Amazing graphics and great gameplay
The graphics really do take full advantage of the PS3's processors, and you can really notice how much thought and detail went into creating and designing this game. The physics of the cars are realistic as ever, and the AI has been greatly improved since GT4. The AI actually makes attempts to pass you and other opponents, but there is an issue that most AI opponents are "grouped together" and you can overtake them all in one go, this is especially evident on the Daytona Speedway track.
The inclusion of the in car view is excellent, it really gives a new spin on an excellent game, and the sense of speed is great. Also when the driver changes gear he does it in sync with the car, not like in other racing games when the car changes gear and the driver does the changing gear animation a second later. (Colin Mcrae Dirt main culprit!!)
The sound in GTP5 is great, just like in the last games, the lounge music in the menus still suits it and it is quite catchy, the music during racing is slightly disappointing, one thing I have noticed, and especially around long tracks is that the game plays the same track over and over again, and that can get annoying. Being a fan of heavy metal I did like some of the generic racing rock music but it can get very repetitive. None of the music really suits the racing, even the techno tracks just get old fast, lets hope that is sorted by the release of the full version. The sounds of the cars are really up to scratch, especially when you have a sound system you can really hear the grunt of a powerful sports car, and really adds to the sense of speed in the game, also the sound of the wind is really impressive, especially when you are bombing around at over 200 MPH the wind drowns out the car engine and music.
There is an issue that really disappointed me, a Ferrari is not as fast as Corvette, and it can grate at you when you have to save up so many credits by doing loads of races on the same 6 tracks, and when you have to do the Ferrari specific challenge you don't really feel a sense of achievement, you would expect a Ferrari to be one of the fastest cars in the game but it wasn't to be.
I have yet to try out the multiplayer mode, mainly because I don't like the idea of being shunted off the road every 5 seconds but I will give it a go.
I would rate this game 9/10, it has stunning graphics and gameplay, but the only thing that stops me from giving it a perfect score is the music.