Gran Turismo HD Concept

"A free 2006 happy holiday gift from Sony!"

Grand Turismo HD Concept

Introduction
Sony really gave PS3 owners a great treat with Grand Turismo HD Concept. What can I say? It's free! It's a solid simulation racing game and very realistic. The graphics in this game is incredible, and for those with HDTV, GTHD:C goes up to 1080p. My HDTV currently supports only 1080i, and the game still looks great, not that I can notice any differenences between 1080p and 1080i. You can't call GTHD:C a demo, it's a fully game that requires over 660MB space of your PS3 hard-drive.

Features
This game features ten cars, one track, two modes, replay mode, and supports online. In the first mode, you have to race each cars under a certain time limit, once you accomplish the require time, you will then unlock another car. Each cars will have different horse powers, handling, etc. It will become harder as you unlock more and better cars. Each cars have several paint coatings you are allowed to choose before you start your race, and again in 1080i/p it is amazing to see these cars in whatever color you choose. After unlocking all ten cars, you will unlock the 2nd mode for more replay values. In the replay mode, you will get to view how well or bad you drove on the track. You can also view other PS3 owners recorded race and see how well they fare on the track. The game will automatically send you record time to Sony's data base to store your best records. Can you reach the top records in this game?

What's missing?
There are quite a few things missing in this game. There is no SixAxis feature in this game, which I was a bit disappointed. I thought the game would support the new controller feature, but it didn't...Other things missing, there is no track markings and you can't damage your car. These missing features aren't that big of a deal, but for those interested in these little details, it may bother you. Again, this game was made free to PS3 owners, you can't really complain about this free offering.

Overall
This is a fun game. Although I'm not a big racing gamer, but it is worth downloading off of the Playstation Network Store. Anything free off of PSN Store is worth downloading IMO. This game has great graphics and supports 1080p, what more can you want out of a free game? The sound effects are incredible, if you have surround sounds, you have to turn it up. This is just a preview for GT fans out there, and imagine what GT5 would be with more content...

I give GTHD:C a 9 out of 10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/02/07, Updated 03/05/07