With the recent release of the latest Forza, you could be forgiven for forgetting about that other major racing game, but Sony today reminded us they're more than still in the race with Gran Turismo, thanks in large part to all-new downloadable content.

Four new downloadable content (DLC) packs for Gran Turismo 5, and one comprehensive "Complete Pack", are now available to purchase from the PlayStation Store. The new "Racing Car Pack" includes a new iteration of the stunning Red Bull X2011, the ultimate racing vehicle designed in conjunction with Red Bull Racing and adds 11 new cars from Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota and Dodge as well as three new bespoke karts.

There are four separate packs in total, each featuring a hook for gamers, such as the "Course Pack" which features Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

The packs combined will set you back AU$18.95, or you can grab the Racing Car Pack for AU$12.95, the Course Pack for AU$6.95, and both the Racing Gear Pack and Special Paint Pack for AU$3.45 each.

After a few mix-ups with couriers, then mail, we finally got our review copy of Gran Turismo 5 in the hands of our reviewer, who then spent his review time loading the damn thing onto his HDD and applying updates. So given its release date, he's managed to spend five minutes with the game :P

Actually, Amos took the game for a proverbial spin to see if all that development time, all the delays and all the promises have come through and ultimately, if it's worth the investment. Obviously there's a lot on offer here, so there's bound to be something for everyone, but on the whole, GT5 may not be the Triple A offering a lot of people hoped.

Click here for the full review.

Believe it or not, it made it (I actually played a bit of it last night, but was too inebriated to really offer any cohesive thoughts today :P). Gran Turismo 5 is out today, and to celebrate ahead of posting up our review (coming soon), we have the official launch trailer for the game from Sony and Polyphony Digital.

Obviously there isn't much to reveal here; just more to show off in the way of the game's impressive visuals, its mammoth car list, track list and features list in typical Sony "flash" style. I wonder how many people took the day off work today to get behind the wheel?

Watch the trailer embedded below, or click here to download it.

After a bunch of delays over the years, Sony and Polyphony Digital have once again dated their ridiculously anticipated PS3-exclusive racing sim for release. This time though, the date seems more confident and too immanent to possibly slip again.

Tthe game is now promised to be on shelves before Christmas and November 25 2010 is the date to look for it in Australian stores.

"Gran Turismo 5 is an ambitious project, with challenges and complexities which have made it our version of the Apollo Space Programme!" commented Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital Inc. "When we created the original Gran Turismo back in 1997, we wanted to set a completely new precedent for the racing genre. With the technological leap onto PlayStation®3, our objective with GT5 was to create another great revolution which would not only satisfy our own high expectations, but would meet or even exceed the anticipation of the fans. Satisfying the loyal Gran Turismo followers is at the heart of all of our efforts, which is why it was such a difficult decision to delay the release of the game, and one which we did not take lightly. I can only apologise to everyone for making you wait so long, and I hope that when you try out the wealth of driving experiences available in Gran Turismo 5, you will not be disappointed."

Yet another trailer promoting the game has also been released, offering a cool little stop-motion animated short. Check that one out here, but note that the release date at the end of November 24 is for North America -- it will be November 25 for Australia.

The inevitable has happened, with GT5 once again being delayed at the behest of Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamauchi who recently tweeted that this latest delay was "inexcusable".

The PlayStation Blog reported the delay, and has promised the game would still ship this holiday season.

"We sincerely apologize to GT fans for the delay, however, creator Kazunori Yamauchi and the team at Polyphony Digital want to make certain they are creating the perfect racing experience, and we are confident that this ambitious game will exceed expectations when it launches."

Is this the new Duke Nukem Forever?

As mentioned in my detailed write-up from the Tokyo Game Show floor, Polyphony Digital have injected a dynamic weather system in to the long-awaited Gran Turismo 5, which is finally parking itself to retail this November.

Today we have a neat video showing off this system, which will add an entirely new dimension to gameplay as certain weather types will fundamentally change driving and track conditions, adding to the game's "driving sim" tag line. On top of that, as is the case with most things Polyphony Digital do, said weather effects look pretty damn impressive alongside the rest of the game's uber-rich visual feast. No word on how the weather system will work in 3D, but hopefully it's properly integrated.

