Sony was kind enough to send me the Gran Turismo 5 demo, what the call they Time Trial Challenge, a few days early, so that I might play it and talk about it. So I did play it, and I enjoyed it. I've been trying to beat my initial time, but I'm afraid I suck. I'll continue on, watching my ranking fall as it goes live for you all later today.
I was going to write about it, but there's really not that much to say. It's Gran Turismo. There's one course, and one car. Sure, it's great. The control is tight and the new car physics are very impressive. I'm going to love the hell out of this game when it comes out. But really, what is there to say right now with this demo? The options are locked down, and there's not much to do other than beat your time.
Instead, I hoped in my Nissan 370Z and took to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, setting out to do everything wrong. Running into walls, spinning around, grinding side rails. You name it, I did it. After hours of doing this, I can confirm that there is NO damage modeling so far. The things I did would have killed a driver, let alone dents and scratches. Me? I died laughing. Your mileage may vary.
On a more serious note, I'm going to brush up on my racing lines and get good times. If you haven't heard, the player with the fastest times is geting a VIP pass to the Indy 500, including airfare and hotel accommodations. They'll get all access to the pit, garage and victory lane. By the look of the current rankings (and this video), I need to practice more.
P.S. - Up on the d-pad shuts off your ghost. You're welcome.
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
Meet the rest of the team
If I'm honest, that looked really... flat? Hit a barrier at that speed and the back wheels will lift up AT LEAST. I think you only got airbourne completely unrealistically ONCE in the entire video.
The car's weight shifting side to side looked awesome, but seriously, is THIS what's taking Polyphony so long? I can't deny that it looks great (and smooth too, looks like 60fps or something) but that physics looks AWFUL.
@Onlineatron
I'd expect something halfway near it. The "demo" for Forza 3 was around 500mb and aside from a few hitches (falling through the level? Great physics there) it was pretty much spot on for the final release. This is classed as a "demo" and it doesn't look as though any effort went into it at all, and it certainly wouldn't sway me, as a prospective buyer, to buy the game.
Of course, I'll have to see for myself as to the final result, but after being disappointed many times (damage modelling was rumored in GT2, yet isn't included till now) by the Gran Turismo franchise, I'm not holding out hope. Which is a shame since I own every single version to date.
Looks like they have a LOT of work to do before release. The collision physics are even worse than Forza's and the textures look really flat. Overall the game looks very drab, probably because of the lighting, which is really depressing to me. Everything looks like it takes place in England when it's about to rain.
I was definitely disappointed with the presentation of the demo - Forza has it beat by miles, no pun intended. Better lighting, texture and details in Forza. One thing I did like was how the car controlled, as it definitely felt different than anything I've played.
Good luck with your time trial though Dale. There's some good players out there.
Looks like they have a LOT of work to do before release. The collision physics are even worse than Forza's and the textures look really flat. Overall the game looks very drab, probably because of the lighting, which is really depressing to me. Everything looks like it takes place in England when it's about to rain.
Why are people so in to seeing damage in a racing game? Not that I really care since I don't buy racing games (unless it's MotorSport and it comes with my first PS3), but seems to be a lot of interest in seeing cars get damaged rather than racing.
@loki
What I think a lot of people want is realism, especially since this is supposed to be a simulation of real racing. For me, missing a turn and getting slammed into a wall only to see that your car still looks perfect really takes away from the realism that the game goes for.
I lmfao'd. But that aside, this game looks horrendous. The whole "simulation controls" bull is what puts me off from new-age racing games. My first car in real life had better handling at 80MPH than most new-age-racing-game-cars do at 20MPH.
Also, 1:07. DIS GAME HAZ FIZZIX YOU SAY?? FIIIZZZIX!!?!
Furthermore... I just finished ranting in the comments on one of JIM STERLING's posts about how destructoid isnt entertaining anymore and fuck that jim sterling guy and how I was never coming back here except to read the memory card, then I immediately kept reading anyway and found this video and watched the whole thing and laughed the whole time. The point I'm trying to get at is don't tell Jim I'm still here.
My experience with this demo went something like this:
1. Wiped the dust off my ps3 controller
2. Downloaded and installed the demo
3. Completed a lap on the track (using the X button to accelerate, hummf) old
school I guess.
