4 ms·

I was actually considering getting this for my son, since we are huge fans of Top Gear (UK) and would love to drive the Veyron around the TG test track. Of cou

by e40 16y ago

I was actually considering getting this for my son, since we are huge fans of Top Gear (UK) and would love to drive the Veyron around the TG test track. Of course, I'd have to get a PS3 first, but this and his luke warm reaction to my suggestion of getting it... well, that clinches the deal. No thanks.

simonsarris 16y ago
The new interface is a pain (esp in Arcade mode) but I really do suggest you pick up the game sometime for your son regardless. I consider it one of the better games for 15-20 year olds because it is incredibly educational with respect to the aspects of driving in general. The game is packed with great technical commentary.
- vaksel 16y ago
  The only reason I purchased a PS3 was for this game. It was the same story with the PS2...I only got that for the GT4. I'm not really a fan of console gaming, but GT series has that perfect mix of simulation and arcade not found in any other series. Pure simulation kinda sucks, since you get black flagged for doing anything..,and arcade is just boring since it's just plain unrealistic...you might as well get a game racing spaceships. .
  - CrazedGeek 16y ago
    For what it's worth, there's a decent amount of people who find GT boring because of its level of realism. Burnout and Mario Kart for me, please.
    - petercooper 16y ago
      If you'd like something smack bang in between arcadey/fun but with just enough realism to make it interesting, Project Gotham Racing 4 is hard to beat IMHO (and it's super cheap now!)
- e40 16y ago
  Thanks. I think I might wait a year or two, though. He's turning 10 next week. There aren't a lot of games that are appropriate for 10 year olds on the PS3--it seems to be heavily skewed toward teens. He's pretty into the Mario and Sonic games on the Wii still. However, I spied a Pinball game that looks fun to me...
Legion 16y ago
Get your kid a 360 (if you lack one) and Forza Motorsport 3 instead. The driving model is superior to Gran Turismo (at least as of GT5: Prologue, which really disappointed me as an old GT fan) and the interface is not the hell described in this article. Gran Turismo is the grandaddy, and I still look back incredibly fondly to the old Gran Turismo games. But the place to get that game now is Forza. Definitely for the Top Gear fan that wants to drive cars as "realistically" as possible on a video game console (there's neat hardcore stuff in the PC realm to check out as well, but they're definitely not as accessible as a Forza).
- amackera 16y ago
  In my opinion the driving model of Forza is not nearly at the level of GT5. Methinks this is highly subjective though.
  - Legion 16y ago
    Like I said, I've only gone up to GT5: Prologue, and not the actual GT5 release. But I found that I could take corners at ridiculous (for a simulation) speeds with street tires on and every available "assist" disabled in GT5: Prologue. It was incredibly forgiving for the so-called "Real Driving Simulator". I would be happy to hear that GT5 has taken the training wheels off and amped up the realism of the driving model. But with GT5: Prologue, I could easily demonstrate poor driving that was forgiven by GT5: Prologue that would spin me out in the more stringently realistic Forza model.
    - erso 16y ago
      I played Prologue after having played a lot of FM3, and being a long-time GT4 fan, and found it to be terrible. There was a demo out at one point released some 8 or 9 months after Prologue that was leaps and bounds ahead of it. I haven't yet played the final product but I'd assume it's more in line with that demo that's no longer available.
- brisance 16y ago
  Agree with everything you typed. I was a huge Gran Turismo fan and thought GT2 was the paragon of what was really possible with the hardware at that time. But it all went downhill starting from GT3. The reason, I suspect, is that the makers of GT were too caught up in its own "The Real Driving Simulator" spiel. Specifically: the gamer has to take part in an actual 24 hour endurance race, similar to the 24 Hour Le Mans. Games are supposed to be fun, first and foremost. Going around the same circuit for 24 hours at a stretch is not only bad for the gamer's health, it's also bad for the environment (since you can't turn off the console and have to leave the game paused should you have other matters to attend to). It makes absolutely no sense since the game does not simulate the other aspects of actual endurance racing e.g. team strategy, unexpected mechanical failure etc. Like you, I tried Forza and haven't looked back. Sure, there are far more realistic driving sims on Windows, but FM is really easy to get into and it is FUN. Which is what gaming is all about.

