http://gamer.blorge.com/2010/11/27/gran-turismo-5-reviewers-failed-yamauchis-damage-test-incomplete-reviews/

"As investigated by GTPlanet.net forum, Gran Turismo 5 has a progressive damage system. This means that as you level up and become more experienced each level of damage becomes unlocked. A report indicates that at level 20 in the game, near full damage becomes unlocked with moderate mechanical issues and at level 40 full damage becomes unlocked with significant mechanical issues.

At full damage, mechanical failures play a critical role in the vehicles drivability and aerodynamics. At this level car hoods, trunks, and even doors will be hanging by a hinge as pieces of the car fall off.

Yes, but I don't think many people are aware of that. Many just look at the score and then compare it to the score of a similar game (Forza for example).

I'm sorry, but that's one of the dumbest things I've ever read.  No offense to GT5 but as you level up you can do more damage to your car?

If you're making a realistic racing sim, why does my level 1 car damage different than my level 40 car?  That's just plain stupid.

And as for reviewers missing it, it sound like a stupid system.  If damage was one of your big features, you either at least hint to the reviewers it's hidden and unlocked or accept that they're going to miss it.  If you hide a big feature, people are going to miss it and mention in the review that it's not there.

To I guess this should serve as a note to Polyphony and any other developers-- don't hide major features in silly systems while telling nobody about it or expect reviewers to ding you for not having the feature or the feature not living up to promises.

yeah but then there are no "oh, cool! O_O" moments.

I'm sorry, but that's one of the dumbest things I've ever read.  No offense to GT5 but as you level up you can do more damage to your car?

If you're making a realistic racing sim, why does my level 1 car damage different than my level 40 car?  That's just plain stupid.

And as for reviewers missing it, it sound like a stupid system.  If damage was one of your big features, you either at least hint to the reviewers it's hidden and unlocked or accept that they're going to miss it.  If you hide a big feature, people are going to miss it and mention in the review that it's not there.

To I guess this should serve as a note to Polyphony and any other developers-- don't hide major features in silly systems while telling nobody about it or expect reviewers to ding you for not having the feature or the feature not living up to promises.

The oh cool moment should be experiencing the damage system and seeing how it affects your car, not finding the heavily talked about system.

I know next to nothing about GT5 but the vehicular damage system really sounds like something that just should be there.  You can have different cars that damage differently, but I would assume a level 1 car damages the same as a level 40 car.  I would actually be confused that as I'm doing better my car damages more.

It makes sense for me. Gt5 has a learning curve, the more I play the better I get at driving. Imagine playing GT5 for the first time, and having to restart every time I bumped into a wall or another car because my car became damaged and slowed down because of it, how would I like the game? They are letting you learn the ropes before penalising you for damage. Makes sense, doesn't it? If they DID allow damage right off the bat, wouldn't you want to turn it off anyway until you were a more proficient driver?

I'm sorry, but that's one of the dumbest things I've ever read.  No offense to GT5 but as you level up you can do more damage to your car?

If you're making a realistic racing sim, why does my level 1 car damage different than my level 40 car?  That's just plain stupid.

And as for reviewers missing it, it sound like a stupid system.  If damage was one of your big features, you either at least hint to the reviewers it's hidden and unlocked or accept that they're going to miss it.  If you hide a big feature, people are going to miss it and mention in the review that it's not there.

To I guess this should serve as a note to Polyphony and any other developers-- don't hide major features in silly systems while telling nobody about it or expect reviewers to ding you for not having the feature or the feature not living up to promises.

I'm sorry, but that's one of the dumbest things I've ever read.  No offense to GT5 but as you level up you can do more damage to your car?

If you're making a realistic racing sim, why does my level 1 car damage different than my level 40 car?  That's just plain stupid.

And as for reviewers missing it, it sound like a stupid system.  If damage was one of your big features, you either at least hint to the reviewers it's hidden and unlocked or accept that they're going to miss it.  If you hide a big feature, people are going to miss it and mention in the review that it's not there.

To I guess this should serve as a note to Polyphony and any other developers-- don't hide major features in silly systems while telling nobody about it or expect reviewers to ding you for not having the feature or the feature not living up to promises.