TheSixthAxis: Gran Turismo PSP Review

Polyphony have taken what everyone thought was vapourware and come up with a brilliant display of coding ability without compromising on the number of tracks or cars, something especially important to Gran Turismo fans. Yes, there's no linear route to take through the game's single player mode, but there's plenty to do - not to mention the extensive Challenge mode, consisting of license test-esque scenarios in which obtaining Gold for each will take considerable investment.

Besides, if you've been paying attention this game isn't about the exposition, that'll keep for Gran Turismo 5 (in which you'll be able to transfer your cars from GT PSP) – rather, you're meant to remember you're playing a portable game with modes designed for dip in and out portable play. Gran Turismo, like the aforementioned Pikachu and friends, has evolved.

[Swan]

Good review. Picking this up day one.

[PROFIT]

it seems ign has failed the gaming community.

i think they forgot it was a psp title because of the great visuals.

the fact that gt psp is on a umd disc never crossed their minds i suppose

[callahan09]

I agree, PROFIT... IGN definitely didn't review this game with the right mindset, and neither did any of the others complaining about the lack of a "career mode." Look, the game is LOADED with cars and courses, it has amazing graphics and sound, great physics, precise controls, and you still have challenge events and races that result in earning money which you can spend to buy more cars. It's still a portable game though and should be reviewed as such. It's worth mentioning in a review that the game doesn't have the same style of career as the console titles, but really the game prescribes to a slightly different philosophy than the console counterparts. Anyway, IGN gets it wrong all the time, so this isn't anything new from them.

[cmrbe]

That was just IGN's opinion. I don't agree with them but that is their take. The problem was they expected a full GT experience on handheld. IGN to me is still the best reviwer site right now. Its also good to see the old gamespot back with their cold, non hype and straightforward reviews.

On topic. I really didn't expect much from GT PSP. Everyone is waiting for GT5.

[heroicjanitor]

A lot of sites just hopped on the no career mode excuse, giving gran turismo a bad score would get them hits for sure. It's a portable title, it has vast amounts of content, the driving is superb. That's all I need to know to give it a high score. 6.7 is just way too low for a game of this quality and I think they'll regret this score in a year when they are still playing it.

[PROFIT]

thats precisely what i mean.

there is no other PORTABLE racing title out there that can touch gt psp.

[ABizzel1]

I said IGN were wrong in the first place. The reviewer was a major GT fan, and when the game didn't have what he was expecting he scored it low. And I got a ton of disagrees and even lost a bubble. Stop counting on one source for your game reviews that's only one persons opinion. Besides in the end it's your opinion that matters the most, because at the end of the day you're spending your money.

[2FootYard]

We all need ego suicide.

[deadreckoning666]

I kinda understand where ur coming from, but a racing game with NO career mode, thats weird. And for a franchise like GT, its unneceptable.

[cmrbe]

Generally people play it in between transition from place to place. Not spend hours upgrading their cars. Thats what the console version is for.

[iceman06]

I agree with you wholeheartedly!!! The PSP has been seen as the ON THE GO version of the console brother. Thus, the games are usually designed with that in mind. They are shorter and more condensed versions of there console brethren. I am impressed at the amount of stuff that they packed into the game...not what is is missing...unless that amounts to ACTUAL gameplay!!!

[mrblacknut]

Some of you crack me up. "IGN wasn't in the right state of mind"

Boy some of you will WHINE and complain about anything. You love IGN because of the Infamous(basically insert any game that you consider a good score) review which they were in the right state of mind then right?

[deadreckoning666]

Yeah, the people at IGN have been doing this for a WHILE. Im sure they were in "the right state of time".

[Ravage27]

hardcore GT fan so he probably had very high expectation of the game. I'll be honest here, as disappointing as the lack of career mode is, i get the feeling many people are not reviewing it as a PSP game constrained by both hardware and UMD disc space.

PD intended it to be the type of game you play between train rides and if you put aside the hype, it delivered.

[deadreckoning666]

@MrBlackNut- I agree that Infamous was WAYYY overrated. Official Playstation Magazine gave it a 7

[darrensworld]

I understand the pros/cons of no career mode but honestly if PD wanted to include career mode and couldn't because of the umd, they should have made this a download only game with a larger file size to accommodate career mode.

[kerrak]

Not hardware/software related, but "reasonable size" related. i.e. you shouldn't fill 1/8 of your psp memory just with gt.

[mjcrow33]

I gotta agree with IGN this time, no career is kind of a letdown.

[kerrak]

I see a lot of discussion is being centered on the lack of career, but really, how many hours would you need to get your career completed?
I agree that not having the feeling of "completion" that comes with career mode is not a good thing but the feeling of "unfinished career" would be worse in my opinion.
In this sense i think the party philosophy is a good thing, but anyway they should have put more spices here and there to give more a sense of "partial achievement" and make the party thing more varied.

For GT fans anyway, this sense of achievement is assured as it will come from unlocking cars on the go that will be usable on GT5.

[andron]

It has some good points and reviews the game on it's own terms. GT PSP is still one of the best PSP driving games out there...