by e40 16y ago

simonsarris 16y ago

The new interface is a pain (esp in Arcade mode) but I really do suggest you pick up the game sometime for your son regardless. I consider it one of the better games for 15-20 year olds because it is incredibly educational with respect to the aspects of driving in general. The game is packed with great technical commentary.

vaksel 16y ago
The only reason I purchased a PS3 was for this game. It was the same story with the PS2...I only got that for the GT4. I'm not really a fan of console gaming, but GT series has that perfect mix of simulation and arcade not found in any other series. Pure simulation kinda sucks, since you get black flagged for doing anything..,and arcade is just boring since it's just plain unrealistic...you might as well get a game racing spaceships. .
- CrazedGeek 16y ago
  For what it's worth, there's a decent amount of people who find GT boring because of its level of realism. Burnout and Mario Kart for me, please.
  - petercooper 16y ago
    If you'd like something smack bang in between arcadey/fun but with just enough realism to make it interesting, Project Gotham Racing 4 is hard to beat IMHO (and it's super cheap now!)
e40 16y ago
Thanks. I think I might wait a year or two, though. He's turning 10 next week. There aren't a lot of games that are appropriate for 10 year olds on the PS3--it seems to be heavily skewed toward teens. He's pretty into the Mario and Sonic games on the Wii still. However, I spied a Pinball game that looks fun to me...

Legion 16y ago

Get your kid a 360 (if you lack one) and Forza Motorsport 3 instead. The driving model is superior to Gran Turismo (at least as of GT5: Prologue, which really disappointed me as an old GT fan) and the interface is not the hell described in this article. Gran Turismo is the grandaddy, and I still look back incredibly fondly to the old Gran Turismo games. But the place to get that game now is Forza. Definitely for the Top Gear fan that wants to drive cars as "realistically" as possible on a video game console (there's neat hardcore stuff in the PC realm to check out as well, but they're definitely not as accessible as a Forza).

amackera 16y ago
In my opinion the driving model of Forza is not nearly at the level of GT5. Methinks this is highly subjective though.
- Legion 16y ago
  Like I said, I've only gone up to GT5: Prologue, and not the actual GT5 release. But I found that I could take corners at ridiculous (for a simulation) speeds with street tires on and every available "assist" disabled in GT5: Prologue. It was incredibly forgiving for the so-called "Real Driving Simulator". I would be happy to hear that GT5 has taken the training wheels off and amped up the realism of the driving model. But with GT5: Prologue, I could easily demonstrate poor driving that was forgiven by GT5: Prologue that would spin me out in the more stringently realistic Forza model.
  - erso 16y ago
    I played Prologue after having played a lot of FM3, and being a long-time GT4 fan, and found it to be terrible. There was a demo out at one point released some 8 or 9 months after Prologue that was leaps and bounds ahead of it. I haven't yet played the final product but I'd assume it's more in line with that demo that's no longer available.
brisance 16y ago
Agree with everything you typed. I was a huge Gran Turismo fan and thought GT2 was the paragon of what was really possible with the hardware at that time. But it all went downhill starting from GT3. The reason, I suspect, is that the makers of GT were too caught up in its own "The Real Driving Simulator" spiel. Specifically: the gamer has to take part in an actual 24 hour endurance race, similar to the 24 Hour Le Mans. Games are supposed to be fun, first and foremost. Going around the same circuit for 24 hours at a stretch is not only bad for the gamer's health, it's also bad for the environment (since you can't turn off the console and have to leave the game paused should you have other matters to attend to). It makes absolutely no sense since the game does not simulate the other aspects of actual endurance racing e.g. team strategy, unexpected mechanical failure etc. Like you, I tried Forza and haven't looked back. Sure, there are far more realistic driving sims on Windows, but FM is really easy to get into and it is FUN. Which is what gaming is all about.