Gran Turismo 5

In anticipation of Gran Turismo 5's Wednesday release, here's a rundown of some the game's many features. We got our hands on the game and wanted to give you a lay of the land. Be sure to stick around for more on Gran Turismo 5 leading up to its launch on Wednesday.

The game is divided into a four sections: GT Mode, Arcade, Course Maker, and Gran Turismo TV.

(Note: We didn't get a chance to play the game's online portion, but it'll feature 16-player races, a personal message board, the ability to send cars/parts to friends, and more)

GT MODE
This is where you'll spend most of your time taking license tests, racing (in both A-Spec and B-Spec mode), upgrading your cars, buying cars, etc.

A-SPEC
This is more or less your career. As in past GTs, you'll race through different events and championships that each have their own requirements. Some are for cars of a certain year, make, or origin, and others are for only front-wheel drive cars, etc. You get money and XP for each race, and this XP goes towards your A-Spec Level. All of A-Spec's races are housed in the Beginner, Amateur, Professional, Expert, and Extreme series, and each series and race in the game requires a minimum A-Spec level.

B-SPEC
Here you create and train an AI racers to drive through the same events and championships on your behalf. During a race you can command your driver on the fly, telling them to slow down, maintain their pace, speed up, or overtake at any given time (assuming the cooldown timer has expired). Appropriately, you earn B-Spec XP and a B-Spec Level which determines which races you are eligible to race in.

CARS
Used and new dealerships let you browse cars from across the globe and through time. The game features over a 1,000 cars, and the two dealerships have different inventory. In fact, the used car lot populates with an assortment of vehicles as you play, so you won't always see the same selection.

You can fine tune your purchases in the GT Auto section and the Tuning Shop. The latter is where you'll buy new exhausts and weight reduction kits, while the former offers a mix of services. You can get your car painted, change the oil, and perform engine overhauls for used cars and repair damaged chassis. You can only paint your cars with paint chips you already own, so GT 5 isn't about tricking out your car in a rainbow of colors or decals. Paint chip colors can be earned or you can choose from the colors of the cars you already own. However, you can only use each paint chip once, so it's not like you can paint your entire fleet of cars the same color all at once.

All cars are split classified as either Standard or Premier, and the latter are more detailed, offer a cockpit view, and show more damage than the standard cars.

SPECIAL EVENTS
This category of your My Life career hub is where you'll find separate sections for things like NASCAR, rally, and Kart tutorials. These disciplines offer challenges of varying difficulty, which you'll unlock as you make your way up the career ladder.

Gran Turismo Karting Experience
There aren't a lot of races in this Special Event and its three difficulty levels, but you'll run through some kart-specific race tracks like Eifel and Tokyo Bay. Even though karts are sequestered in this Special Event area, you can still race them in Arcade mode on whatever location you want. To do this, however, you have to make sure you go into your garage and label your kart as a favorite before you go into Arcade mode.

Jeff Gordon NASCAR School
Starting with a short intro to the sport with a virtual Jeff Gordon (voiced by the real deal), this event is more like a license test in stock cars. Hit the ovals and get a feel for how oval racing and stock cars handle differently than your normal vehicle. NASCAR racing in the game doesn't feature a full 43-car field, and there are only cars for Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Jaun Pablo Montoya, Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, Joey Logano, and Tony Stewart.

Top Gear Test Track
The hit show's flat test track which turns in on itself like a figure-eight can be a formidable challenge. Take to this airfield in everything from an old VW bus to a Lotus Elise.

AMG Driving Academy
Here you'll learn the ins and outs of how to tame the monster that is the Nurburgring. The cool thing about this Special Event is that it breaks the 'Ring up into sections before making you tackle the whole gargantuan track all at once.

Gran Turismo Rally
Rally racing is a different kind of beast, and you'll get your feet wet with different races surfaces and the tires that go along with them as you combine your times in different stages.

Grand Tour
This is a five-race tour from the Alps of Switzerland to Rome that encompasses taking on the Monza track with a Ferrari, a Lamborghini-driven night race through Tuscany, a rally portion, and a spin through the streets of Rome in a different Lamborghini.

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