14 DAY TRIAL // 
The Playstation 3 has finally landed! Sony was kind enough to let us test GTHD, before releasing Gran Turismo 5. Basically, GTHD is Gran Turismo 4 with better graphics and some new features. Yes, many things from the future installment of the "realistic driving simulator" have been implemented in this game and I have to say that this title shows what the PS3 can do. We've been drooling for this game since the E3, where it was introduced as Vision Gran Turismo and there we have it: almost the fifth title of the series, always the best. Don't forget to check out the expert's opinion on the gadget of the day: the Playstation 3 console.
Story Things have gone a long way since the first Gran Turismo surfaced. Back then, it was an achievement to have lighting effects and races that lasted more than 30 laps. One of the best driving simulators ever, if not the best, has become a legend of the genre. There's no other plot to mention here, as these sorts of games don't involve some brilliant storyline.
Concept Get online and download this game at the Playstation Store, but hurry, because it's only there for a limited time and it doesn't eat up much space on your PS 3 hard drive. This 630 mega demo allows you to try two different modes and choose one of the 11 cars. Try the time trial if you're in the mood for records, or the drift mode if you're into stunts done with a Nissan Skyline GTR. GTHD supports full HD 1080p60 graphics and that can be seen and felt while playing the game. We've been wanting to drive a Ferrari in GT for years and all I can say is that the dream has come true. Here are the eleven cars you can drive: Suzuki Cappuccino, Honda Integra Type R, Infiniti G35 Coupe, Lotus Elise 111R, Toyota Celica WRC, Mazda Eunos Roadster, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV and IX, Nissan Skyline GTR and finally the Ferrari 599, 2006 edition.
We'll see a GT 5 in 2008, but till then, Sony will provide lots of downloadable tracks, cars, some game modes and a damage concept was promised for the first months of 2007. Remember, this is only a demo so don't expect dozens of hours of gameplay. You'll probably test all the cars and do more than drifts than time trials till you get bored or too good for the game's challenge. Also, all the 11 cars are available in the drift mode, but only the Suzuki Cappuccino is available for the time trial mode.
Gameplay Following the series' good tradition, GTHD remains a top simulator, not one of those arcade games, where you hit the boost button and finish the race after 2 laps of sweat. The car is pretty difficult to handle, but that shouldn't stop a class A pilot from having the fun of his life. You can mess around with the transmission, the car's stability, change the front and rear tires, even change the direction of the course (play it forward or in reverse). There's only one track in this demo version, but it's enough for a little taste of how Gran Turismo 5 will look like. There are no competitors to face in GTHD, but you can still feel the challenge and pressure by racing against time or trying to collect as many points as you can by doing drifts.
A number of red flags appear on-screen and getting all of them means that you've done a drift correctly and that you got the max number of points. Like in the previous games, and unlike the rally sims, you can't go through walls, or hit the bystanders. That's the limit of realism I guess and also the lack of the damage concept is something that makes us want Gran Turismo 5 more. It will be quite obvious that choosing a Ferrari to do drifts is one of the biggest mistakes that a professional driver can do. Wrong turns, hitting walls, poor handling and car control, those are the side effects of choosing a fancy car to do the "dirty job" of a rally car. Even if you're good at playing GT, you'll do about 30% of the drifts the first time you play GTHD.
Judging from the point of view of the man that played all of the Gran Turismo games, this title has had a lot of progress and it's heading towards the official driving simulator that will one day replace driving license exams. Speaking of which, I'm really curious to see what new license tests we'll have to take in GT 5. There are only two views you can choose, the behind-the-car camera and the first person driving angle. It's a much more realistic experience if you select the second one, but it's always a pleasure to see your car do stunts, especially if it's a Lotus Elise.
Video This being my first contact with the Playstation 3, I must say that I was quite impressed by the quality of the graphics. Also, I don't remember ever seeing a cameraman on the side of the road moving while filming the race. Finally, the people from the crowd look livelier, flashes can be seen, they wave banners, but you can't run them over. Considering that this is a simulator, the producers tried to make this as realistic as possible and running people over is not something that an expert driver would do. Gran Turismo 4 had an intro cutscene that was worthy of the best Japanese movies. The emotion, the flying leaves, the music...everything wrapped around a neat car, all shiny and new. GTHD doesn't offer hyperdramatic cutscenes; instead it delivers beautiful graphics and car races that feature some of the most wanted four-wheeled monsters out there.
Sound The energetic music from the beginning FMV prepares you for the wild races you're about to experience. However, as always in GT, the music from the menus resembles that of a fancy restaurant. That won't bother you, because I really wonder who would like to spend his time browsing the menu when such a game awaits to be played. During the race, the engines roar and this sound will change while you're entering a tunnel. You can hear the crowd cheering for you, screaming or applauding beautiful drifts. While you're doing those stunts, listen to the tires to hear them screeching and hear the metallic sound of the car hitting a wall if you're a bad driver. You'll feel the difference between the sound of a Ferrari engine and the one of a Suzuki or a Toyota. It's like comparing a kitten to a tiger and each GT game so far was flawless in the audio field.
Multiplayer We still haven't tried GTHD in multiplayer, but my guess is that the producers will do something about the limited number of cars from the previous installments. Racing against 5 or 7 other vehicles is no challenge, but since we're going online with the PS3 version, we'll maybe try the 24 hours Le Mans race against 20 or 30 players.
Conclusion The queue formed in front of the PS 3 while playing GTHD was so big that it scares me now, when I think about the day when Gran Turismo 5 comes out. 2008 seems so far, that you can start thinking about a solution that the famous show South Park suggested: freeze yourself to make time go faster, and unfreeze yourself when Gran Turismo 5 is released. The bad thing is that by the time you'll start breathing again, everyone will play GT 5 and they'll forget to unfreeze you.
