Content being 'saved' for Gran Turismo 6? Are you kidding?

Not content with keeping us waiting for several years now with the perpetually-imminent Gran Turismo 5, series' creator Kazunori Yamauchi has confessed that the karting section he's showed off this week was initially intended to be in Gran Turismo 6, but that it was "leaked out so we decided we would just put it in this one". In other words, he's already working on Gran Turismo 6, while we wait for number 5. Sigh. Still, at least we are getting a whole load of other new stuff, most of which we didn't know about before.

First up - let's take a look at that new karting mode. Does it move you?

The in-car view looks reasonably fast, but the extrenal view is definitely slow-looking. It also appears to snake much more than any kart I've ever tried. Still, it's certainly going to be good for novelty value if nothing else, especially online.

What definitely is exciting is the whole load of new info to come out of Gamescom this week - just look at what we've learned about the game since our hands-on preview a couple of weeks ago:

The track editor is real
It's been confirmed - GT5 will feature a track editor, although it's not going to be as in-depth as the one in ModNation racers. You won't be tweaking every corner yourself - instead you'll just set parameters and the game will generate a circuit or point-to-point run for you. It's a tad disappointing to learn it won't let you recreate your favourite track, but at least you'll have control of corner frequency, camber and length. It's certainly better than nothing.

B-Spec mode is in
The management mode from previous games returns, allowing you to play the game without driving a single car. you just tell your virtual team and driver what to do and they'll do it for you. This is much more than a simple spectator mode, as you'll really be in charge of your driver. you can tell them to push, or conserve tyres - even tell them when to attempt an overtaking move. Well, that or just ogling the pretty graphics.

Above: If any game is worth sitting back and playing 'suggestively', it's GT5. It's absolutely beautiful

In all seriousness, the mode should offer quite a lot of depth and is being billed as a racing RPG.  Especially because...

Drivers can be changed mid-race
In B-Spec and endurance races, you'll be able to switch out your driver at pit stops. This sounds completely superfluous, but the reality is it will affect the outcome of the race. Your virtual self will (supposedly) have emotions and react differently to pressure depending on his/her personality. If this is taken through into the hands-on A-Spec mode, this could even mean the steering getting more twitchy as adrenaline levels soar, or maybe a tendency to lock the brakes if you're being followed closely by another driver. It's an interesting idea, and one that should make getting all the trophies in the game a little more challenging than simply being good at racing games.

3D photo mode is in
Photos taken in the game's photo mode will be exportable in 3D. If all the trades work out, that should mean you'll be able to ogle your snazzy 3D photos on your Nintendo 3DS when that comes out. Imagine that. And how expensive that pleasure might be...

Above: GT5's photo mode as we know it. Being able to see this in 3D will be suh-weet

Weather changes in real-time
The thought of wet weather not only returning to the series but changing dynamically is something the series has needed for a long time. The prospect of needing to pit for new tyres is something that racing games rarely tackle outside of F1 sims and that's a pity - there's loads of tactical depth once you start getting into that kind of territory.

All of the above is on top of the new features we already knew about - namely the 3D support, head tracking, car damage and day/night transitions. Looking at the list, you can't say Polyphony has done nothing with all that development time - and what's more, pretty much all of them are features that the game's closest rival (Forza 3) doesn't have.

19 Aug, 2010 

Source: CVG