Gran Turismo 4: Prologue

[SonicMarmite]

Ta for going to trouble of making vid. Could I make a small request assuming someone here clocks it before I do. Would you make a selection screen snippet vid of the McLaren if it truly is featured? Cheers.

I`ll have some replays of my own on MGV (sonic.animebots.co.uk/MGV) sometime in the next 2 weeks. ^_^

[Saurian]

I got it yesterday -

It's REALLY hard!

But then my only exposure to driving has been Initial D anime, Daytona and F-Zero! If the back end doesnt fly out at a touch I'm lost!
This is realistic ennit? It's destroyed my dreams, I want to take corners sideways! And there's NO Eurobeat!!!

[Commander Marklar]

How come, in the vid, it didn't limit your speed the second time you crashed?

[?pint]

It depends on how hard you crashed. I find that if I genuinely try to turn a corner properly and crash any way, I'm not penalised. Kind of strange, really .

And Saur, I'm hearing you man, all this slowing down before corners is really getting to me! I'm used to the old Initial D downshift, ploughing through the corner at a rate of knots. Hehe.

[marcus]

Indeed, the first crash was quite severe, yet when I deliberatly tried to crash the second time, because the collision was less intense it wasnt enough to kick off the 10 second penalty. A little leniency shown there from the developers perhaps.

[Kubrick]

This "penalty" sounds like the same kind of thing that plagued Initial D, yes?

[revisedgenocide]

Im having to wait till january till i get prologue . These vids however are very welcome and just peak my excitement that much more.
Im definately getting tooled up for the full game what with the steering wheel and the like. Might even buy one of those racing seats 8)

[jim g]

Have played this for several hours now and have completed the tests up to the 4th set. Have to say the structure is the same as GT1 where you have to progress through a series of tests in order to progress.

I think this is an outdated model. I appreciate what they are trying to do (I have completed GT 1, 2 and 3), but the world has moved on and I think if they keep to the same structure it will put people off. Frankly it id boring and does not engage the player, most of the time you just wantto complete the test and couldnl't care less about the **** car you get at the end (this was the same for 1,2 and 3)

Other than that I am loving driving round New York (my fav place) and the other tracks are very good. On=line play would transform this game, but we will have to wait and see how they use on-line funtionality


Pop up has been mentioned, but this is not final game and consifering the maount of track-side detail, it is hardly suprising. I am sure most of these issues will be resolved next year.

If you can play it on your PS2 it is worth picking up cos it is really good overall and gives you a taste of what is to come, but be prepared to wade through the licences again!

[Hodge]

Well i`ve had my gt force feedback wheel out to try it on and have to say the feedback is alot better than gt3. Cause the thing i found with gt3 force feedback was the amount of understeer on every car no matter how fast you was going. Where now it handles like it should do, more responsive and understeers when it should do and the sensation of holding the mclaren F1 down new york at 200mph is fantastic with you fighting trying to keep it in a straight line. Also anyone struggling with the rally stages turn of stability and traction control as these stop you from getting your back end out. Traction control is under the options menu with the helmet logo you should see a TC in the text. Stability control is the 2nd option when you pick your car in arcade. If you was wondering what the 4 options underneath are they are different sorts of tyres. From left to right. Street, sports, normal, racing (selectable only on racing spec cars).

[Taurine]

I think this is an outdated model. I appreciate what they are trying to do (I have completed GT 1, 2 and 3), but the world has moved on and I think if they keep to the same structure it will put people off. Frankly it id boring and does not engage the player, most of the time you just wantto complete the test and couldnl't care less about the **** car you get at the end (this was the same for 1,2 and 3)

Though I'm not a natural at passing the damn tests I've always thought they were not there as a part of gameplay, but to HELP the player to gain the skills required to be competitive at the next level, and thus increase the player's enjoyment/erradicate frustration.

Because each test is accompanied by a demonstration of the correct/expected technique, it shows people who enjoy playing a racing game but have not been out doing track day training how to go faster and be more in control of their vehicle.

Long live the stupid driving tests

[jim g]

Yes Marcus your comment is correct, but my point is that do we need them a 4th time. By now accomplished GT players can get through the tests quickly but would probably not want to do them.

The option to Skip them or choose to start at an appropriate level would be good, knowing that if you want to learn they are there. If they truly rewarded you then I would fully support, but as most of the tests are in ****e cars you will NEVER use in the game, they are not learning, but just an obstacle (e.g if you went to a track day and all day they made you drive a 10yr old Honda Civic all day to learn the track even though you were an experienced track driver, do you think it would be benficial?)

The debate will continue, but it is just MO

[dave heats]

one quick question. Is there supposed to be any music while you race? Theres none for me, and Im not sure if theres a option anywhere to toggle it on/off?

[marcus]

Posted by Afterbirth

This is the second GT 4 game to be given to me in what seems to be some future trend for gaming developers. The method already exists on the P.C to some degree (although the primlinary play of a given demo is actually free, which is a far better deal). It also exists on the Ps2, but buying a real car to qualify a free demo hardly counts.
I?m unsure what the UK price will be, but given the content, I?d pay no more then around ?25 at a guess.
So what does this version of the game offer?

I won?t beat on about intros and the menu, suffice to say the presentation is fine.
Gameplay wise, at the start your presented with options for school and arcade (no two player selection as of writing). Load, Save, and options.

