A new Gran Turismo part, but this time without a number or number in the name, but with the appendix Sport. What is wrong, what is different? Let’s just look at it!
What is Gran Turismo?
Gran Turismo (subtitle: “The Real Driving Simulator”) is a video game series that is exclusive for the Sony PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) as well as from 2017 [1] for the PlayStation 4 is available.
The game series is developed by Polyphony Digital. Gran Turismo (GT) belongs to different game genres depending on the game mode. In arcade mode it belongs to the genre of racing games, in professional GT mode it is a racing simulation. The company Sony therefore advertises in the title with the statement: “The Real Driving Simulator“.
So far, the series has seven titles. The most recent series, Gran Turismo Sport, appeared on October 17, 2017. According to Sony Computer Entertainment, the entire series has so far reached more than 76 million games sold.
Gameplay
No Career
Again for everyone who wants to buy Gran Turismo Sport in the hope of getting a “traditional” Gran Turismo: Forget it! In particular, the campaign mode is unrecognizable in comparison to Gran Turismo 6 on the PS3. Where in the past it was all about scouring tons of racing series and championships and buying, hoarding and improving cars, GT Sport only offers a series of missions in which your goal, for example, is to roll up a driver’s field in first place to land or to avoid as many pylons as possible.
In addition, soloists can try out the traditional driving school, which is supposed to prepare for the virtual driver career with sometimes very simple, but sometimes also very challenging exams and familiarizes beginners with terms such as “understeering” or “trail braking”. Finally, the “track experience” scares you over partial areas or complete rounds of the courses in the game and rewards you with bronze, silver or gold awards, free cars, credits and experience points, depending on the time you drive, such as driving school and missions.
The bottom line is significantly less than in the last series parts, but thanks to the sheer abundance of tasks, Gran Turismo Sport delivers around ten to 15 hours of campaign feed for soloists. Always assuming you enjoy biting into individual trials and fighting for a gold award for every hundredth of a second. A Forza Motorsport 7 still drives several racing classes higher in terms of solo modes.
Multiplayer
However, the focus of Gran Turismo Sport is definitely on the multiplayer online races and before you can start them, you are forced to watch two videos that explain the so-called “race etiquette”. Success in Gran Turismo Sport is measured both by fast lap times and good positions as well as in fair behavior on the track. Jerks and the blocking of other vehicles are frowned upon, driving without sheet metal contact is rewarded, which is then reflected in the sports spirit rating.
On the one hand in the multiplayer, because apart from the fact that you are always online anyway, the day races are also quite a hit, to which you have to register before the start and then turn small qualifying rounds to secure your starting position.
Anyway, races with 23 other drivers are quite a dream, because surprisingly, despite the mass of players, it works amazingly well and lag-free. The rating system, or matchmaking in general, was largely balanced and very fair, so that we never had the feeling that we were really overrun. By the way, the multiplayer not only evaluates your placement but also your racing etiquette, i.e. your behavior. Or in other words: sheet metal damage is not welcome, problematic only if we are not at fault.
Graphics and Looks
On the other hand, the thing has become a real eye-catcher, especially visually. In fact, in our opinion, it can easily compete with a Forza. Anyway, the whole thing sounds much better than it did in the previous one. The driving experience itself was, in our opinion, already pretty good in the previous parts, so it is not surprising that the current part still shines with really good driving behavior.
With the Scapes photo mode you can shoot really dreamy pictures with a little skill and patience, which thanks to real photo backgrounds can hardly be distinguished from reality, you can get background information on the vehicle manufacturers represented in the game and the main menu works thanks to clear menu structure very nicely tidy and elegant.
In general, Gran Turismo Sport looks very good on both the normal PS4 and PS4 Pro support. The game also runs on both systems with an almost perfectly smooth frame rate of 60 frames per second. On the PS4 Pro, Gran Turismo Sport is also output as an upgraded 2K or 4K signal depending on the console setting, the display is noticeably sharper, which is particularly visible in the cockpits.
