Well after about 10 hours play behind me, I suppose I can rate it.
The graphics firstly are unbelievable, I have never seen anything like it. When sitting in cockpit view of a Ferrari 458 through Madrid or doing the Alfa Romeo 8c challenge in the Eiger challenge, it's just mindblowing. I don't really mind about the Premium/Standard thing, I don't notice a huge difference really. I just think of the Premium cars as a bonus rather than the Standard cars being a hindrance, if you look at it like that you appreciate the game more.
The AI are extremely slow. This really ruins the game for me. I have only really needed to push to my maximum in a race in about 2 occasions. As I said in another thread: For example, in a Professional race - Supercar Challenge, I was in a standard Ferrari 458, and I was up against a Bugatti Veyron, Pagani Zonda, McLaren SLR etc.etc. basically, I was about the 8th quickest car there. Yet, in an oval I won the race by 2 seconds and the Veyron came 9th.
I do enjoy winning but it's got to the stage where I just want to lose a race for once, or at least have to fight for a win.
The driving itself however is brilliant! The sounds and physics are epic which make driving this game so fun. I admit it's not as realistic (IMO) as GTR Evolution, RFactor etc. but it kicks any other consoles games butt in terms of realism and driving pleasure. The cars handle and feel different, and it takes time to adjust between the cars, which is good aswell. I also love getting the tail out in rear wheel drive cars, very fun to do!
GT5 mode is pretty short compared to GT4, and because of the crap AI, its not challenging at all. I remember in GT4 where I had to finetune my car and do an event 10 times before winning, so I was far happier when I won the challenge as I had to work for it. I'm 20% through already and in 10 hours have a Murcelago, Ferrari 458, 512, California, Dodge Viper and about 30more cars. In GT4, it usually took about 2 or 3weeks worth of play time to buy one good car. I did it in about 3 hours in GT5.
The licenses and Special Events are the only challenging element of the game, once they're completed I really think I will be bored of this game already.
Online is the biggest farce I have ever seen. I entered 2 games and the cars ranged from an F1 car to a Mini Cooper. There is no structure at all, which means I always have to race in a Zonda for me to have a chance of competing. I would love class systems where the can be Suzuki Swift races, Audi TT races etc. (RD club *cough* *cough*
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I think I'm nearly bored of this game already, which is a truly horrible thought considering I got it 2 days ago. I hope there is a new element of the game I havent found yet that will change it for me, but I will probably complete the A-Spec events in about a week, then another week for licenses and Special Events and that's me done with it sadly. There is B-Spec, but as you can't speed it up it's the biggest waste of space ever!
I rate it a 7/10. This game has the potential to be a 10, but there are so many stupid things wrong with it that ruin it for me.
The AI ruin this game for me, if they were more competitive then it would be a far more enjoyable experience. There also should be more exciting events, like a full blown NASCAR Championship, a full Rally Event, a Karting Championship, Drifting events and the bring back of manufacturer races like in GT4.
I am comparing this game to GT4 and everytime pointing to how GT4 was better, something I never thought I'd be doing, It;s just a shame this game has missed the chance to go #1 in my view of racing games.