Gran Turismo 5 Delayed: Will We Ever Play It?

Playstation revealed the GT5 will be delayed ... again, and fans are outraged. Gran Turismo 5 is what's supposed to be the best racing simulator ever! But according to Kazunori Yamauchi, they are delaying it again to make sure gamers get the best possible experience out of the game.
The game was set to be released this November 2, but it's now delayed to be released somewhere around the holidays (we don't even have a specific date to be looking forward to)! I mean, one time's fine, twice ... acceptable, three times an outrage, and with even more than that? Well, I don't know how much more fans can handle!

And how much more does Kaz want to polish the game! We've seen gameplay, read news and info about the game being demoed at many game conventions, and it seemed to be an excellent game! Well, maybe when GT5 devs said the game was more suitable for a next-gen console, they meant it! Well, I certainly hope not. And I don't think you do too.

Medal of Honor : 2010's Disappointment

There is a border separating hype and over-hype, and frankly I believe that medal of honor has exceedingly crossed that border.
From it's announcement to the numerous teasers and ads, Medal of Honor seemed to be the shooter that could finally earn the title of the "Call of Duty Killer", but as expected by many, it failed ... immensly.

What the Game Promised

When first announced, we found out that you control a soldier for the Tier 1 Operators, an army Tier where only a few hundred soldiers are qualified for. This sounded pretty cool, being a soldier of a super-strong army force.
We also had many imaginations in our minds when we were told about the levels and the variety of locations. From snowy levels to the streets of Afghanistan, we expected a great experience.

What Reality Would Bring

Believe it or not, Medal of Honor gave us only a spec of what was expected. Although the maps seemed pretty adequate, you wouldn't really notice that due to all the frustration you got not knowing where to go next and how to end your mission. The HUD always seemed to lead you to the wrong places and I don't know if that was intentional, serving as a lame way to increase game-play time, or just a major flaw in the game. Either way it was a really annoying aspect of the game.
Also, the game is filled with cliche events and quotes, contrary to the promise of really knowing what Tier 1 operatives go through everyday. From the big explosions, to the expected deaths of U.S. soldiers, there is barely any event that gives you the feeling of awe and interest.
Finally, and more importantly, that game doesn't feel like a modern game at all, given that enemy AI will just stick to one position, popping their heads in and out of cover. This is the real major flaw, and that's where you notice that Danger Close didn't even nail the gameplay.

The Verdict

This is possibly video gaming's disappointment of 2010. The true definition of over-hyping a game is shown in this game full of mistakes and flaws. Does it deserve all that hype? Not at all.
Do you think it does?

Gran Turismo 5's Potential

"Finishing races is important, but racing is more important." -Dale Earnhardt.

And that's what you notice first when you play GT.You are amazed by the physics of the game, the sounds of the cars, the environment around you, everything is always perfected. Will GT5 keep the reputation going? Let's find out shall we?

The Graphics King is Back

As everyone who has ever played a Gran Turismo game knows, this is a game that always has the latest and greatest graphics in gaming. As a matter of fact, GT5's graphics are so advanced, developers said it was better suited for a next-gen console!

Cars, Cars, and More Cars

Gran Turismo 5 has the largest collection of cars in any GT game, with more than 1000 cars! Almost any racing car you can think of is definitely found in that game, with incredible detail. Here's a comparison screenshot from US.Gran-Turismo.com to demonstrate my point:

Which is from real life?

Where To Race?

Gran Turismo 5 will feature over 70 different tracks, although not much is know about them. But with 70 different tracks and over 20 different scenery, expect a massive game with eye-popping tracks and locations!

So, Is It Worth All the Hype?

This a one game that looks amazing. Not only visually, but the physics of the game, the tracks, the options, everything just looks incredible. Is it worth the hype? It most definitely is.

Motion Gaming, 3D Gaming, What's Next?

If you haven't already heard, PS3 and Xbox are both introducing motion and 3d gaming to their consoles. But the question is, what does this leave for future consoles? Well I thought about that too, and came up with only one possible answer: Mind-controlled video games!

Why and When?

Why? Well, since there isn't anything left. Think of it this way: Right now you can play a 3-Dimensional racing game while steering your car simply by rotating your hands. Now, replace the arm rotation by nothing other than your thoughts. Sounds pretty awesome, right? But what comes after that? Well, the only thing that I can think of is actually being in the game, but that probably won't happen for a long time.
But when can we actually expect mind-controlled video games for our favorite consoles? Well, not anytime soon I suppose. With motion and 3D gaming scarcely being released, expect at least 5 to 7 years until mind-controlled gaming is revealed to the crowd.

