it myself.
And I never promised you a ps3. Besides get a job and earn some money lowlife
And learn how to spell
When you are in an airport or whatever you don’t complete a game do you. And get a proper console idiot if you are willing to spend money on a psp and games then just save your money and buy a console worth buying.
@Masfer: “Why should it have a career mode nobody playes on the psp as much as a ps3 so just get gt5 and be quiet.”
Great point! So when will you be buying me my PS3? Because I have a PSP but don’t have a PS3… I am sure I am not alone out there, as soon as you send me my PS3 I will make sure to let everyone else know they are getting theirs free from you soon too… since that’s the only way your comment holds water.
Seriously, where do people keep getting off making statements bout how much people play on their PSP? Some people ONLY have a PSP… and no matter what else you have, why should you spend $$$ on the game on PSP, just to have to go to PS3 to play the meat of the game anyway?
BTW next time I am on a long bus ride or have to wait for 3 horus at the airport, I will make sure to tote along my PS3 and a Tv… genious!
TGS is next week so we can expect better things from PD (GT5) there.
HOW THE F*CK ign GAVE SO LOW SCORE???
lmao IGN’s review is terrible.
“For me, and a lot of other Gran Turismo fans, the fantastic driving is coupled with starting out at the bottom, slowly tweaking and upgrading your starter car as you compete in event after event, and gradually buying new rides to take on bigger and better challenges. And then eventually, after lots of hard work, you’ll get a car that can crack the 200mph barrier and you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something great. Gran Turismo on the PSP contains none of this, and by and large, that’s the entire problem.”
they pretty much sum up any and all PC racing sims, as you can choose any car and any track at any time, and don’t go through a story mode to unlock the cars. i guess all those PC sims are considered mediocre at best to IGN.
“The one reality I have discovered is, the older I get the less time I have to game as a father and husband. So Im lucky and love to game when I have the time”
So true… from a 40′ ol’ gamer (since PONG!)… ;-)
Good post tek9[r] and thx. I am a proud 36 yr. old gamer. I have been floored over years to see what games have become. I remember GT1 and thought, we’ve come along way from Turbo and Pole Position. Racing has always been my favorite genre. I know how time consuming games can be which is why I include my family and monitor my time. This is one reason the psp version is so attracive. I can grab a quick race here and there. Times have changed and many kids play videogames. I’m greatful to be able to share my hobby with my family. Plus it’s racing. There are tons of games that I think are not for kids yet many play them and parents are clueless. GT is racing and is some what historical now . Where else can you get car history and this much spec info on cars and insructions of racing.
The one reality I have discovered is, the older I get the less time I have to game as a father and husband. So Im lucky and love to game when I have the time and it so sweet when it’s with the fam!
@ wheel nut it does have online. You clearly know nothing about this game.
Why should it have a career mode nobody playes on the psp as much as a ps3 so just get gt5 and be quiet. PD are an amazing company and make the best racing games ever and gt psp will be the same.
So
don’t dis
In fact it’s an interesting thing: what should Polyphony Digital do if they want to sell GTPSP to casual users who bought MARIO KART DS? Building a very complicated GT (Career) Mode? Or a pick-up and play game just like GT5 Prologue or GTPSP?
Too bad they didn’t just adapted GT4 adding just the new cars and tracks…
But it’s still GT handling and simulation… and simulation is TOO rare on the PSP to miss it.
This game,FLOP.
It is apparent that GT PSP wants to attract casual users, just like what Mario Kart DS did. A complicated Career Mode may be important for traditional GT fans but may become a barrier to casual users.
career mode please(in GT5)
Very disappointing about the lack of career mode, and frankly, I really can’t understand why it wasn’t included. They wanted to make it so that you can play it in short chunks? In past GT games, most races in the career mode only takes about 5 minutes to complete, isn’t that short enough?
Is lasting appeal really that bad to have in a PSP game?
This have made me very worried about GT5. Now for the first time, I see that even Polyphony Digital can screw up and release a game that just isn’t as good as I had hoped.
GT on PSP was always going to suck because its like GT4 with a few more cars and loads less features! Im hoping GT5 isnt the same but just in HD!
They shouldnt have wasted all their energy on this title (no one expected it to come out in the end anyway) and put 100% into GT5. If that suffers because of this titles development it will be a real shame.
People buy GT mainly for the carrier mode, if that isnt there there is no point!
It’s not GT when it doesn’t have a GT mode like the previous games.