Choosing school gives you the first of two screens with around 50 icons in 4 colours (the second screen appears after cups are gained in all the first 30 or so tests, you can?t choose a race until all these are done!) Completing a colour gives you a cup and allows you to earn points (this is the jap review so I?m unsure how the point system works, you may be able to ?earn a two player mode based on the number of points your earn).
Each icon will give you some idea of the test required. You now earn every car you pass the tests with. These are then used in Arcade mode although whether this makes it through to full game is unknown (the problem is you?d have lots of fast cars in the career mode, somewhat early on, which defeats the object of having a career mode. It may feature in arcade mode. Previously, you had to get at least a bronze in every test for a car.
The test themselves are a mix of old and new. New tests include keeping to the racing line, knocking over a number of cones in a given time, and in the latter, racing tests, you must pass cars without touching them or leaving the track. Later tests involve more cars with you having to gain a position, but one of the tests is a 10 lap race in a Mercedes, and believe me, crashing on lap 9 is a real pain the ass, given it takes around 13-15 minutes to get that far.

The Arcade mode features the 5 now rather well known tracks :
New York, Grand Canyon (Rally), the Italian mountain village track, Tsukuba Raceway (as featured in Prius), and another race track (forgot name!)
It should also be noted that the tracks now feature animated people, which make a huge difference to the events. Suffice to say that on the rally mode (especially), swarms of people move out the way when you approach and its very realistic looking.
I don?t think this game will suffer the well-discussed coldness of PGR2.

The frame rate takes no hits whatsoever with the game running at a full 60fps throughout. The only hits are pop-up and it is somewhat evident in the truer race tracks, and in New York where buildings seem to occasionally shift (not helped by their reflection/glassiness). It only really matters at speed and given the scale (there?s no graphical compromise on anything here) it?s the best looking game on the PS2, bar none, truth be told. If these graphics were used in some FPS, it really would blow you away.
But this has always been the case. Polyphony have used the performance analyser to its fullest use on all the GT titles so nothing less should be expected.
The new graphics engine looks wonderful and you?ll be amazed how important a background graphic is to a game. They?ve been painted to scale and add a fantastic feeling of height (see the Italian mountain track in replay to see my point)
The weather hues are as good as any in a PS2 title although there is no weather effects (apart from lens-flare, which reflects off the tarmac too, so all present and correct).

Technically, the amount of background work that?s gone into the game is nothing short of amazing. An ?end? movie is the award for completing the first page of tests. This highlights that when it comes to research, no one programming team in the software industry comes close.
I can surely say it?s the most heavily researched game EVER.
Its amazing to watch what they actually did, and the sheer number of cars they tested. It certainly feels like they drove every car in the game.
There?s many stories regarding the games designers completing the tracks in roughly the same time as a test driver in a similar car and for once, you?ll believe it.

As for the controls and driving itself, nothings really changed with the control method, but the driving itself is sheer bliss. Even the Prologue version gives you some fast-as-**** cars to drive with and the feeling of control is fantastic. Not overly hard to learn (you get lessons anyway) and a joy to master (esp. the race spec Skyline and Le Mans Mercedes). You get a real feel for the contours of the race track and for once, actually learning a track is not as boring as before, which must say something about the graphics and general feel.
30 parameters relate to the car?s control and combined these gives you a feeling like no other. No adjustments can be made to cars at time of writing (i?m still completing the tests!)

It is STILL the best driving (not racing) game, bar none. Nothing comes close.
Some may imitate but NO ONE had done their research like these guys. The bad news is that it?s more a simulation then anything else. It really should be on the P.C.
To race with a slow car is somewhat dull on the true race tracks, but are quite happy on the Italian real-world track (and no, traffic does not feature)
This is my only real reservation as it can get a bit boring (this was always the case in career mode when you started with a slow car).
I suppose a nice drive through the newly rendered Deep Forest track will make up for it.

I won?t post a score until I?ve played the game through (I?ve nearly finished the second page!) and I?ll also give you a bit on the updates to the race A.I.

I must say the at present, completing the tests its really good fun, and far more fun then before, perhaps because they?re set on new, unknown tracks.
The will to play until I complete the tests is ever present and the tests are not that boring either (the ghost car that appears from your previous pass is still in, so because you know if your going to mess up a time, you can restart with this knowledge. A great idea).
As is, I think its good value for money (that?s even without completing the tests) and you can at least marvel at what Polyphony have acheived.
I?ll post an update soon.

Steve S.

[Afterbirth]

Ha. Finally finished the tests.
Theres no apparent bonuses. I still choose arcade and don't race anybody. The only racing is seemingly fixed the school modes (which is random as the positions are different).

Ps, i can help with the PRIUS test. Some of you may need it.

After reading my review, i gave it a 9 in the end.

As a game, its very good. The tests make life intresting and theres supposed to be more for the full release. The playabilty is top notch and the cars handle really well.
All i can say is i'd wish Polyphony would work on those 'true' crashes (with flips) and a damage system (that affects all cars, not just yours).

[DCharlie]

"Theres no apparent bonuses. I still choose arcade and don't race anybody. The only racing is seemingly fixed the school modes (which is random as the positions are different). "

you have to switch on CPU drivers in the menu system
- pretty stupid , but that's how you do it.

You can only race against them on three courses - and the AI SUXXX.