4. Deleted the worthless demo from the hard drive
5. Put the ps3 controller down for probably another six months before touching it again.
@x1251
You neglect the fact that this is being passed off as a DEMO. Meaning it's giving people a fairly good indication of what the final product will be like, while having some changes along the way.
To show the game in such a poor state as effectively an advertising tool (that's what demos are meant to be, anyway) strikes me as either odd or incredibly lazy. As I said before, I'm going to hold off judgement for the final product, but if you were oblivious to the series before this "demo", there really isn't much at all that would entice you to buy the game, as many games have much better demos out there.
What is wrong with the shadows, aliasing, and reflections in this? Everything is super low res. Seriously, watch the intro loop. The shading is twitchy, the cast shadows look blocky, and the aliasing is distracting. Any reflected scenery past the first few feet gets pixelated as well. wth?
JESUS BACON-AND-EGGS CHRIST. Look at the audience. Look at the textures. Look at the...well, general lack of any detail at all. NO.
FFFUUUUUUUUU
Also, as written on the main menu: "This is a demo version of the upcoming Gran Turismo 5. With this trial version you can experience a taste of the pure driving simulation."
Please don't try to tell me this isn't indicative of the final product. I would LOVE to be surprised when the full game releases, but uhh...I'm scared.
Also, my tail end sinks into the ground whenever I'm off the main path. And only my back tires. I almost got my car pointing straight up at one point, which I won't lie, was kind of awesome.
Woah woah woah...I need to go on. Apparently, if you drive poorly (i.e. stuck off the road for a bit) enough on one lap, your next lap is invalidated. Even if that next lap would have been in the top 50 times. Check that action out.
It's just a game man... I've always been a huge GT-fan ( hell I even own GT5P and a G25 for racing in it ) but this 'demo' is HUGE dissapointment... the track looks ugly, it's American, so half of it is just a huge straight, I really don't see why sony did this... This demo has actually more potential to turn me off of GT5 then get me to buy it... Plus the 370z just isn't a great car...
Its hilarious a 200mb demo is under such scrutiny. This demo looks worse than prologue, forza 3 fans get that in your head this is not GT5 demo just for time trial.
People have every right to judge any "preview" of a game that is officially released by a publisher, whether it's called a "demo" or a "trial". It's not like this is some alpha release stolen off the net. Sony decided to give players a taste of the game, and they must have expected that at least some people would base their buying decisions off it.
Karoo, I'm a Gran Turismo fan. You seem to be one of the few people in here bringing up Forza at all. A demo is released of a game I'm anticipating. In the demo itself, it says that this is a taste of what to expect in the full game. I play it. It is not fun, has bizzarre bugs, and looks graphically bad. Am I not allowed to share my experiences with the game on a blog post about the demo of said game?
I mean this seriously, addressing you, Karoo. Have you played the demo? Are you saying its great, and doesn't need improvement?
x1251, you seem to be crying a bit there. The people who said this was a demo of GT5 are, let's list them off:
(1)Sony
(2)Polyphony Digital
(3)The title of the Demo
(4)The text on the main menu of the game which says specifically that this is what we can look forward to in the full game.
I'm disappointed too, and I know the final game will HAVE to be better than this, but you seem to be confusing legitimate criticism with fanboy drivel. From what I can tell, basically everyone in here who's complaining was already interested in the game, and downloaded/played it because of that interest. The demo sucks. That doesn't mean YOU suck, and that doesn't mean Polyphony sucks, but it does mean some things should be changed for the final release.
I just played prologue again and it looks way better than this so called demo, there are basically no jaggies and everything looks much better, its hilarious these fanboys spout out uninformed stuff here.
If I'm not mistaken Polyphony Digital announced that they were only adding damage modeling to 'race cars'. I'm not sure if that means the WRC, NASCAR, and F1 cars only or what the deal is there. I heard a rumor stating that the damage modeling was going to be put on all cars but I never saw it as an official announcement.
I agree gestalt that this demo was really bad with many low res textures and jaggies, but prologue is totally different and if you are a gran turismo fan you should have played prologue and you would have never took this seriously.
