Driving games are changing times, with a series of overtaking and counter-overtaking for the scepter of the best, above all an offer never so full-bodied and varied between PC and console. GT Sport has finally completed its long, very long journey and is available for all orphans in a series that can clearly be superimposed on the PlayStation brand, available since the dawn of the console and able to accompany it through several generations. In this regard, it is strange to think that it has given way to other titles - especially Forza Motorsport - on some of its flagships such as the number of cars and the presence of dynamic weather. For this reason the suffix "Sport" is more eloquent than you think, a decisive change of direction to be verified if temporary or adopted also for future chapters. Before going into the review we feel compelled to make a further clarification: if your console is not constantly connected to the Internet, forget it because most of the features and options will not be accessible, if you do not like to EVEN compete against other opponents. humans, the duration of your experience will be shorter than what you are used to.
Like a car show
The initial menu is as always elegant and full of information, almost overwhelming. At least initially it is difficult to remember where the present modes are located, then you appreciate some shortcuts such as the contextual one with the triangle key. Therefore, even from the Gran Turismo Sport interface it seems to be an automotive showcase almost more than a video game, thanks to a series of sections that in fact allow you to deepen the subject as never seen before. Inside the dealerships, for example, not only is it possible to buy the cars for each manufacturer - complete with a detailed description - but usually there is a channel with videos and a museum that traces the history of the car manufacturer year by year, with lots of historical photos and a parallel timeline that tells the most significant world events. A fantastic addition for the enthusiast, trying to partially distract from one of the shortcomings of this chapter: yes, there is no career in the classical sense of the term, of those that propose objectives and races to be tackled in sequence, with increasingly higher requirements or with a history linked to the driver. The concept of progression is entrusted to the player's profile: each activity on the track increases, for example, the credits, the accumulated mileage points, the experience gained. The latter defines the growth of the level, which allows you to obtain bonuses and above all unlock the tracks, up to the Nurburgring in the GP, 24 hours and Nordschleife version. Miles can be exchanged in the dedicated section for helmets and suits, cars not available elsewhere, special colors, rider poses and even upgrades, in such a way as to be able to increase the spectrum of weight and power available and use them when there are restrictions related to these two factors. Last but not least there is a section with objectives to be unlocked that flows into your personal page, within which the photos taken, the replays, the liveries, the feed of your friends are collected, with a system of followers on the style of Twitter.
This, if we want, is the only really connecting part between the contents present, the one that pushes us to explore. The playful solitary fulcrum, in fact, is found within the section called "Campagna", divided in turn into three modes which have a very specific purpose, that of teaching how to drive and know each track by heart, in such a way to be competitive online. Driving Academy replaces driving licenses with 48 tests / lessons which in fact expose the basics such as cornering, oversteer and understeer, driving on dirt. Each test is accompanied by a video that explains in detail how to deal with it, but also what you are talking about: in this way you really learn something, beyond the need to get the bronze to continue. The mode Missions is perhaps the closest to the classic career, as it offers 64 challenges ranging from complete and single-make races, on dirt roads, endurance races over 15 or 30 laps with a lot of tire and petrol consumption, up to an entire strip dedicated to the Nurburgring Nordschleife, the wonderful "green hell" . Last but not leastCircuit Experience: for each of the tracks it is possible to tackle specific sections up to the complete lap, with a view to obtaining at least the bronze and acquiring maximum knowledge of the route. An interesting way to continue to level up and tackle all the available circuits, giving importance to an aspect that usually does not have that much.
Kazunori Yamauchi's degree in Spain
On 17 October Kazunori Yamauchi obtained the Honoris Causa Master's Degree in Vehicle Engineering from the "Enzo Ferrari" Engineering Department of the University of Modena. It is the first time that a videogame personality has received such recognition, and it is a historic moment for the entire industry beyond the sympathies for the Gran Turismo saga and its effective ability to simulate driving on the track. The merit was that of having brought the concept of virtual driving associated with its educational value into over 70 million homes, first creating a connection between the virtual video game and the manufacturers. Celebrating motoring with a disarming passion and frankness, which have allowed many players to fall in love not only with the series, but also with motoring in general.
Virtual driving school
To successfully deal with the contents of the Campaign it takes 10 to 15 hours in case you are very good or you are satisfied with the bronze. To get to silver and gold, which make it possible to obtain special machines, that value can easily increase. Then there are the Arcade mode, with three difficulty levels for each track and 19 opponents, the local split screen, the VR experience (on which we will return shortly) and the personalized race. In the end, there are things to do, but at the same time there would be room for more content because the missions, for example, while being fun seem almost to be a preparation starter for competitive play. Think that in the custom game you can change an impressive amount of parameters, from fuel consumption to mechanical damage, power restrictions and much more: the Polyphony developers could have used the same tool to create a more full-bodied and engaging single player mode, above all because in the current configuration the sense of progression is weak and the player is required to be "resourceful" in maximizing his knowledge of each track. On this aspect, Gran Turismo Sport succeeds very well, in any case, because never in a car title has there been so much dedication in superimposing virtual driving on the teaching of real concepts, applied to the granular knowledge of the circuits. The title of Polyphony makes you want to really improve and to deepen elements that maybe in the past were not considered, a bit like in general a good trophy system can do for a video game; it also encourages those who are not inclined towards competitive racing to try their hand online.
