Gran Turismo 5: Prologue -- Good, Bad, and the Ugly

Okay there is no "ugly," because Gran Turismo 5: Prologue is an absolutely beautiful game in standard definition. I can only dream of what it's like in 1080p.
GT TV seems cool, though there's very little content there so far. The interface is better designed and simple to use. The physics feels a little improved from GT4, and gameplay in general is great.
One cool enhancement is light adjustment. When entering a dark tunnel, the screen will gradually brighten up as if our eyes are adjusting. Vice versa when exiting a dark tunnel.
Online play is pretty funny and it's hard to describe why. You'd have to see it in person. This feature is great though, and requires little explanation.

The game isn't without flaws, though. Some have called it a glorified demo, other's say it's worthy of being a full game. I'd agree with the "glorified demo" camp. There is a good selection of cars, but you can't buy parts and there are very few tuning options. For $40 I'm a little unimpressed.
The interface is a little choppy and sluggish, which is really strange considering the smoothness of everything else. No big deal, it just looks unpolished. Hopefully the full Gran Turismo 5 game will be better here.
I'm not sure if this is a bug, but sometimes there will be music when I'm racing, and sometimes there won't be.

Finally, my biggest annoyance about this new iteration is the controls. It's obvious Polyphony wants you to go out and buy yourself one of Logitech's Driving Force wheels, because the controls are vastly inferior compared to GT4 and the PS2 controller. Specifically, braking, gassing, and turning are all incredibly sensitive and hard to transition smoothly. I have had a rather difficult time with the controls, considering I've played every GT game to date and loved the accurate controls in GT4. I don't know if this is a change in the PS3 controller's pressure sensitivity or a change in GT5:P itself, but it definitely makes me want to get a wheel, which I will be getting regardless.

Eh, Prologue leaves me a little unimpressed for a $40 demo.

Also got a new Dualshock 3 controller today and it's nice. Ugh, controllers are so expensive these days.