@x1251
I'm going to state it once more, and I know you'll flip out into a rage with me saying it, but this is a DEMO. The thing itself explicitly states this. I never said that it included everything in the full package, all I said is that it is a very poor demo that is not showing the game in the promised light it "should" be shown in.
"NONE of that was even hinted out in the Time Trial!"
The time trial is a demo. Perhaps if it was a GOOD demo, then it would have been, eh?
@Karooo
I own every GT game to date, and from what I've seen so far, Gran Turismo 5 is shaping up to be a huge disappointment, and this is from a long term fan here. The physics in the demo are TERRIBLE. The car from a full impact to a wall remains as flat as a pancake to the floor. That is not realistic at all. THIS is what people will be judging a purchase of the game on, THIS is all most people will see. THIS is an underwhelming demo that is not showing half the things the game has promised - not from a content perspective, but from a gameplay perspective, the game is severely lacking.
Also you call me a troll, when you don't even have an avatar, way to go.
I don't know why everyone is complaining about collision damage. The collision damage in forza 3 looked terrible. It was a great game and all, but I had to turn the visual damage off. It's one thing to not have damage and to expect that, but I hit a wall in forza 3 and watched all the paint fly off my car without the fender so much as denting. That killed more of the "realism" for me then having no damage at all.
Since this is just a time trial and won't let me monkey with the settings, it's too early for me to compare it to Forza.
x1251.
This is the last time I'm posting here, I can't be bothered to talk about this anymore. In fact, I'll even quote an above poster:
"The people who said this was a demo of GT5 are, let's list them off:
(1)Sony
(2)Polyphony Digital
(3)The title of the Demo
(4)The text on the main menu of the game which says specifically that this is what we can look forward to in the full game."
See that? Nowhere does it specify it's a half arsed piece of work just for one event. Stop trying to justify things. It says it's what people can look forward to in the final item - exactly the same as a regular demo.
@ jon you say you own all the games, but have you played prologue the real GT5 demo? if you have you would not have said all those things. You should look at digital foundry analysis because most of your posts make me think that you are lying about being a GT fan because you clearly are not deal with it.
Wtf does that have to do with my avatar lol I am not a regular vistor to this site, but the level of uninformed comments in this thread made me lol and i am a huge GT fan.
ya jon this is what you have to look forward in the main game, a demo that looks worse than prologue. now spare us you are making me sick with your limited IQ.
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Contest:
6:25 PM on 12.17.2009
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It's not really a demo of GT5 more just a demo of it's physics engine coupled with nifty comp.
I didn't spend much time with it because, call me a graphics whore, but the track just looked ugly =(
The car's weight shifting side to side looked awesome, but seriously, is THIS what's taking Polyphony so long? I can't deny that it looks great (and smooth too, looks like 60fps or something) but that physics looks AWFUL.
The file size of the 'demo' is 219mb... it's not really representative of the full double sided blu-ray.
I'd expect something halfway near it. The "demo" for Forza 3 was around 500mb and aside from a few hitches (falling through the level? Great physics there) it was pretty much spot on for the final release. This is classed as a "demo" and it doesn't look as though any effort went into it at all, and it certainly wouldn't sway me, as a prospective buyer, to buy the game.
Of course, I'll have to see for myself as to the final result, but after being disappointed many times (damage modelling was rumored in GT2, yet isn't included till now) by the Gran Turismo franchise, I'm not holding out hope. Which is a shame since I own every single version to date.
I agree... That's why above I said Sony has fudged the marketing of this demo.
They call it a demo but it's not really that and, too me, it's far from impressive.
Perhaps DALE could clear this up a bit but from what I saw of the Gamescom/TGS stuff that looked more impressive than this.
So, Dale, what do you think? Is this better or worse than the build you've seen previously?
Good luck with your time trial though Dale. There's some good players out there.
What I think a lot of people want is realism, especially since this is supposed to be a simulation of real racing. For me, missing a turn and getting slammed into a wall only to see that your car still looks perfect really takes away from the realism that the game goes for.
the reason behind this demo isnt has much showing of, then it is promoting!
Also, 1:07. DIS GAME HAZ FIZZIX YOU SAY?? FIIIZZZIX!!?!