The standard multiplayer offers a series of rooms created by the users that are highly customizable, with the possibility of assisting as a spectator; Sport mode suffixes the title, representing the foundation of production and the litmus test for the future duration of the game. Currently there are three daily races that are repeated alternating every five minutes, but always available to improve their qualifying time and start the race ahead on the grid. Their rotation scheme is still unclear: during the weekend there were some changes by Polyphony on the entry requirements and on the tracks, we assume that the developer is experimenting with the servers before changing to regime every day and proposing a number greater than competitions. From 4 November, among other things, the first seasons will start with the Polyphony championships, single-brand and advanced level; they will also serve as a testing ground for the official championships in collaboration with the FIA, the International Automobile Federation, which will give access to local and national prizes up to racing live, sublimating the concept of GT Academy inaugurated a few years ago. The Sport mode is also governed by an interesting matchmaking system, linked to two main parameters: speed and sportiness. In the first case, the system selects opponents of similar skill to its own, in the second those who have the same degree of fairness. When you compete, in fact, taking your opponents on the doorsteps, cutting corners and performing other incorrect maneuvers lowers your rank, with the result of finding yourself in races full of novice bimbominkia; the goal is to encourage you to play fair at the cost of losing some positions but still gaining experience and credits. The system is far from perfect and is clearly still under balance by Polyphony, but actually improving our degree of sportiness we found ourselves on the track with decidedly less aggressive and incorrect opponents, for a feeling that we have rarely experienced playing online with a driving title. It remains essential to lower your qualifying time to start in the first positions, because especially in the initial corners there is the risk of getting stuck in the classic cauldron after which you end up off the track, but like iRacing it seemed to us one of the most advanced ever dedicated to online multiplayer in driving games. To make a first summary, if you do not go online in Sport or classic mode, or if you do not appreciate the extra components present, the title is short of breath, especially for those who until now were used to a classic Gran Turismo overflowing with cars (here there are only 165, at least of excellent quality), tracks and things to do without the need to remain connected to the Internet. What it offers, however, has an aura of freshness and is less dispersive, always taking into account its new vocation.
Guide for all
Before maturing our judgment we were able to try Gran Turismo Sport in a multitude of configurations: with the pad, with 100 euro and 800 euro steering wheels, in VR, with all the aids activated and the exact opposite, to confirm how the model is Polyphony's production guide turns out to be the most accessible available in such a video game. Clearly less sophisticated than that of the best exponents, but not simplistic like an arcade game, since all the laws of physics that govern driving on the track are well present, and each car has a different driveability based on traction, torque and the other factors. Simply Gran Turismo Sport is more permissive in the application of simulation parameters, preferring pleasantness to rigorous realism; this does not mean that playing with a good steering wheel equipped with force feedback (attention, the Thurstmaster T300 seems to have driver problems that we hope will soon be updated) and by minimizing the aids the involvement is rather satisfying, the roughness of the asphalt can be felt well and changes of direction, understeer and oversteer must be governed and each corner must be tackled in a different way, even more so if with a difference in height. Compared to the previous chapters it is possible to see improvements in terms of the physics of the cars and as said driveability for each, clearly the veterans of the series will find themselves immediately at home while the lovers of extreme simulations will be disappointed, net of that "Real Driving Simulator" that It is good to remember that it was a term coined in the days of the first PlayStation: now the mantra of the initial trailer is "Driving for everyone". The Achilles' heel remains, however, the damage and collision system. The aesthetic ones are reduced to the bone and limited to a few dents with many scratches, the mechanical ones we would call "scholastic": if you hit at high speed the car loses power and control compromising the race, but never to the point of not being able to get up to it. at the pit stop; especially the parts that are damaged are few. Among other things, damage is practically absent in the single player campaign and at the current state in Sport mode, available instead in custom games and suppose in future events.
On the other hand, the penalty system is more interesting, which adds seconds to recover by slowing down before the end of the race: a hybrid system that in any case induces you to drive correctly, but a solution that does not always fully satisfy when you are rammed or taken from the side, always at due to a balance still in progress. In short, with GT Sport you have fun looking for clean trajectories; facing pilots governed by artificial intelligence we noticed less immobility than the classic "trains", in fact, we happened to see them go off the track or end up at the head of the queue due to single errors or when overtaking. Endurance races add spice to the experience as you have to take into account the wear of the tires and gasoline, then plan the pit stops to minimize them but also go faster than your opponents, since you can adjust the power curve in the race to consume more or less petrol in each lap. The tracks are quantitatively sufficient (17 settings for a total of 40 layouts) but the real ones are few, as always, the Nurburgring represents the non plus ultra of automotive satisfaction and is reproduced in detail. Among the fictional tracks, the one we liked the most is Lake Maggiore: with its curves it has one of the best track designs we have enjoyed in a car video game. Last but not least the VR mode, truly surprising for how Polyphony has managed to replicate the interior of the cockpits and return the feeling of being inside them. In this sense we are light years ahead of the implementation of DRIVECLUB, for example, also from a graphic point of view. Too bad that this mode is limited to only some cars and in one-on-one mode on all tracks: during an interview it was the reason for this choice, Mr. Yamauchi replied that more computing power is needed to obtain that quality with so many cars on the track and maybe online.
