When I first played Gran Turismo on the Playstation 2 format I was so bad. In fact my wife regularly beat me. Now that’s not to say that she’s not good at racing games, but more an indictment on my previous complete and utter lack of co-ordination when trying to use a thumb joystick when simulating driving. Like my history with gaming in general, I was always less partial to the games that really didn’t come close to being a really good simulation of the real thing. So of course when they released Gran Turismo Prologue for Playstation 3 everything changed. The cars were beautiful, the scenery actually looked real and the amazing camera angles on the replays were so realistic. I fell in love with the High Quality of racing on a PS3. When that visually stunning experience was backed up with the dual shock controller all of a sudden it all became real to me. I started winning races, and therefore winning credits and on to buy a wider range of cars to race with. Now my wife was in trouble… I was actually getting better than her and hence now I race against the machine while she reads a book. 

So when the announcement was made that Gran Turismo was going portable, I began to wonder if this would mean a major step back in visual quality and general enjoyability of the Gran Turismo franchise. Having now been playing the game on and off for the past 5 days I can honestly say that this is not the case. Sure it doesn’t have the visual palette of its Playstation 3 counterpart, but it does have 35 stunning and real-life tracks and over 800 super cars to buy. Of course in order to buy and use them all you would need to race and win a lot. As the press release said, “There are plenty to choose from and covet, including the Ferrari Enzo Ferrari, the Lamborghini Countach LP400 and the brand-new Nissan GT-R Spec V as well as more down-to-earth rides and even, historic race and rally cars.â€

Of course as with most PSP games there are the usual features such as the ability to play interconnected with other PSPs in Adhoc mode or you could keep yourself completely focused in single player mode. There are even some interesting driving challenges that will improve your own skills on the track while earning you some extra money towards that favourite new car that you’ve got your eye on.

Another aspect of the Gran Turismo franchise that I really like is that it is all about the racing and the cars. Unlike other games out there like Grand theft Auto, this game is family friendly, and enjoyable for all ages. I remember getting my 60+ year old mum racing on the Playstation 3 version and spending a good 15 minutes watching the replay as she travelled about 200 metres in that time and hitting the wall well into the hundreds of times.

Now my gut feeling is that this will fade into a bit of nonexistence when the full version of Gran Turismo finally arrives on Playstation 3, but to now have the ability to take one of the most successful racing franchises with you on PSP wherever you want. Well that’s the sort of racing bliss without distraction that I like.

Reviewed on: PSP

Available on: PSP

Reviewed by:

Jon E Clist

Related

Rate this item When I first played Gran Turismo on the Playstation 2 format I was so bad. In fact my wife regularly beat me. Now that’s not to say that she’s not good at racing games, but more an indictment on my previous complete and utter lack of co-ordination when trying to use a thumb joystick when simulating driving. Like my history with gaming in general, I was always less partial to the games that really didn’t come close to being a really good simulation of the real thing. So of course when they released Gran Turismo Prologue for Playstation 3 everything changed. The cars were beautiful, the scenery actually looked real and the amazing camera angles on the replays were so realistic. I fell in love with the High Quality of racing on a PS3. When that visually stunning experience was backed up with the dual shock controller all of a sudden it all became real to me. I started winning races, and therefore winning credits and on to buy a wider range of cars to race with. Now my wife was in trouble… I was actually getting better than her and hence now I race against the machine while she reads a book.  So when the announcement was made that Gran Turismo was going portable, I began to wonder if this would mean a major step back in visual quality and general enjoyability of the Gran Turismo franchise. Having now been playing the game on and off for the past 5 days I can honestly say that this is not the case. Sure it doesn’t have the visual palette of its Playstation 3 counterpart, but it does have 35 stunning and real-life tracks and over 800 super cars to buy. Of course in order to buy and use them all you would need to race and win a lot. As the press release said, “There are plenty to choose from and covet, including the Ferrari Enzo Ferrari, the Lamborghini Countach LP400 and the brand-new Nissan GT-R Spec V as well as more down-to-earth rides and even, historic race and rally cars.†Of course as with most PSP games there are the usual features such as the ability to play interconnected with other PSPs in Adhoc mode or you could keep yourself completely focused in single player mode. There are even some interesting driving challenges that will improve your own skills on the track while earning you some extra money towards that favourite new car that you’ve got your eye on. Another aspect of the Gran Turismo franchise that I really like is that it is all about the racing and the cars. Unlike other games out there like Grand theft Auto, this game is family friendly, and enjoyable for all ages. I remember getting my 60+ year old mum racing on the Playstation 3 version and spending a good 15 minutes watching the replay as she travelled about 200 metres in that time and hitting the wall well into the hundreds of times. Now my gut feeling is that this will fade into a bit of nonexistence when the full version of Gran Turismo finally arrives on Playstation 3, but to now have the ability to take one of the most successful racing franchises with you on PSP wherever you want. Well that’s the sort of racing bliss without distraction that I like.
Reviewed on: PSP
Available on: PSP
Reviewed by: Jon E Clist