Review: Gran Turismo 6

Polyphony digital bring us a new entry in their flagship series Gran Turismo. Boasting a new menu structure with over 1200 cars and loads of tracks to race on, this entry into the series promises to be the biggest one yet for both content and innovation. Fans should be happy that this version didnt get the delay syndrome, Releasing on time for the first time in what feels like forever.

Pros:

  • The graphics may not look any different at first glance, But with less screen tearing, The graphics look a lot better with the level of detail on cars and the track being nothing short than breathtaking.
  •  Controls are refined,  Feeling more responsive and accurate than before. You can customize the buttons to your own liking.
  • The new menu system is a god send. Menus are streamlined with minimal button presses, sections of the game menus are broken down. The main options like save, audio etc are only a button press away and can be used no matter where you are on the screen.
  • The atmosphere of the whole game evokes memories of previous games. Its almost like how the game looks in your mind when you think of the earlier games.
  • Online is even easier to set up and manage, All menus follow the same style, Options can be changed in the lobby and its possible to just exit from the race lobby and just loiter in the actual lobby.
  • New content is constantly pumped through including the welcome return of seasonal events.
  • A new update system is used where the game itself does small updates instead of a forced update upon boot up of the disc. These u[dates do still happen but are only for big substantial content and are few and far between.
  • The moon! Yes you can now take the wheel of a lunar rover and go cruising on the moon surface. Surprisingly good fun, You get to unlock new events and are single player only.
  • Licenses are worked into the career system. Earn stars to unlock the license event which is needed to unlock the next tier of events. One major change is the licenses only consist of 5 tests and if Bronze is your thing, They are easier. Going for gold can and will break your spirit, By spirit I mean controller.
  • Stars are now in the career system. Earn stars for racing with the 3 star for a win, 2 for second place and 1 for bronze. Earning stars does nothing but open new events in career and on the main hub. Things like Goodwood and the moon are star unlocks for example.
  • New section that suggests ideal cars for the different tiers. This still requires some work as not all cars are legible.
  • Leaderboards for license events are worldwide but can be refined for friends only.
  • The AI are more aggressive and competitive, Its very rare that you will sprint off int the lead on the first lap, This time its always a race to the end with last corner pole being common.
  • Money cap has been increased so you can stock pile more money!
  • Favourite events such as night time and rally racing is back. The Red Bull challenges are back and have you working through a series of different events. Start off in a go kart and work your way up.
  • Generous cash payouts and car gifts. Its not as common this time round to be buying cars every event.
  • Tutorial lap at the beginning of the game explains the lay of the land.
  • Daily sign in bonuses are back. They were not there originally and have been patched in.
  • Custom music is back and whilst it was a rocky start (didn’t work most of the time) its grown and is now working 90% of the time.
  • All tracks and cars that were DLC in GT5 are now available straight away. The route X track being the highlight.
  • Game has an initial install and then installs more as you play. In short it downloads content as you play and increases load time on tracks.
  • New race event where you drive for x amount of the time and the winner is the first person across the line after the limit exceeds.
  • Photo mode is still just as addictive as the first time round.
  • You can save and upload photos through Picasa on the PS3.
  • Save replays of your races.
  • More cars have the premium cock pit view. Yes this is still a thing.
  • The developers are always listening to feedback and changing the game which is really nice to see.

Cons:

  • No B-Spec section anymore.
  • No endurance races but a rumour is flying around this could soon change.
  • No Le Mans 24hr event.
  • You cannot upload your replays to Youtube or FaceBook etc.
  • No full install button allowing you to just get all the downloading done in one go.
  • No second hand car dealership so you cannot go hunting out some bargains or find the more obscure car.
  • You dont get a choice of what you want your first car to be. This takes away a key part of the Gran Turismo series. Picking your first car was just as important as tuning. Hearing what your mates chose was always a hot topic.
  • No car sending this time round but following all the glitches and duplicating, I cant say Im surprised.
  • New in store app purchases for the first time ever. Cut out the grinding by buying large amounts of in game money.
  • No arcade garage online so all players can have the same car/class. Instead you have to rely on people buying the cars before hand. So Daytona races will have to wait!
  • More tracks and race variants need to be made available for online play. I want go karts on the moon ok!

In Summary, Somehow despite looking exactly the same as 5, The game feels new and fresh, New menus and better career system go some way in helping find a solution to this. Its still so much fun to play and despite the crappy addition of in game purchases, The game progresses at a decent speed. The devs are always updating the game and recently they have increased the amount of money you win coupled with the return of the sign in bonus, Rendering the in game purchases some what redundant. Excellent work! Yes it has a few gripes and a few seasoned events missing from the roster, But never say never with Polyphony. Even without the missing events you can still get hours of entertainment out of it. Later races will require some car tuning guides, But in all honesty you can easily find these at GT Planet. If your a fan of the series then expect more of the same with a few nice touch ups. If you are new to the series then this is the best time to jump in, The most polished and refined experience yet.

 

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!