Embargo ends at 8AM UK Time...tomorrow morning basically

So we'll have to wait!

Finally got back from the midnight launch. It was massive, with 200 people in a small-town GAME store. All GAME and FNAC stores in Portugal had a midnight launch, and probably the lines were at least x10 bigger in both Lisbon and Porto.

Here's a few pics from my GT5 setup, while I await for the patch download and then the install:

Gran Turismo 5: Final code, hugely contrasting viewpoints

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=277401&site=psm

Seems more and more like we're heading for the first "Love it or hate it" GT game

http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/2010/11/gt5-disappoints-due-to-being-only-a-racing-game.html

I think this sums up quite nicely all the BS that GT5 is getting. 

nice write up. 

lol nice artcle!

After playing all through 2:00 AM - 7:00 AM, GT5 has left me with tons of very good impressions and a few minor bad ones. 

The best impressions come both from the physics and presentation fields. Physics-wise, GT5 is the best simulator I've played, and that ranges from the likes of iRacing, GTR-2, Gran Prix Legends, etc. There's no way to actually put it in words, but driving in GT5 feels point to point to the feeling of driving in real life, with all the limitations of tire grip, friction, road slip contact and so on. 

The best experience I had with the physics was driving around Le Mans with Rain, using the Civic Type R EK. Every bump, slippery surface during the down and up parts, every wrong turn because of under/over-steering is felt accurately for a car of that power and that specific engine make up. And even tire consumption and fuel consumption play a very heavy role on how the car behaves as the race progresses. 

Presentation wise, the game has some very slick menu interfaces and the gameplay graphics are top notch, but it's in this department that GT5 has it's own flaws as well. During the weather rains, there's an excessive pixelization that's caused due to the spray hitting the cars, which is a lot noticeable in the wipers and during the replays. 

Content wise, the game is massive, probably the most massive game/sim I've ever played as well.

Good to see you enjoyed it. Can't wait to get my hands on it though. 

Yea, I watched replay the pixels caused by rain really sucks

I've got to test it out with more cars, so far, the only rainy race I did was with the Castrol TOM Supra JGTC car, and the wiper was extremely pixelized. I've seen gameplay videos with other cars, mainly the Miata and the VW Samba where the pixalization doesn't appear. 

I fear that's also one of the flaws of GT5, while an extremely well done simulator, it doesn't seem to be all that constant in the graphical department.

Also, some of the inconsistency in the graphical department is also the shadows that are cast by the cars (both inside the cockpit and in the outside camera both in gameplay and replay). 

In some tracks, like Daytona and Indianapolis, the shadows appeared with a lot of jagged edges and some blurry  points. But in tracks like Cote D'Azur, Le Mans or Eiger, the shadows were very smooth and without any jagged edge. 

Could be that some tracks are pushing the PS3's hardware a lot, so the shadows (which takes a lot of processing power), take a huge hit?