Games

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue

Publisher: Sony

Platform: Reviewed on PS3

Price: £14.99

Certificate: U

'Gran Turismo' is back in 'Prologue', the sample of the series' fifth outing and is in shops now. But is it time to dive in your car and get to the shops or have Sony got lazy and cheeky in releasing half a game?

As you put the game into your Playstation 3 and wait out the atrocious but necessary installation time, you will be thinking that a con has been performed here.

Then as the console logs on to the internet and the game patches itself, any previously sane player will be throwing the manual at the wall then turning on the 360 on for a game of 'Halo'.

But after an hour of thumb twiddling the introduction kicks in and a rally car races down the most realistic computer animated road ever seen, it suddenly feels like it might all be worth while You won't be able to wait until you can get behind the wheel.

As gameplay begins properly the sheer sense of amazement garnered from the awe inspiring graphics remains - it is truly stunning how lifelike everything appears.

It's so good in fact that many will be left speechless, knowing they would be unlikely to get a better picture watching the rally cross on high definition television at home. And things just get better and better.

The controls are instantly recognisable to anyone who has touched a racing game in the last decade and of course the principal here is simple enough. As ever it's about racing around the track against opponents of your choice, human or computer controlled, battling the other drivers who prize money in search of a better car.

Soon enough you will be driving like a professional, not a kid on an arcade racer in this stunningly realistic driving simulator, revving that engine till it purrs on all six of the offered tracks.

Each circuit is rewarding and each race is fast, furious and fresh. But the game never overcomes this size limit of six tracks, even when playing online against friends. In essence 'Prologue' never gets away from the fact that you are paying for a demo.

The game does claim to offer 'Top Gear TV' - hours of the BBC's defining show to bulk out your buy. However last time we checked the service was off. Annoying, seeing as the feature is advertised all over the game's packaging.

In conclusion, given this and the Spectrum tape-like loading times and price tag make 'Prologue' a better title to rent than to buy.

The taste of 'Gran Tourismo 5' is tantalising and online play element addictive but sadly if you buy 'Prologue' you will just have to spend more cash on the full release in 2009.

Unless you have money to burn this title is essentially a waste of money, an extravagance.