Not to be confused with the full and final version, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, as the name suggests, is Gran Turismo 5 in abbreviated form; a game trial or test-drive package. The full version of the game is still incomplete and its release date is way out, not even determined as yet. Still, as the most anticipated driving game out there, part of the fifth in a driving game series known for freakish realism and visual and technical mastery of any system it comes available on, Prologue is hardly your token demo of some half-baked game. The fact that you pay $40 for it -- game demos are usually free -- hints at the depth of play you can expect from Prologue (though it could also have suggested a flagrant fleecing of fanboys' pockets, but, thankfully, it doesn't).

Prologue offers more than 60 cars of varying bestiality, just six courses but each mirrored and some with alternate routes, so it feels like a dozen tracks or more. There's also a complete menu of tweak and pimp options, plus a glut of bonus content like documentaries and "GT-TV" shows all about, you guess it, cars.

And though the final, $60 version of Gran Turismo 5 is expected to include all Prologue has to offer and then double, triple or maybe quadruple it, you get more racing goodness in Prologue than most $40 or even $60 race games can manage.

Traditionally, Turismo titles in any form set the generational bar for all other racing simulations, and the tradition continues here in the form of truly photo-realistic visuals made all the more glorious because they're visualizing the sexiest cars on the planet -- and delivered at 1080p; an industry rarity (most games are 720p, the "sweet spot" of high-def rendering with lesser production costs). The fact that the game can run at that resolution with dozens of cars on the track at a consistently-smooth 60 frames-per-second (fps) is a testament to the true power of the PlayStation3, which most PS3 games are still hard pressed to tap.

Audio is top-shelf, too, with nuances of engine noise seemingly sampled from each and every car while the soundtrack is varied and always driving, pardon the pun.

Of course, it wouldn't be a sequel -- preambled or otherwise -- if there weren't some new features added to the core simulation formula. Aside from the aforementioned A/V superlativeness, new is an in-car, over-the-shoulder driving view complete with exactingly detailed interiors and usefully customized dashboards, plus your hands on the wheels (also a first). And the best of the new: online enabled for up to 16 multiplayer racers at once. There's your longevity, your reason to pay for a partial game: online opponents make each race or tournament or one-off challenge a fresh and vaguely unique experience each time.

Go get it.