Let’s just hope they don’t srew up GT5 in the same way (as Kaz said that GT PSP would look more like GT5 than GT4)
I have just read the IGN review, I got following points from it:
+ Very big amount of cars, tracks
+ Gameplay comparable to GT4
+ Controls well ported to PSP
+ Good sound
– No real career mode
Isnt 6.8 (passable) a bit low considering first 4 points? Especially since these points are the core of the game(or any racing game for that matter)?
@Wheel Nut
GT PSP has TT And Ghost Cars. If you cared enough to find it, it is mentioned in a review (i don’t know wich, i read all of them so. .), and also there have been videos wich show the TT option.
I got SHIFT. The gameplay sucks. i don’t think it’s very fun, it IS an improvement from older PSP nfs games, IMO it’s the best PSP nfs so far, but it’s just an upgraded PSP nfs prostreet, with the speed kings and all. i’m just playing to get the most powerfulll cars on the game, because you get very very little sense of speed. SHIFT also doesn’t have tuning options, in fact, SHIFT only lets you modify the livery of the car, zero engine tuning or tyre changing, nothing. you can’t play with manual gears as you can only see the speed you’re going in races, not the gear.
It does have 8 cars on track in some races, but regarding fun, i didn’t get much with that.
It will be interesting to see how SHIFT on PSP compares as a fun racing game….
I coud live without the career to have this as a quick play title but:
No Online
No Ghost Cars
No TT
It means we are limited to 4 car races which will be rather limiting.
The game would be most enjoyable with 4 friends together but how many will get to experience that with no online.
Perhaps they dont want this game to interfere with GT5 online gaming or indeed its sales.
@F1P1, go watch the IGN review and you will know what I mean
@tek9[r], WOW! What a story. Feels like I wrote it myself. Good job brother, a truly positive contribution.
don’t hate, i don’t know the man, but the gt playing parent above should be praised. i’m sure everyone here has a different story, we should respect our own community who else will? i couldn’t keep a girl in high-school ‘cuz i had work to do on gt1. fondest memory of my on again off again gf from junior high? sophomore year she drove me to pick up gt2. GT3 had the mazda minivan my wife drove at the time. i have a wonderful family that enjoy spending time together gameing. but they don’t have my skill or drive to even get a licence, that is for daddy to do. one day the kids will get tired of ‘racecars’ but i will always value the time we shared, me, lap78 on Monaco, they, fast sleep on daddy’s shoulders, yesterday my boo clocked 40.9sec on Datona, astounded, i took her to the room and realised my gt1 era fantasies ;] Thank you Lord for arcade mode & my gt playing wife.
Well at first I was a little disappointed at the lack of career mode… But in all honesty I think I’d probably 99.9% of the time only use the ‘ring anyway so I guess I’d rather they spent the time that they would spend on developing the PSP career mode into GT5.
I think the thing that disappoints me the most about the PSP is the talk of it being an easy way to get cars for GT5. I hate the idea of that even more than the idea of the GT5P transfer idea.
To me transferring stuff across because its easier takes away the point of the game
“Multiplayer” is the key point for GT PSP. The most successful PSP games in Japan are strong on Multiplayers (Monster Hunter being a good example, also dare I say the Nintendo DS Mario Kart is still extremely popular as a Multiplayer racing game). It’s like slot car racing in the old days. And the ability to swap cars is just like trading cards.
@ME, “cockpit view is only the black shape of the windshield”- is that true? It’s not like it is in prologue, or how it will be in GT5? Please post a link to evidence of this. I hadn’t heard that.
@ Mr_Hansen, you stupid ass… :o/
As for the reviews, they are all right and they are all wrong. PD structued the game differently, fine, but did they do a good enough job of expressing that? Did they market the game as a “dumbed-down GT”, or “GT on the PSP”? Clearly, different people have different expectations on the game, and so will review accordingly. They called the game “Gran Turismo”, so it’s not unreasonable for people to expect the full experience. Maybe they should have called the game “Gran Turismo – Pocket Car Collectors Edition” or something, cos’ that’s what the game sounds like to me.
GT PSP – one of the early german reviews: http://www.gamereactor.de/Kritiken/289/Gran+Turismo/
They should add Career mode now, maybe DLC? :P
I don’t know how you are all making these generalizations about how long most people will spend on their PSPs… I personally have spent long stints on it. There are plenty of games that have done well that clock in at many hours staring at the small screen. The argument that people mostly don’t play PSP for more than a few minutes at a time is just ludicrous.
And save anywhere, sleep mode on the PSP and races designed for a portable (ie no 24 hour races, or at least 24 hour races with saves every pit or save anywhere) are the obvious solution.
