Grand Turismo 5

Came out last night at 11pm central time. On the Playstation network. For PS3. Like that.

So, I bought it. Took a long time to download, there were tons of people downloading. I played until 2:30 in the morning and there was someone playing online at that time with a Suzuki Cappuccino, tuned. Tuned means that it has been modified to make more power. Changing tires is about the only chassis work that might be needed, it handles wonderfully in the game.

Now, to get to modify a car in GT5 you have to have completed three separate levels of races, meeting a minimum standard in 8 or so races in each level. Within two hours someone had completed all these levels to be able to modify a Suzuki Cappuccino! Yikes. To race against boring Honda Integra's in the small car class.

It took me hours to get third place (minimum passing grade) in the B level toughy. That one starts from 16th place and one is required to pass everyone in one lap. Well, everyone but two, to qualify. The aim is to pass everyone. Cheating is required. Cheating in the sense of taking unorthodox racing lines, bouncing off walls and hip checking cars into turns.

This is the 'Prologue' to the full Grand Turismo 5, which is more than a year away yet. It costs $40 and well worth it. I'll be shopping for a wheel now. Racing with a play controller is rather tricky.