PS3 Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition

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I bought the XL edition, having owned both GT3 and GT4 and having never played GT5. The game is as fun and challenging as I expected and there is a huge variety of tracks and cars and events. The game itself is good and the only complaint that I have would be the load times, which are frequent and long enough to really distract from the game itself.

As far as the XL edition specifically is concerned, it probably wasn't the best choice for me. It was nice that all of the game updates were included etc etc and most of the XL content is great but the fact that so many good cars were included right at the beginning of the game actually kind of ruined the game for me. I instantly took the Red Bull prototype car (by far the fastest in the game and worth about 20 million credits) and began destroying races in it. I quickly collected millions of dollars, which allowed me to purchase awesome cars for the races which the redbull car couldn't enter.

I say this kind of ruined the game because Gran Turismo, at it's core, has always derived it's pleasure from pain. The pain of being dominated in races because you have neither enough credits nor enough talent to win this race or that. This experience in frustration always challenged me to rise above and save money to upgrade my car and do license tests to improve my skills etc. until I finally, after pouring so much into the game, had the satisfaction of winning that event. Having really fast cars for free has taken most of that experience away. Races are easy when your car can lap the fastest opponent (despite crashing several times). This reduces the need for driving skill and really lowers the overall satisfaction of the game. So, what I've had to do is start trying to find the worst car that I can for each race or series and try to win with that. It brings some of the satisfaction back, but the experience still lacks the underdog feeling that I always got from starting out on the rock bottom and clawing my way to the top.

Overall, the game is great despite inordinately long load times, but if you are like me and always liked GT because of the work involved in mastering it, the XL edition might not be the best choice.

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This game was built for a steering wheel! The sense of driving is incredible. A whole lot of subtle details are included. The patches that are in this go a long way to make the game feel more complete than it used to. The graphics have far less glitches. The sense of speed is spot on. They've improved the driving on the different sets of tires. Each one presents its challenges. And the biggest thing that made the game are the seasonal events (you have to have an internet connection).

When the game was released, basically you either won by a mile or you lost very badly. There was little in between. The seasonal events have really improved on this. Rewarding you for using underpowered cars. which is important because there's a whole lot of cars that you wouldn't want to use in gran turismo because they are so low powered.

When they released it, it was obvious they were going for "we'll do all the cars on the planet!!" and included vans and all kind of stuff. Then very quickly budget and timne constraints caught up with them. So you have a strange selection. Luckily the high powered cars you select are all fantastic. This is because every car handles differently on the steering wheel. Some of my favorites are the ferari 458, the maserati gran turismo, mini cooper, the mercedes 300sl, and number 1 is the tvr speed 6. My word.

Every car handles differently and handles beautifully. The game has that magic especially if you play on low spec'd sport tires. Struggling to maintain control of your car you have to carefully maintain throttle and braking taking into account slopes and elevations on a track, slippery sections. Incredible. You steer into a tough curve and let go of the throttle, big mistake, the physics kick in and your car understeers. Your car over steers twisting the steering wheel out of your hands, big mistake, grab onto that sucker and counter steer yanking the car into the right position! You went over a slight hill and the rear wheel lost traction, you felt it in the steering wheel (how?!?)

The premium cars are gorgeous and handle fantastic. The standard cars finally have a (sort of) interior which made me race in them. They also handled quite well. The premium cars are where it's at. Simply gorgeous. Racing in the interior cockpit is really something. I wish I had a 3dtv , because I can already tell how amazing it's going to be.

This game is sheer magic. But, and here's the big deal, be prepared to spend a lot (and I mean a lot!) of time before it becomes fun. It really becomes fun when you have most of the cars and are good enough when you race the cars for fun to try them out, not when you are trying to win the races for money. So I would say at least 1 to two weeks before the game gets fun. Damage doesn't turn on until you get to aroudn level 30 which is sad because it's great and reflects in the steering wheel. It's a hard game and the seasonal events are way it's at. Enjoy it. Get yourself a steering wheel. You will feel everything from bumps to traction loss to the steering wheel reacting realistically. I drove this game and I got better at driving my real car. The traction was that good!

Most games I buy, I barely play past a cursory playthrough. I haven't put this one down. All the other ones, NFS shift, Split second, etc are distant seconds to this gem. The realism makes you almost grimace when you play arcade racers. Only Dirt could hold a candle to the physics, and even then just barely :). If you are willing to invest the time and money this game is exactly what you need.

Buy PS3 Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition Now

This is an awesome game, even without the xl edition. When you get the XL edition and you get all the updates, go to the store and enter your redeem code. When you do, it ill only show 3 things. I saw this and thought"this isn't what I bought!" Do not fear! install those three things and load up the game. From the main menu you should be able to go to the far right and hit Downloadable Content. Click on that and all of your promised stuff will be there, including the Red Bull X2011 prototype.

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Just received the game. Some people were warning that the download code will expire, or has expired March 2013. The code I have has expiration date at March 31 2015.

Want PS3 Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition Discount?

First off as the title says be careful buying this right about now. The copy I got in Feb. had a 3/31/2013 expiration date on the DLC voucher. I don't know if they will be updating them or not. So a heads up if you are looking to buy any time soon.

Even with the XL version there is some DLC content that is not included so it is not a complete edition. Not a big deal to me because there is so much content here anyway it will be a while before I get around to having to buy any more to keep things fresh.

This game is classic GT. I have been playing them all since the first one so if you have played any in the past you know what to expect. What continues to frustrate me is the seemingly endless variations of Japanese cars that all seem so similar I cannot tell what the difference is. It seems like there are 7 years worth of RX-7's, or Skylines, all with the same body style and with 3 or so variants per year, not including the tuner versions. It just seems a tad repetitive but if it were American iron that had this many variations I would probably be happy so I guess it is just preference.

The cool thing is this game has continued to be updated and has newer cars available through the DLC. I also like the additional seasonal challenges that help keep things fresh, it is a neat feature. As always most of my cars come from the used car lot and there are so many to choose from, I've been playing for about a month and a half and my garage has over 300 cars already! The collecting odd ball cars becomes almost an obsession.

Overall I have had more fun with this edition than the past ones and that is saying something because the previous installments were always impressive. A great game at a bargain price, IF you get the DLC included. Otherwise you are shelling out twice as much. I would not be surprised if another version is released son if they do not update the vouchers as I think Europe has the Academy Edition with more current DLC included.