Another thing that wasn’t so hot in previous GT games were the sound effects. In GT4 it was very difficult to tell the difference between the supercharged V8 of the Mercedes McLaren SLR super car and the 4 banger in a Honda Civic. The sound has never been on the same level found in the Project Gotham racing series for example. Most cases the cars sounded like vacuum cleaners. This time things are different I’m quite happy to say. The GT-R’s straight six sounds fantastic! Polyphony Digital has done their homework. In particular playing with surround sound while using the cockpit view really gives the feeling you’re in a race.  The tires squealing, various engine sounds of other cars, it all comes together quite nicely and helps up the immersion factor. I hope when the game is finally released next year the sound quality is at least the level present in the Project Gotham and Forza Motor sport games at the moment it certainly looks like it. The menu music is quite soothing, the music prior to a race rocks and the music played during replays is the same one you’ve heard in the videos on the PSN. The very eclectic range of music tracks all suit the tone of the game quite well.

There are a couple of cool things present in this demo that shows the developers are ready to make this the car life simulator they want it to be. At the moment there are videos of the fantastic Japanese car show Best Motoring and some D1 drifting clips. With the Tokyo Motor show ready to begin there should be cool stuff coming down the line.

The full version of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue is coming out in December for $45 (February in the West) you’ll get at least 50 cars, 16 tracks, full online multiplayer and rumored damage modeling! Everybody start saving up now, no racing fan should be without. This is pure unadulterated car porn and that’s the best kind!