Autoblog

With things like cheap gas and the value of a dollar slowly being taken from us, it's good to see that somebody wants to give us something. For the US release of the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Polyphony has thrown in features the Japanese version didn't get.

There's a drift mode that judges drivers on three parameters, there's two-player, split-screen racing and there are new events and challenges for racers online and offline that can support up to 16 racers simultaneously. Plus, there's a new track, bringing the total to six. And for us, that means there's a new list of excuses we're going to need to come up with when people start asking "Where have you been?" and "You look tired -- were you up late last night?"

In case the cars, tracks and gameplay aren't enough, Winding Road has a new trailer video of the GT5 Prologue featuring a fair bit of Ferrari action -- and that's never a bad way to start the week. Follow the jump to see the complete list of tracks, and check out our updated hi-res photo gallery of the prologue below.


[Source: PS3 Fanboy]

Alex just bought a PS3, John already has one, and I'm trying to convince the Misses that after Blu-Ray won the war against HD-DVD we're due to replace our aging console with a new unit from Sony. Logitech just upped the ante with the release of its new Driving Force GT Wheel, but I highly doubt that it's going to help my case.

Regardless, the new wheel carries over all the features we loved about the outgoing model, including 900-degrees of rotation, steering-wheel mounted paddle shifters and a separate stick to swap cogs when we're sliding sideways through turn 11 at Laguna. But Logitech hasn't stopped there. The new wheel was designed in collaboration with Gran Turismo's developers at Polyphony Digital, and features a new force-feedback system that supposedly recreates the feeling of understeer, oversteer and all-out traction loss, along with new controls on the wheel that allow you to adjust brake bias, traction control and damper settings on the fly. Plus, the horn lights up.

The Logitech Driving Force GT Wheel will go on sale sometime in early May, carrying a price tag of around $150. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be released on April 17th on both Blu-Ray and through direct download, but for those of us that can't convince our significant others a new PS3 is worth the cash, the new wheel is compatible with both GT3 and GT4 on our existing PS2s.


[Source: Joystiq]

Back in the day, I spent over $400 on a Sega Saturn and a copy of Sega Rally GT Championship. A solid week was spent chucking a Toyota Celica GT rally car around a muddy course before I promptly returned the console and got my money back. It was clear back then that the Sega Saturn was not the next-gen console we were expecting (though it did have its moments). Nevertheless, my week at home with Sega Rally GT Championship was memorable.

Sega has stopped selling hardware and focuses solely on its software now, which means the return of Sega Rally Championship will happen on both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 (What, no Wii?). The new game is scheduled for a Fall 2007 release date (probably October) and will be called SEGA Rally Revo when it arrives in stores.

Yours truly has been playing Forza 2 now for weeks (gamertag: Autoblog), but SEGA Rally Revo has some new features that will likely occupy more attention for months. Being a rally game, there is of course a varied selection of terrain including dirt, gravel and pavement, as well as different weather like rain and snow. Unlike any game before it, however, SEGA Rally Revo will feature "real-time terrain deformation", which means that the muddy rut you left on the last hairpin will be there on your next lap to dynamically affect your second pass. As SEGA says, no two laps can ever be the same since the track deteriorates under the extreme abuse of having a dozen high-powered rally cars tear it up.

Check out these two development videos to see these new features in action (second after the jump), and you can also view still shots from the game by visiting this gallery at our sister-site Joystiq.

[Source: Joystiq, YouTube]

UPDATED: Trailer with no soundtrack added so you can hear the engines!


One of the biggest complaints about the Gran Turismo series may be corrected when a mini version of the next game, called Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, hits store shelves later this year. GT Channel is reporting that the game will include Ferraris for the first time in its history. This is based on a recent trailer of GT 5 Prologue that shows a Ferrari F430 on track. We would imagine if the F430 is included, other of Modena's finest are, as well.

E3 is also going on as we speak, and news from the trade show today is that the full version of GT 5 won't be coming until at least the spring of 2008, Sony is releasing the smaller Gran Turismo 5 Prologue this year to keep us interested. Though likely featuring a small stable of cars, Prologue will reportedly allow online racing, which is another feature the GT series has gone without for too long.

Check out the newly released Gran Turismo 5 Prologue trailer featuring Ferraris on track after the jump.

[Source: GT Channel, YouTube]