Gran Turismo (PSP)

I'm quite a fan of racers on PSP, having both WipEout games, Need for Speed Undercover and F1 but this gamehas massively raised the bar. This is definitely the best racer on the PSP (with perhaps the exception of maybe Motorstorm: Arctic Edge, which i've not had the pleasure of playing yet). [EDIT: now reviewed Motorstorm too, with a slight GT comparison for those thinking of getting one or the other]

This game has been in development just a tad too long, i'd totally forgot it was ever mentioned back in 2004. But to say its been a while in development does no justice to just how superb this game really is.

Prositives:

- I pre-ordered the UMD version which arrived this morning. From the moment you start it up you realise this game is something quite special. Somehow, developers are managing to squeeze more and more out of the PSP, and this game is the showcase of the lot graphically.

- The cars are superbly rendered on the screen and are even better in the races, and really makes you wonder how this is just a PSP. The race tracks are equally well rendered. Of course, there are limitations to the PSP so there are still jaggies and hard lines where there should be curves, but i'd expected far more.

- The controls i found take a little bit of time to get used to, certainly my first race wasn't exactly smooth, but i'd expected this as with any new game. After a few races though, it feels very smooth and intuitive. They've done a good job with less buttons.

- I'm only in the early stages of the game and haven't tried racing the fast cars just yet, but even with the slower cars the game feels fast. I can only imagine what its going to be like with the supercars.

- The number of cars and tracks is stupendous, i can't work out how they've managed to get so many into 1Gb of storage space. I don't think you could ever do collect every car!

The graphics and the gameplay really do make this game so superb.

Limitations:

- There have been number of rumblings on the internet following the announcement that there is no campaign mode. I've never had a GT game before (with the exception of GT5 Prologue), so this is not a feature i know to miss. However, if you are a hardened fan of GT then you may miss it. There are a series of challenges with races and tasks within each one that will keep you interested and tested while improving your virtual driving skills.

- Cockpit mode is pretty shoddy really, and after playing GT5 Prologue, i was expecting something slightly better rendered. It is still my prefered driving method though, giving a much more realistic driving feel.

- Car availability seems a little confusing to me. New cars are available each virtual day but not always the ones you want. You have to exit the challenge mode to go back to the main screen to go to the showroom. At first i was doing this after each race - if you leave the challenge it adds a virtual day, so new cars become available. Now i've realised you can do more than one race in a challenge then exit and it will only have added one day too.

- there are only 4 cars on a track. this surprised me as i was expecting more, but it's not bothered me at all, you're usually only concentrating on the car in front and the car behind anyway! its definitely still a challenge.

Overall:

If you are already a GT fan and you own a PSP, and you want the GT experience on a portable, i'd hazard a guess that you will be quite pleased at this amazing game.

If you have never played GT and you want a polished and superb racer/driving simulator that will make your shiney PSP even shinier, then this really is, by far, the best game you could get.

GT PSP has made itself a must have for PSP owners, even in the rapidly expanding collection of great PSP games.

[Looking for other PSP games? Check out my reviews for LittleBigPlanet, Gran Tourismo PSP, Motorstorm Arctic Edge, Blood Bowl, Resistance Retribution, and probably others.]

Foreword
After owning every single Gran turismo game on the console, I'd been looking forward to this game since before the PSP was released and in my mind they sold the PSP with the promise of this game, originally called "Gran Turismo 4 Mobile".
Knowing that polyphony don't rush games, they take their time I knew that this game would be worth the wait.
I rarely play my PSP, I mean, why would I When I have a PS3?
But still I decided if ever I found myself on a bus or train this was the game to get to stop me from scratching my own eyes out with boredom.
Right onto the game, I went in with medium to high hopes and haven't been disappointed, I found out just before the game was released through IGN that there would be no career mode, I was slightly disappointed but still I brought it anyway.
The decision to not include a career mode is why many people moan about this game but if they sat down and thought about it, it doesn't really need a career mode.
Most people spend around 30minutes on a bus or train and to be honest the kind of races GT4 offered were too long most were Series races and took hours some of which 24 hours!
The game is designed to be picked up 1 or 2 quick races maybe a new car purchase and then put down, this way this game can last you ages without boredom.

Graphics
The graphics are amazing, don't expect Forza Motorsport or NFS Shift styled graphics after all it is the PSP, Pretty much the best graphics I've seen on PSP and the game runs at a very smooth 60 FPS. I would say the graphics on a par with GT4 (Which is an achievement for a PSP game).

Controls
The control and feedback from the cars is amazing, turn traction control off and you find yourself wrestling to stay on the track.

General
There are many tracks and cars and it's quite nice and easy to earn £1M to get that Ferrari when you eventually see Ferrari at your dealership.
Ad-Hoc mode is great and with Ad-Hoc party you can play friends all over the world.
The licences are back and it feels like a mini career mode after I'd completed a page of licences I got the credits rolling.
I've played the NFS's on the PSP and some other PSP games and to be honest there nothing to this, if you're a fan of the Gran turismo series and want to pick up and play every now and again, although at first you'll be hooked, this is the game for you.

Verdict

Pros
Great graphics
Great sound (for PSP anyway)
Excellent controls and feedback from the many cars
Good value for money like all Gran turismo games!
Great Ad-Hoc
Excellent ability to pick up and play and put down quickly unlike some PSP games without save points for ages.
Excellent choice of many different cars and tracks

Cons
No career mode (would have been nice for people without the bigger consoles)
No online mode to play random people
Takes a while to load

9/10

Fully recommended I had to think hard to write the cons, there just little niggles and don't really affect my enjoyment of the game.

Like many, I have been waiting for this game for a long time, having been a big fan on the GT games.

So I guess there are two reviews needed, one for those who are familiar with the series, and one for those who are not.

So, is it a proper Gran Turismo game on the PSP? A qualified yes. There are loads of cars, and loads of tracks, and it looks better than I would have believed possible on the PSP. The graphics are smooth, wonderfully detailed, with no trace of scenery popup (so far). The cars look great, the tracks look great, the dust effects are convincing. Loads of cars, and loads of varied tracks, real and fictional. Including new versions of tracks from the old games. However a few things are missing that GT fans may be disappointed by.

There are only 3 opponent cars at a time. Not good.
There are no options to buy parts to upgrade your cars. Ouch.
There is no career mode. Double ouch.

To be fair, given the limitations of the hardware, the first two are understandable. But I'm really not sure about the lack of career mode, which really does drop the long term appeal. I suspect they were taking the view that unlike a home console, the PSP is often used in short bursts while travelling, rather than for extended sessions.

For those unfamiliar with the series, the structure is the same as most others, with a series of races, and opportunites to get more cars. It looks better than any other racing game I have seen, and it is the first time I have been tempted to hook the PSP up to a big screen - it really is that good. There are also nice graphic flourishes like the way that the others cars brake lights come on as they slow down.

Sound is pretty good, (if you use phones of course), though the soundtracks may not be to everyone's taste. I normally play with the music down anyway...

Overall I give it 4 - but only because the other GT games had more depth. Despite that it is still a huge game, and I really can't emphasize enough how good the visuals are.

I think I'll be sticking my elbows into other passengers on the bus for weeks to come as I get into this!