It’s been four years in the making, but the hotly anticipated Gran Turismo 5 will be officially launched on November 2nd, 2010. The announcement was made at the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), the world’s largest game show, held in Los Angeles on June 15.
The ‘real driving simulator’ car racing game has been a cherished product since its first release back in 1997 and throughout it’s 13-year evolution, has seen more and more cars, tracks and online features added.
Keen GT fans have been anticipating the game’s release for over a year now, as Polyphony Digital keeps postponing the release date. Creators of the game have been all over the world trying to fine tune intricate details of various international circuits, including the famous Nurburgring in Germany.
Creators have also been very busy working with manufacturers to simulate accurate sound and handling characteristics with each of the 1 000 cars that are included in the game. News from the E3 Gaming Expo is that GT5 will feature the following:
- Over 800 cars, which will be ‘standard’, the majority of which have been carried over from previous GT titles. Despite the nomenclature, they still look great – all of the classic ‘muscle cars’ seen in the screenshots to date are all ‘standard’. However, standard cars won’t have detailed interiors like their ‘premium’ counterparts.
- The 200 ‘premium’ cars will take the final count past the 1000 mark. In addition to highly detailed interiors, the undersides of the cars have also been modeled and will be visible when the car is flipping through the air thanks to the new physics engine.
- 9 NASCAR models available and you will be able to race by NASCAR’s specific rules. The NASCAR crashes are reportedly spectacular.
- The new Photo Travel mode – where you take a car to a picturesque location other than a race track – now allows you to virtually walk around the environment to help you get the best angle.
- Online community features include a bulletin board service, personal logs, mail, and something called ‘My Lounge’. You will be able to monitor your friend’s progress, set up private races with them, and spectate on live online races that are already underway from any camera angle, while focusing on any player’s car that you want.
- The combination of 3D visuals and head-tracking with the PS Eye has been described as astonishing.
Gran Turismo 5 will be available to buy as a collector’s edition as well. This includes a 1:43 scale model GT-R, a 300-page guide to cars, a Gran Turismo keyring and a voucher for five download cars – the download cars are cars that have been made for the game post-release, but can be included in your usual game play. These cars normally cost a small fee to download but with this collector’s pack they are free.
We can’t wait for the release and certainly hope the date sticks this time. Anyone interested in a mint condition Playstation 2 and copy of GT4?
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