Look at Toca Race Driver… that did a great job of fitting a slimmed down racing experience on the PSP, career and all… totally takes the wind of the argument that career mode can’t be done and won’t be appreciated on portable.
As for everyone who keeps asking why do you care when GT5 is just around the corner, I would guess:
People who have a PSP but don’t have a PS3
People who don’t think some game on the PS3 excuses paying full price for a lacking game on the PSP
People who do like to play PSP for long stints (ie commutes, long drives etc)
If you have a PS3, great! Get GT5 (and hopefully it has no unpleasant surprises like this) but don’t make silly arguments that everyone else must be like you and so this doens’t matter.
It costs full price, something else coming out on PS3 doesn’t change that.
yeah psp no career mode also gt5 i dont have time
I think some people are kind of missing the point. It’s a Gran Turismo, on PlayStation ‘Portable’. Most people with PSP’s aren’t going to spend the time mastering a classic in-depth GT Career Mode. They aren’t as dedicated as us to the GT world.
But the main career problems are fine with me ^_^
My whole plan for the game was to be able to buy all 800 cars and drive them on the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Which is what I’ve been doing on GT4 for awhile now. Super fun!
Just driving heaps of cars around corners of cool tracks, alone in Free Run or Time Trial
I have no problems with the reviews though ,it’s their opinion too.
Personally, I think that I don’t mind not having a career mode because one of the things that makes it hard for me personally is having to spend long amounts of time on the psp and ended up with a headache and sore neck. To me if this is just a GT in its purest form i.e just pick up and play then count me in for the ride.
Well, that’s what they mean when they say “Pick up and Play”. Actually, I’m a Fan of GT since the first series. Been playing Gran Turismo since PS, PS2 then now “Coming” PS3, I already have played GT5 Prologuethe on my PS3 and now waiting for GT5. I am overwhelmed upon hearing PSP will release GTPSP. Hearing that there will be NO CAREER MODE in PSP is no surprise for me. Why?… come on man, it’s on PSP not on PS3, I just hope they would put everything I loved and hated in GT5 PS3… “The Career Mode”. I hated carreer mode and love it at the same time. Actually, PSP made a bold move NOT including CM [Carreer Mode]… meaning they took away the “GRIND” of the game… Imagine you have to play 24 hours in endurance mode… Imagine yourself playing it day and night… OOOhhhh you’ll have a sore neck. With or without the carreer mode… I will still get the game this October… and I’ve already made a reservation for it… 14 days = 2 weeks more…
Not to cut this down without playing it…but the rpg element of having a “garage” as your group of characters, and each “character”, in this case, a car – slowly being developed into something that becomes good enough to obtain a better car, is what makes Gran Turismo so much fun. Tuning and tweaking and modifying with what you’re given (a finite budget) is what makes the game so unique. Otherwise, we’ll be quickly f5’ing tuner guides, getting the best “tune”, and racing a track over and over and over for the best time. That’s all well and good, but that’s something I want to do when I’ve conquered the computer and paid my dues in slow cup races with unmodified Vitz’s
key word: PSP
Personally, while I think Polyphony dropped the ball by not putting a full career mode into GT PSP, I also don’t feel it’s as terrible as some might make it out to be.
I mean, it’s disappointing… but you’re still going to have to earn money to buy cars. That’s a start. And to add to that, it sounds like the cars available for purchase are in constant rotation, so that’ll make it fun trying to catch all the cars.
Seems like Sony is assuming that everyone that has a PSP has a PS3. I don’t (don’t have a HDTV, so no point), and have no intention of purchasing one. I don’t want a game that is simply a way to unlock cars in GT5, I want a full fledged GT game on the PSP.
Seems like most people who don’t want a career mode, don’t have a PSP or rarely use it. Is that really the audience Sony wants to target? How about those that actually like the PSP and spend a lot of time playing it? I don’t like spending hours in front of a TV, so a PSP is perfect for me.
Honestly who’s gonna really want to spend hours and hours on the career mode on the Psp version when the game is HOPEFULLY around the corner!PD made this for a couple of reasons,(1) When your not @ home you can still brush up on your skills either by yourself or with a couple of friends(Ad-Hoc) And still get MONEY!!! And cars.(2) Its a very Quick way to get cars instead having to play it TWICE!.Im just happy that somebody was smart enough to make it where you can transfer you cars and hopefully your MONEY!. Bottom line its just a SNACK and GT5 is the Main coarse… “SO LET THE CHEF DO HIS THING!”. Im sure we will get our fill!
