When it comes to racing games on the consoles, Sony has had the race won for some time now. Apart from the series this review centres on, it boasts more racing titles than any other format. Of course the jewel in the crown has been, since the first release on the PSOne, Gran Turismo and for very simple reasons. It gave you the opportunity to race everyday road going vehicles, it gave you the opportunity to upgrade and enhance these cars, it gave you the chance to race them around real circuits, it gave you the opportunity to race the car of your dreams and it gave you the chance to do it in a simulated way making the driving more realistic than most arcade games.

The biggest reason it became a success though, and also the reason that players spent all their console time with the series, is because you had to earn the cash to buy the cars. Sounds silly, but the simple fact that they weren't unlockable and you couldn't just steal them made the gameplay compelling; it was a bonus, a reward for all those hours of play as you raced for the cash to buy the car of your dreams and then raced some more so that you could kit it out in all the racing accessories you needed. This made you want to keep playing, as you knew you could get that car if you stuck at it for a little longer and the developers had carrots by the bag full to dangle in front of our eyes as we kept the GT donkey powering forward. Now the fourth and possibly last instalment of GT before the next generation of consoles is with us, at least in prologue form.

Gran Turismo 4: Prologue is basically a demo of the full game but with one major difference over most demos - this one goes beyond wetting your appetite and makes you crazed with the anticipation of a speed rush. It comes with the full licence school that will ship in the full game in September, meaning that you have a month or two to get all of those tests out of the way. The more dedicated players out there can also use this time to attempt the near impossible and gain gold for every test, unlocking all of the goodies that will eventually come in the full game.

Other than that Gran Turismo 4: Prologue packs around a dozen cars and five full tracks from the finished game so that you can try your hand at the courses and the dynamics of the game engine. You can't place a fast time and there is no other gratification for playing or even winning the arcade races but it serves as an impressive showcase for the full version to come.

GT4:P has generally had a face lift, with a bit of a nip and tuck, being much faster, sleeker and better looking than before. The improvements aren't mind blowing but sufficient enough that you will readily notice them. The largest overhaul is the actual mechanics, the physics, of the game, with the racing feeling close to being as realistic as a console can get. The rally tracks and racing are by far the most noticeable beneficiary of this, with the racing becoming much more competitive and far more difficult to handle. It takes real skill and care with the controls to get fast when rallying now but to be a fast racer will take some faster reactions and sure control adjustments. Though much harder, almost to the point of despair at times, rallying has become even more fun that it was in GT3 and looks set to be one of GT4's biggest assets.

Of course the track racing hasn't been overlooked and although it was great before, it is now far faster and the cars respond in a far more realistic feeling fashion, so the better the car, the better it will hold the track, the faster it will be able to go, the better you will be able to corner but the more drastic the result will be if you fail to keep everything under control.

The next change from GT3 is that GT4 has gone back to the GT2 approach to the cars available. All the top flight sports and race cars are there but they are preceded in the line-up by the average, everyday road going cars you will readily recognise. In fact there are reportedly somewhere in the region of 600+ cars and multiple new upgrade options included in the final release, so it will be well worth the wait till September for the complete game.

Graphically, GT4 does nothing much new but at the same time it in no way looks dated or even comparable with GT3. It immediately feels new because of an almost indefinable tweak in the looks; the way things move and the visual effects that assault your eyes are simply spectacular. It is probably best described as the refinement of GT3, less rough and more diamond. The audio is not really something that I can comment on, as there was not much of a soundtrack available to listen to. The sound affects, the sound of tyres screeching, the sound of the dirt crunching under the tyres, of the car body impacting on a barrier, the roar of engines from those racing against you and of your own, are all top draw but they were in GT3 so there isn't any real change there.

The gameplay is as you would expect - fast but a lot of fun. The licence tests, though as frustrating as always, are obtainable by even the most novice of GT players and are laid out in a much easier, more understandable way with a new audio talk through at the start to help you along the way. The racing is nothing new but feels new and that's where GT4 will succeed, especially since it will come packing that insane number of cars.

I am expecting big things from Gran Turismo 4, having played through Prologue, and if all the content is delivered the full game will be something truly special. Although it hasn't changed that radically in the three previous outings and I am sure it will not again in the forth, it doesn't really need to. I'm confident that it will continue to do what it does best in providing great tracks, cars and speed thrills for all race game fans out there. Prologue, though only really a demo of what is to come, is a must buy for all fans of the genre, especially fans of GT.

Reviewed by AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).