One of the original reasons I wanted a PS3 was so that I could play GT5P. To me, it is the only real system seller the PS3 has right now (the MGS4 bundle was only the catalyst to finally make me break down and buy the system) as GT has been one of my favorite gaming series for years. After buying the PS3 last Thursday, I went and got this game on Friday and I have been playing it quite a bit over the past week.

So, what do I think about the game and has it lived up to my expectations for what a next-gen PS3 racing game should be? Yes and No. I think I'll start with the positives.

The Good Stuff
Graphics - This game is gorgeous. The cars look incredible and the tracks look just as good. There are plenty of details in the game, such as dust clouds if you run off the track that look just as they would in real life. The lighting in the game is brilliant and this is most notable when driving out of the tunnel on the High Speed Ring track, as the transition from darkness to the light blinds you for about a second.

Physics - Each car in the game handles differently. This may sound like a load of crap at first, but as soon as you start driving different cars, you realize that it's true. I'm not even talking about RWD vs. AWD cars either. Even cars with the same engine placement feel completely unique when compared to other vehicles. When playing with a wheel that has force feedback, like the DFP that I use, you can start to feel the car getting away from you if you take a turn too fast. This kind of realism is what the series is all about and it has been improved quite a bit, even since GT4.

Sounds - The music in the game is nice, but I can't comment on it too much since the first thing I do when playing racing games is turn it off. I want to hear the cars and the engine, not some lame driving music. As if a race car has a radio in it anyways. The cars sound nice and pretty realistic if you ask me. When racing, sometimes you can hear the sounds of other cars as well, like when accelerating out of a turn right beside another car.

Suffice to say that the audio is very nice, but I can't say if the effort PD puts into recording muffler sounds is really worth it. I will say that it sounds better than Forza2, but I'll talk about that later.

The Bad Stuff
Tracks - There are only six tracks in this game. This of course is due to the fact that GT5P is not GT5; it's more of a really nice demo. PD promise to add a bunch of features like more cars and tracks to the game as time goes on, but for now, it hasn't gotten boring yet, so it's not that big of an issue yet.

Online - This is by far the worst part of the game. There is no lobby system. There is no chat. You are matched up with other online racers in pre-made races, with tracks and cars you can use already set. So far, I haven't encountered any of the issues I've seen videos of on YouTube like floating cars or a bunch of lag, but I think that's just due to the fact that I have a fast internet connection.

Some of the races I've been in online are really great, with everyone wanting to race the right way and win cleanly. Other times, I feel like I am playing a bunch of jerks who I believe thought they were playing Burnout or something. This problem has always existed in online racing, but it is worth mentioning here because GT5P does not have any kind of online lobby feature, where a host can kick a player. There is no option to play with only your friends and that just sucks.

Hopefully, Sony and PD will figure out online gaming soon and fix these issues. Until then, you can damn near consider this part of the game broken.

Damage - This is the biggest problem in the game. There is still no damage in the GT series. It has been said that damage will be added later via a patch, but it's one of those things I'll believe when I see it. I can understand Kazunori Yamauchi's thinking that nobody wants to drive around in a busted up car, but there needs to be some sort of deterrent to those people online who want to play bumper cars because they know there is no real penalty for it.

When playing online (to go back to the previous point for a moment), the lack of damage somehow makes a whole bunch of crappy gamers think that ramming someone in the back before a turn (knocking them off the track) so that they can slow down without using the brakes is a-ok. It's not! This type of driving makes other serious racing gamers very angry and it ruins the fun of a good race. Perhaps if GT5P used ghosts in online play so that cars couldn't touch, it would make a big difference, but that isn't an option either.

Comparisons to Forza Motorsport 2
The biggest difference between Forza and Gran Turismo is online play. Playing Forza online is a delight and it is everything that racing online should be. Lobby rooms with a host who can change the tracks and options, along with the ability to kick people you don't want to play with at any time, is something that GT needs to steal and quick. It's not even just Forza, as every online racing game I can think of has had this feature since the days of the original Xbox. Sony just needs to get on the ball with this one.

The graphics and sound differences between Forza2 and GT5P is a slam dunk for the GT series. This could be due to the fact that GT5P was released more than a year after Forza2, but I'll go ahead and just give PD the credit for making a game that is just plain better. Cars in Forza2 tend to all have that same whining sound to them, the only difference being how loud and quick that sound is. GT5P on the other hand is incredible in comparison, with cars that sound very unique in both muffler and engine sound. Even the ambient track noise is better in GT5P as you can hear all of the noises from the cars on a different part of a track (like say around the other side of a turn) if you listen close enough.

The lighting on the cars in GT5P is more realistic than that found in Forza2 also. In Forza2, to display shadows, the cars are just made darker. In GT5P, you can see the reflections of the scenery in the windows and paint of the cars, which looks very nice. Another difference visually between the two games can be seen in the tracks themselves and there is no denying that GT5P whoops Forza2. Everything, from the road surfaces to the plant life, looks far more real and organic in GT5P than Forza2.

There is one last thing I have to point out before I stop writing and that is to make a mention of the rumors that M$ is supposed to be showing off Forza3 at E3 this year. Nobody knows if it is true, but these kinds of information leaks usually are in the gaming world. Maybe Forza3 will show off improvements that trump everything GT5P does better, but we'll just have to wait and see.