Who gives a damn about the PSP version anyhow? GT5 is the real deal and PD should have outsourced the PSP version. Cutting out the career mode was a bad move, its one of the things that really makes Gran Turismo great. Its one of the reasons why Tourist Trophy didn’t appeal to me as much as GT4.
i have a psp and to be honest GT is a very adult game. how many adults will have time to spend a little screen when they have it at home on big screen case n point gta liberty city sttories to big for psp
^^^Hey Monkeyherow, great parenting skills buddy. I”m sure your wife/girlfriend appreciates you plugging away at games while she cooks and cleans. Oh, and the way you manage your finances in front of your kids are exemplary.
its not like a career mode takes away from the whole ‘pick up and play’ aspect. In fact i would imagine it would further it as long as there where no tournaments or endurance races to take part in.
wtf man .. i was hoping for gr8 reviews ..but since there are no career mode…..:(
I guessed they rushed the game …PLease PD you don’t release Gt5 until u put everything in it..
I purchased a PSP at launch for this game. When GT Mobile was delayed I sold it. I recently purchased 3 PSPs for me and my kids because of this game (they will get theirs at Christmas). I “was” hoping for the Full GT experience when it was announce and was alittle disappointed when Kaz stated this prolouge/challenge approach. This will in no way keep me from getting this game however. It’s still GT on the go. If I want the full experience then I will play GT5. What made me excited was the GT5 connectivity. I do not want to ruin my leveling in GT5 either but if I transfer I will still have to upgrade those cars and hopefully unlock the races for them, as in other GT games. We must really be fans of GT if we want to take it with us in full where ever we go. The real fun will be with GT5 and the fact that these two can connect is very cool. I for one am looking foward to next week to find out more about how these two games connect. For all we know they will only transfer to acrcade mode in GT5. So I’ve learned to except that GT PSP will be it’s own game and a supplement to GT5 and a place for me to learn tracks and transfer the occasional car. A final reminder to all, we are lucky to get what we are getting on the PSP. It’s not a PS3 or even a PS2. So enjoy the game and maybe the next game will offer alittle more.
Its great to know collecting cars is easier in GT PSP which means further access to some of the game’s more interesting and overwhelming cars when they are transferred in GT5, if this is possible.
I don’t like it one bit and it feels like KY’s reasoning behind doing it this way is a cop out… this mode was pretty much in previous GT right alongside career mode… it’s called arcade mode.
Want a quick fix? Arcade mode. Want to go back to a long, deep experience grinding your way up through the cars? It’s called career mode.
How PD could possibly think this was not going to be missed totally boggles the mind… GT, amongst other things, is great in large part due to it’s crack like nature of pokemon car collecting. I mean look at Tokyo Extreme Racer… that game was horrible in so many ways, yet addicting as anything I have ever played!
I am sorry, but lack of career mode is just unforgiveable and totally poor judgement. Give people an option for quick pick up and race, but don’t leave out the meat and potatoes! Toca did it quite well and GTPSP should have surpased Toca in terms of long term playability. Lots of tracks and cars will go along way, but if there is no ongoing reward system, it’s just not going to be satisfying!
@carl finlow
It’s not the same as playing on it’s intended format (I’ve tried GT on PSP). The game works fine on PSP, no question. But you just can’t do licenses and stuff that requires precision and being settled in front of a TV, when you’re outside or in a bus. And if you’re gonna sit down at home to do it, might as well play it on the home console.
Polyphony missed the point, i have GT2 on my PSP and is great to play it even when you dont have much time. Theres no excuse for not having a more robust “career mode”.
The feeling you have after playing the game really depends on the feelings you go into the game with… You either love it, or hate it… If you’re looking for an authentic portable racing experience Gran Turismo-style it’s definately the best game around on any portable platform, if you’re looking for a serious game which keeps you playing for hours through the career and than leaves you with an empty feeling when you do this is not your game…
If you love realistic racing and want to do that on your trip to school/work I think you’ll love GT PSP, if you want to play it at home as substitute for GT5, forget about it…
Maybe this is GT for kids to get more fans out of the series, sure it’s simple, but having a new fan for the series is a good thing. it’s like 1999 all over again, right?
OK, we know all cars from GT4 and GT5P, along with every car in GT PSP (via transfer), will be in GT5.
I gotta imagine GT5 gonna have more than 1000 cars.
unless GT4+GT5P+GT PSP=GT5 which would be suck.
In my personal opinion, the option of having no career mode reminds me of how GT5 Prologue is structured. There doesn’t seem to be a particular “career”. So in my opinion, to me, it won’t feel all that different to what we have now. Earning money to buy cars and so on.