Although this might seem like a great idea now, imagine life where only mind-controlled gaming exists. No more buttons, no more movement, just sitting there, staring at the TV, thinking. Sounds pretty dull doesn't it? Let's face it, nothing can really replace the legendary controller, and nothing ever will.

Achievements vs. Trophies

“"I'm glad I did it, partly because it was worth it, but mostly because I shall never have to do it again” -Mark Twain.
These are the thoughts of most people after earning a really hard trophy/achievement. They're glad they've earned it, but mostly that they won't have to earn it again. But if both the trophy and the achievement have similar goals and the same feats, what sets them apart from each other?

Interface

After earning a trophy or an achievement, you'll be greeted by a graphic and sound clip. Everyone knows there is nothing more satisfying than hearing that glorious sound and seeing the name of that very annoying and hard achievement/trophy that you just earned. But the main difference I noticed between both is that a trophy takes a while longer to show up than the achievement, which isn't such a major problem but could give you some suspense moments at times.

Rewards

The rewards you get are pretty silly, but also really similar. While achievements earn you clothing or items for your avatar, trophies can also earn you clothing and items for your Home character/apartment.
Also, when you complete an achievement, you earn points that just keep increasing. You can earn the same amount of points by either finishing half the achievements of 2 games, or all the achievements of 1. Whereas Trophies have a different story. There is something called a Platinum trophy, which you earn by completing all other trophies, that gives you a major increase in your level(similar to Achievement's points, just by level) so earning half the trophies of 2 games won't earn you the same increase as earning all trophies of one game.

Conclusion

All in all there is no winner, it depends on your taste. The trophies come a little late but give you a bit more competition with the platinum trophy, whereas achievements appear instantly but points aren't as competitive.

Analyzing Trophies and Achievements

On our guide to Earning More Trophies/Achievements we saw that the first step is analyzing the game's trophies or achievements to figure out whether to go for all of them or not. But how exactly do you do that? Let's find out shall we.

How Much Free Time Do You Have?

As you're scrambling through the trophies/achievements you'll want to concentrate on real time-consuming trophies, depending on how much time you have. If you have nothing else to do but play the game, you may skip this paragraph. If not, read on.
So, you don't have much free time, but still, you want to go for as much achievements as you can. But how do you decide which to go for? Well, it depends on the trophies. As you read through them, and read what's asked to earn them, you'll want to take note on time-consuming ones such as beat the game on hard difficulty settings, or obtain all endings (like in Heavy Rain). Ok so now what? Do you just skip those trophies and go on? Well, no.
First of all do some research. How long is the game? Do you have enough time to complete it twice or three times? How many endings does the game include? These are really important questions to answer since knowing how long the game actually is will let you decide if you have enough time or not.

(Almost) Impossible Trophies

If you have a lot of free time, doesn't mean you can go for all the trophies either. There are many trophies that are almost impossible to get. For example, in the game Killzone 2 on PS3, there is a trophy where you have to be in the top 1% of the week's online players. I'm not saying this is impossible, but you're going to have to need a lot of training and, dare I say, obsession to the game. Since you're going to have to play this game about 12 hours per day for a week, and be extremely good at it too, to obtain this trophy.

Do you have a way of deciding what trophies to go for? Comment and Subscribe.

Secrets of Earning Many Platinum Trophies/ Achievements

"The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come." -James Whitcomb Riley.
What many people don't notice is that what's really needed to earn an achievement is persistence. Not long ago, I published a post on How I Platinumed Heavy Rain and if you read it you'll notice that what's really needed to earn the platinum was persistence. And although I'm not really the persistent type, I set a goal in my mind and wouldn't stop until I achieved it. But enough about me, how can you earn your achievement?

Well, all you need is 3 simple steps:

1. Analyze Trophies/Achievements: Take a look at the available trophies/achievements to decide whether it's possible to get them all or not.
2. Make a Roadmap: Decide how you will go for the platinum. What achievements to go for first and what's the best/fastest way to earn them all.
3. Persist: Definitely the most important part of the process. Never give up. You can do it and you know it.

Really studying the available trophies can really help with making a roadmap, and remember you should never give up on your goal.
What's your process of earning trophies/achievements?