Watch the trailer below, or grab it locally right here.

Touted as one of the the biggest milestone in Red Bull's history, Project X1 is set to be a big draw-card for Sony's already awesome looking racing game Gran Turismo 5.

The Gran Turismo development team at Polyphony Digital posed the simple question, "If you built the fastest racing car on land, one that throws aside all rules and regulations, what would that car look like, how would it perform and how would it feel to drive?" With the assistance of Red Bull Racing's technology, Polyphony Digital were able to produce the answer in the form of the X1 Prototype which will be playable in Gran Turismo 5.

Red Bull's aerodynamics expert, Adrian Newey, performed the role of technical advisor on the X1 Prototype project. Newey is renowned in the motorsports world for designing championship winning cars. Throughout the X1 design process by Polyphony, Newey contributed his vast experience, as well as a pure, child-like technical curiosity. As a result, the completed X1 Prototype became an extreme car, having a unique form and mechanism unlike any other racing car in history.

Steve has already given us the new GT5 details direct from Tokyo, and now we have a couple of teaser-trailers for you to check out.

The X1 Project:



And some of the action from GT5:

We had a super secret squirrel session with Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamauchi last night to talk about Gran Turismo 5, reveal heaps of new information while also shedding light on previous tidbits the driving sim legend had dropped in the past.

We managed to learn about a stack of new, cool cars; new courses and new events, as well as details regarding dynamic weather conditions, randomly generated rally maps and so much more. We also have a plethora of new screens which you can check out by clicking the images below, or right here for a direct jump.

Click here for all the new details.

For the snappy collector out there, Sony have compiled three different releases for Gran Turismo 5 with a Standard, Collectors and Signature option, which we'll outline for you here:

• Standard Edition
  More than a thousand cars, a global community of racers, the world's most iconic racetracks and the drive of a lifetime – that's Gran Turismo 5. And that's all you get with this.
• Collector's Edition
  A highly-desirable upgrade for serious racers and motoring fans, this eye-catching edition comes with plenty of added horsepower inside its high-end collector's box. As well as the game itself, you'll get:
  • Exclusive Special Edition inlay sleeve art
  • 200+ page 'Apex' driver's magazine with hints on driving technique, car tuning, future technologies and more
  • Five Collector's Edition artcards featuring exclusive artwork
  • In-game 'ChromeLine' vehicle pack: five performance-enhanced cars ready to race
  • Exclusive dynamic theme to customize your PS3 XMB
• Signature Edition
  Reminiscent of a no-expense-spared supercar launch, this luxury edition puts the pedal to the metal as soon as you open its contoured steel case - which is finished in Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG 'Obsidian Black'. As well as the game, the 'Apex' driver's magazine and the ChromeLine car pack, you'll get:
  • An exclusive, branded Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG 1:43 scale model car
  • A Gran Turismo leather wallet and metal Gran Turismo key fob
  • A Signature Edition coffee table book featuring the beautiful cars and locations of Gran Turismo
  • A bespoke Gran Turismo 5 USB key with a trailer showing the collaboration between Mercedes-Benz and Polyphony that brought the SLS AMG to screen
  • Six additional in-game 'Stealth' cars including the McLaren F1 and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and a dynamic theme
  • For those 18 or over and a resident of Australia, the chance to win a real-life Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG - your very own gull-winged, 6.3-litre-engined supercar - in a competition like no other! Full terms and conditions will be made available at www.granturismo.com

All of this releases exclusively for the the PlayStation 3 this November.

While playing around in Sony's chill out room at this year's E3, we managed to grab one of the only people available to talk Gran Turismo 5, North American Senior Product Manager, Stephanie Yoshimoto.

Now while the interview itself was both short and full of glowing marketing-type words from Stephanie, she did drop a few bits and pieces of information Gran Turismo 5 hold-outs will likely be very happy to hear beyond the good news we'd be seeing the game finally released for PlayStation 3 this November, and supporting 3D to boot.

You can watch the video embedded below, or just scour our transcript here.