But that isn’t necessarily a good thing. I’m still investing a good few hours in Prologue, but in short stints, so to speak. I just can’t seem to find the motivation to carry on with “single races” etc. Dare I say it, but after a while it does tend to get a little repetative. But it does cure boredom on a weekday after work, rather well!
Never the less, I really am impressed with what they’ve managed to produce, given the hardware. And i’ll still be investing in it. It’s a new way to keep me occupied while on the train or bus to work and that’s what GT PSP is to me, something that can be used to kill a few hours when “on the go”. Plus, it’s a refreshing change to see a game like this on a platform such as the PSP.
In my opinion of course!
these are the only bad things in my opinion…
•Cockpit view is just the black shape of the windshield
•Only four cars in races, in both single and multiplayer
•A small selection of cars available to buy at the dealership, making it hard to browse all the available vehicles
the way you buy cars is stupid! 4 at a time :S
I’m an accomplished GT veteran. I don’t need to take licenses or “progress”. If I buy the psp version it will simply be to get my GT ‘fix’ away from home. The casual take on a PORTABLE GT makes sense to me.
IGN gives on Graphics 8.5: It’s not the best on the system, but it’s certainly very good.
Ok, I never really was into it. I have a psp, but I don’t race on a handheld for obvious reasons.
If this (and the Prologue critism) is an indicator for the “bad mood” there is among the majority of reviewers and magazines, I fear that GT5 will fail BIG TIME this time. Not because it will be a bad game, but because it won’t be an outstanding game for casual gamers.
Two critical (probably legitimate) points I already see this nerd IGN kid complain about will be:
– damage, damage, damage
– AI
Anyway, I will enjoy GT5 for what it is. I know it will be great, because I already love Prologue.
tbh after reading more reviews my previous comment is a loud of rubbish so disrigard it. IGN are very biast to what they write about racing games from what I’ve read. At the end of the day it’s GT on the PSP and i’m just fine with that :)
In GT3…I LOVED THE ARCADE MODE!!!!!! drive on every track (easy, normal, hard) and get on the end a cool movie (with great soundtrack)…..that’s was great!!! (not sarcasme). and it’s coming back!!
I trust Ars Technica’s review.
I think GT PSP is the easy way to get many cars and transfer them to GT5! ;)
I dont know about any of you but I’m not starting GT5 with a Ferrari in my garage that’s just not Gran Turismo. I can completely get what IGN are saying. I’m now starting to feel a little well not annoyed but disappointed as this games release has clearly delayed the release of GT5 I was really looking forward to the game until I read some if these reviews. Bit of a poo situaution really alot of Hardcore GT Fans will be disappointed. Alot of casual gamers wont care at all.
“I said it before – you can’t get the GT experience in a portable format.”
I really don’t agree with that. I’ve been happily playing GT2 on my PSP for years with no problems.
I don’t mind that Career Mode is missing, keeping it nice and simple is better for me. I rarely have time to play with my PSP. I will be spending tons of time when GT5 finally comes out.
I suspect they’ve designed it very deliberately as a handheld compliment to GT5 (assuming most GT fans will have both), and that once GT5 is out, it will work very well as such.
Depends on the rumoured and hinted-at connectivity between the two though. Was it cars unlocked in the PSP version also being unlocked in the PS3 version? If so, that sounds pretty good, as time spent on the PSP version will feel productive and progressive in the full game (GT5).
How can it not have a career mode? I don’t know if I can stand that, half the reason I play a game is progression. I mean, sure, you’re supposed to just play it for fun, but with most games I don’t have reason to play once I’ve beaten it. But how can there not be a career/campaign/whatever to beat? :|
RE: (First comment!)
NOT…. lol
First comment!
Anyway. I understand why Polyphony Digital have made this game as they have and I, personally, think that it is a good way to make it.
If I had a PSP, I wouldn’t use as many hours on, as I would do on a Gran Turismo game for a console – the screen is just too small and theres no way, that you could have the exact same experience.
With that been said, I’m not a PSP owner and I probatly wont be one in the future either and the only thing I’m looking (really!) forward for, is Gran Turismo 5! ;D
blame the casual players for no career mode
I said it before – you can’t get the GT experience in a portable format.
Honestly, I would not want to spend the time I do on GT on a little hand held system.
Its just a shame that there aint no GT (career) mode.
How hard can it be. Just just takes more time to develop, and wont take any more recources out of the PSP. It took PD about 5 year from the first concept till the release of this game. It would be better to have us wait 3 months more and make it a “real” GT game.
you will still have to work hard for the cars. im sure