With the 2K variant, you also have the option of prioritizing the frame rate or quality of the display, but this is missing in the 4K setting. GT Sport then pulls out all the stops, especially on an HDR television, and the finer drawing in the light and dark areas is clearly visible. There is even a separate maximum brightness setting for HDR and exposure adjustment in the menu.
Driving behaviour
The highlight of the game – and here you are still superior to all competitors – is the relentlessly good driving behavior. Thanks to numerous setting options and driver aids that can be activated or deactivated, both beginners and racing professionals can quickly come into play. Both steering wheels and control with the PS4 joypad are of course supported. We were surprised by the option to steer using the motion sensor in DualShock 4. Not only is this fun, we also achieved good lap times with this steering wheel replacement.
Every single car feels different and if you slide over the gravel of the rally cross routes also included, you have a lot to do that the car doesn’t break out completely. The integrated concept vehicles are particularly exciting. Well-known car manufacturers such as BMW, Dodge, Nissan or Mercedes were invited to design special cars for the game. However, the collaboration between the car manufacturers and Polyphony Digital goes so far that some cars have already been built in reality..
Gran Turismo Sport + VR = A suitable combination?
The included cars are modeled in an enormous level of detail and without exception also have their own cockpit perspective. This also comes into play in the VR drive for PlayStation VR. There you can compete against an opponent in a special variation of the arcade mode on selected routes. Does that sound like a slimmed-down thing that you only did because it was in the marketing plan? Gran Turismo Sport mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi personally supervised the mode and ensured that an exceptional racing experience was created.
You have a full 360 degree all-round view including the detailed interior of your car. On closer inspection, it quickly becomes apparent that the entire graphics had to be screwed back. Thanks to the very high and stable frame rate and some other tricks, this game makes significantly less players nauseous than is the case with other VR racing games. Even if VR Drive is just a great encore for PlayStation VR owners, it shows how well racing games will work on VR platforms in the future.
Bottomline
Gran Turismo Sport is available for PlayStation 4 and costs around 49 euros in the standard version. The game supports PlayStation VR and is approved by the PEGI without age restrictions. For big fans of the game there is also a Collectors Edition with the following content:
- 18 vehicles: Mazda LM55 Vision GT, rally car Mitsubishi Lancer Gr.B, rally car Subaru WRX Gr.B, SRT Tomahawk Vision GT, rally car Ford Mustang Gr.B, rally car Ford Focus Gr.B, Audi R18 TDI, Audi Sport Quattro S1 Pikes Peak ’87, rally car Peugeot RCZ Gr.B, Toyota FT-1 Vision GT Gr.3, Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 N24 Schulze Motorsport, Chevrolet Corvette C7 Gr.3, Renault Mégane RS Trophy, Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 T Sport, Volkswagen Golf VII GTI, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP – Team Peugeot Total, Mercedes-AMG GT Safety Car, BMW M4 Safety Car
- APEX booklet
- Model of the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT
- Paint sticker
- In-game credits (2,500,000 credits)
Gran Turismo Sport feels like a gap-filler on the one hand until the next part, on the other hand it plays surprisingly well despite the significantly smaller scope and the lack of racing series. In addition, the multiplayer focus pays off clearly, because the atmosphere in the big races is a dream. Good driving physics, excellent optics and a wonderful multiplayer can hide the somewhat meager single player content, which actually only prepares for the real races – we are satisfied.
Gran Turismo Sport is a successful new approach to the famous PlayStation franchise, but not everyone will be happy with the game. The “sport” in the name Gran Turismo Sport stands not only for the racing classes used, but also for esport and thus above all for competitive playing against other players. Especially solo players are only marginally served here and even bonuses like the successful VR mode deserve to be given more content.
However, the excellent playability, which thanks to many options appeals to both experts and bloody beginners, as well as the promise of the developers to provide the game with new events and additional content over a long period of time, are convincing. If you want to measure yourself against other players and don’t miss the “normal” cars of the Gran Turismo series, you get a playful and technically excellent racing game.
You can find more of such articles at MYESPORTSGLOBE
Follow our Social media handles for more excision eSports News Instagram Twitter Facebook