Furthermore... I just finished ranting in the comments on one of JIM STERLING's posts about how destructoid isnt entertaining anymore and fuck that jim sterling guy and how I was never coming back here except to read the memory card, then I immediately kept reading anyway and found this video and watched the whole thing and laughed the whole time. The point I'm trying to get at is don't tell Jim I'm still here.
I hope the finished product is way better than what they are showing off with this demo.
1. Wiped the dust off my ps3 controller
2. Downloaded and installed the demo
3. Completed a lap on the track (using the X button to accelerate, hummf) old
school I guess.
4. Deleted the worthless demo from the hard drive
5. Put the ps3 controller down for probably another six months before touching it again.
You neglect the fact that this is being passed off as a DEMO. Meaning it's giving people a fairly good indication of what the final product will be like, while having some changes along the way.
To show the game in such a poor state as effectively an advertising tool (that's what demos are meant to be, anyway) strikes me as either odd or incredibly lazy. As I said before, I'm going to hold off judgement for the final product, but if you were oblivious to the series before this "demo", there really isn't much at all that would entice you to buy the game, as many games have much better demos out there.
FFFUUUUUUUUU
Also, as written on the main menu: "This is a demo version of the upcoming Gran Turismo 5. With this trial version you can experience a taste of the pure driving simulation."
Please don't try to tell me this isn't indicative of the final product. I would LOVE to be surprised when the full game releases, but uhh...I'm scared.
what have happen? :'(
Seriously?
It's just a game man... I've always been a huge GT-fan ( hell I even own GT5P and a G25 for racing in it ) but this 'demo' is HUGE dissapointment... the track looks ugly, it's American, so half of it is just a huge straight, I really don't see why sony did this... This demo has actually more potential to turn me off of GT5 then get me to buy it... Plus the 370z just isn't a great car...
relax mate and just go play a game!
I mean this seriously, addressing you, Karoo. Have you played the demo? Are you saying its great, and doesn't need improvement?
(1)Sony
(2)Polyphony Digital
(3)The title of the Demo
(4)The text on the main menu of the game which says specifically that this is what we can look forward to in the full game.
I'm disappointed too, and I know the final game will HAVE to be better than this, but you seem to be confusing legitimate criticism with fanboy drivel. From what I can tell, basically everyone in here who's complaining was already interested in the game, and downloaded/played it because of that interest. The demo sucks. That doesn't mean YOU suck, and that doesn't mean Polyphony sucks, but it does mean some things should be changed for the final release.
I'm going to state it once more, and I know you'll flip out into a rage with me saying it, but this is a DEMO. The thing itself explicitly states this. I never said that it included everything in the full package, all I said is that it is a very poor demo that is not showing the game in the promised light it "should" be shown in.
"NONE of that was even hinted out in the Time Trial!"
The time trial is a demo. Perhaps if it was a GOOD demo, then it would have been, eh?
but oh i am sure you are just to troll and have basically no clue about anything.
I own every GT game to date, and from what I've seen so far, Gran Turismo 5 is shaping up to be a huge disappointment, and this is from a long term fan here. The physics in the demo are TERRIBLE. The car from a full impact to a wall remains as flat as a pancake to the floor. That is not realistic at all. THIS is what people will be judging a purchase of the game on, THIS is all most people will see. THIS is an underwhelming demo that is not showing half the things the game has promised - not from a content perspective, but from a gameplay perspective, the game is severely lacking.
Also you call me a troll, when you don't even have an avatar, way to go.
Since this is just a time trial and won't let me monkey with the settings, it's too early for me to compare it to Forza.
This is the last time I'm posting here, I can't be bothered to talk about this anymore. In fact, I'll even quote an above poster:
"The people who said this was a demo of GT5 are, let's list them off:
(1)Sony
(2)Polyphony Digital
(3)The title of the Demo
(4)The text on the main menu of the game which says specifically that this is what we can look forward to in the full game."
See that? Nowhere does it specify it's a half arsed piece of work just for one event. Stop trying to justify things. It says it's what people can look forward to in the final item - exactly the same as a regular demo.
Wtf does that have to do with my avatar lol I am not a regular vistor to this site, but the level of uninformed comments in this thread made me lol and i am a huge GT fan.