PlayStation 4 Trophies
Gran Turismo Sport offers a series of trophies that span all modes. To get the coveted platinum it will be necessary to win a lot of races, get gold in the various sections of the Campaign and in general explore all the possibilities offered by the Polyphony title. Even take lots of photos!
Photographic realism
Where gameplay and content "enjoy" ups and downs, we cannot but spend words of pure praise for the technology sector of Gran Turismo Sport. The cars have a crazy definition and a patina of realism that testifies to the great work of the artists of Polyphony; some tracks such as Dragon's Trail, Lago Maggiore and Nurburgring are excellent even in the details on the track, while others are less impressive. The lighting system gives a great atmosphere especially when racing in high contrast light conditions, perhaps when effects such as haze occur at dusk of the day. In PlayStation 4 Pro configuration plus Ultra HD TV we are at levels of absolute enjoyment, with the best implementation of HDR that we have ever seen in a video game. The colors are full and realistic, even the headlights of the cars have a high impact diffusion. The increased resolution, 2160p achieved by checkerboard technique, make the view even smoother and cleaner, but even on the standard PlayStation 4 we have an excellent definition. Both versions run most of the time at sixty frames per second, making you forget the fluidity issues of the previous chapters. The replays are finally stellar, with post processing effects that especially in some conditions give a patina of verisimilitude with incredible reality.
Good news also on the sound front: finally there is greater diversification between car engines. When you select the view on the asphalt or the internal one you can hear the type of transmission, the torque and other small details, finally reducing the gap with the competition: we recommend increasing the volume of the effects up to 145% between the options and enable surround sound, as "stereo" is selected by default even if the console is connected to a home theater system. We close our long review with the latest sections that we are sure will engage all-round motoring enthusiasts for hours. First of all, the editor of helmets and suits, limited to color combinations applied on branded models, especially the aesthetic customization of cars, on which you can operate in a very complex way by applying Photoshop-style layers. The liveries created by users can be shared with everyone, for example we have "stolen" excellent implementations of Evangelion and Doraemon. The maximum sublimation of automotive voyeurism is represented by the Panoramas and the photographic modes during replays: Polyphony developers have made over 1000 (!) photos around the world, in which to insert from one to three machines and take the perfect photo to share on your profile, on social media or save on a USB stick. The fantastic thing is that once the car is inserted, for example, inside an illuminated street in Tokyo, it will undergo the lighting of the photographed scene, giving rise to truly impressive results for realism. Also because the photographic mode - also available during race replays - provides a series of tools that make it like a simplified Lightroom, with the ability to change exposure, apply filters and masks, independently manage contrast and saturation. , but also panning, shutter speed and bokeh effect: with a little practice you can get exceptional results. Considering the amount of shots already shared online and the fact that we too have spent a lot of time there, perhaps Yamauchi saw us right in giving the right emphasis to this mode, even if it is the furthest thing from the actual video game: carporn to the nth. power.
Comment
Digital Delivery PlayStation Store Resources4Gaming.com8.2
Readers (242)7.5
Your voteIn the title of Kazunori Yamauchi you get lost among hundreds of panoramas in which to immortalize your cars, in the myriad of secondary options, in unusual gameplay sessions compared to the canonical ones for the genre. It does not have the setting or the amount of content of the previous chapters, it is not even able to rival the best expressions of the genre when it comes to the track, especially due to a system of damage and collisions far from being modern. It can be defined as a car game rather than a racing simulation, but it has the merit of being the most accessible car production on the square, able to give fun even to the most savvy who drive with the wheel and without assistance. Above all, best of all, it teaches how to drive in a virtual title, thanks to fantastic video tutorials and modes that push you to perfect yourself and finally tackle the tracks with greater awareness. Up to entice the most unsuspected to compete online, where it is surprisingly ahead in its structured and intelligent vocation towards e-sport. It is clear that the launch of the game is only the starting point, but already today, if you accept its vocation, Gran Turismo Sport is a title that deserves consideration.
PRO
- Graphically great, stellar replays
- Accessible and scalable guide model
- The game modes are fun and teach how to get the best possible time on the track
- The Sports section is potentially a step forward for online multiplayer in driving games ...
- ... but it's still balancing
- Outdated damage and collision system
- Single player content is a little short of breath
- The request to always be connected to access the Campaign or the progression of the driver is excessive
