Feature: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue review

What's the point of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue? The actual Gran Turismo 5 game isn't released for the PlayStation 3 platform until 2009 and this is being provided as...what? A posh 25-quid demo? A branding exercise? A way of spreading profitable material thinner?

Whatever the reason, creators Polyphony are certainly excited about what they've created and, in fairness, have every right to show off their achievements. What they've already put in place is often stunning.

Here are the figures: 71 cars, two-player split-screen racing, 16-player online racing and 1080p High Definition graphics. But there are only six tracks, and one of them is the dull Daytona oval. Even the technically excellent graphics can't make American oval track racing interesting.

The visuals are, naturally, a massive draw. Look closely and you'll see, for instance, that the road surfacing has improved considerably over previous GT titles. Little touches and improvements like this will satisfy the faithful, but most eyes will be on the cars and the scenery. Both of these do everything you'd expect, if not dream of.

However, we hoped that we would gasp like a gameshow audience when the star prize is revealed, not to frown at our 40" High Def flatscreen whenever the frame-rate splutters. Only the central London track and the winding, mountainous Eiger Nordwand circuit drew any kind of hyperbole from our jaded lips. How quickly we grow used to the Future.

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