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Gran Turismo 5 was playable at Eurogamer in several forms; standard, 3D, and in a full ‘cockpit’. I was lucky enough to play two tracks on Gran Turismo 5, though neither was in 3D or a cockpit. The first track I played was Nürburgring Nordschleife, which is a winding racetrack running through blissful green countryside. The second track I got to play was Rome, which was obviously much more claustrophobic and built-up but this just made it all the more exciting. Having extensively played both Gran Turismo and Gran Turismo 3, as well as the GT 5 ‘Time Trial’ that was released on the PSN Store late last year, I was keen to see how the franchise had progressed to its flagship title, Gran Turismo 5.

Driving in Rome required a different driving style to Nürburgring Nordschleife but both felt very tight and responsive, really handling like actual cars rather than a (beautiful) set of polygons floating above the track. Like previous games in the series, Gran Turismo 5 is difficult to pick up for beginners or gamers used to arcade style racers like Burnout Paradise, but when you play the game as if you were driving a real car, things soon start falling into place.

The graphics, as you might imagine, are exceptional. The framerate is incredibly smooth, apparently running at 60 fps for almost the whole time. As with most console games of this generation, there is some slight aliasing along a few edges but for the most part the game looks fantastic. The shadows effects are great and the cars look as close to photo-realistic as I’ve seen in a game. The sound effects, particularly the engine sounds, seem to have been improved from previous games and really are spot on. Overall, the level of polish applied to Gran Turismo 5 really takes it head and shoulders above almost any racing game I’ve ever played.

Clearly, much of the enjoyment to be had from Gran Turismo 5 will be the career aspects; buying, upgrading and unlocking cars, and of course winning races and championships. A quick race on a couple of tracks is never going to do justice to the full gameplay of a game like Gran Turismo 5, so it remains to be seen how the full game will pan out. If what I played at Eurogamer 2010 is anything to go by however, gamers will be in for a real treat when the game is (finally!) released in November this year.

If you want to see a quick clip of Gran Turismo 5 in action at Eurogamer 2010, we recorded some of the Nürburgring Nordschleife track for you!