A Bit Geared Up – Review of Gran Turismo (PSP)
Gran Turismo
Developed by: Polyphony Digital
For: Sony Playstation Portable
Five years in the making and it still seems about ten years behind. Are they harsh words? Sure, but there’s not denying that when you play Gran Turismo for the PSP, that you’re in a time warp that was built with dated technology.
This all starts when you realize there isn’t a main campaign mode to the game. Instead, the game basically relies on you to create the game for yourself. You decide what cars to buy and what races to complete to get credits. From there, you can buy cars.
And that’s it. You don’t upgrade your cars, get different paint jobs or customize the way your car looks. On top of that, you can’t exactly choose which cars you want to buy.
Explanation: The game runs on a date/clock, where it chooses which cars and models are available for sale. This does prevent, in theory, for someone beating this game in a week or so, but it also severely limits what you can do daily in the game.
In ways, it makes sense on a portable: The “do once a day” model has worked really well in such portable games as Animal Crossing and Nintendogs. But Turismo fans were told they were getting the same console experience on a portable, and after waiting 5 years for this game, it seems like the wool is being pulled from their eyes.
Finally, there are the graphics. Normally a benchmark in the industry for its prestine graphics and smooth framerate, GT for PSP looks more akin to its PS1 counterparts than its PS2, which would have still looked dated, but slightly impressive. The results are a bunch of boxy looking cars driving in a low-res, low-detail track that looks almost cartoony in comparison.
Only the most diehard of GT fans should give this game a purchase. Otherwise, it’s best left in the garage.
Review
Pros Cons - Racing is spot on
- It's Gran Turismo...- ...like it was on the PS1
- Time based access to cars is just a device to come back to the game
- No customization, not even for parts
? This took 5 years to make?!
Rating
