- 2,827
- Curitiba
Long time GT fan, I was never interested on GTS because it seemed to me that its focus on online gameplay wasn't for me: I don't like to be reminded that I'm not the world's greatest racing driver, nor I care enough about games to simply abdicate from my obligations in order to be competitive on a racing game. So, yeah, when it came out I thought: Poliphony don't care about me and that's fine.
But was also sad because, man, all the sweet memories about Gran Turismo games, every single one of them up to GT6, were part of me, my passion about motorsport and cars. It was sad to feel that GT was no more, that I'd simply have to make do with other games that, as good as they can be - and surely there are quite great simulators to choose from nowadays - none of them would have the same feel, the same aurora, the same "purposeful weirdness" of somethings that you'll only find in GT games.
Than a friend of mine, who has a far less sophisticated taste for racing games and knows next to nothing about motorports bought GT Sport and told me awesome things about the game. I couldn't accept that I was wrong and decided to see for myself.
Downloaded the game a couple weeks ago, but didn't have the guts to boot it up and see for myself. I didn't want to be disappointed again with some baffling gameplay design choice by Poliphony, I didn't want to be shocked about half-assed content as I was on GT5 and 6, I didn't want it to be yet another chapter on a dying icon, so I simply didn't played.
Until I did because after this whole crazy month with Le Mans and Nurburgring 24H I was craving for more racing. And I'm more than pleased or impressed, I'm quite stunned by what Poliphony achieved: the game is far from perfect, but is such a huge step forward from previous instalments that it felt for me as I was a 13 y-old again, who was once completely transfixed by this inovative racing game with actual cars, those incredible replays and all that. I'm not overstating things: it really felt like being amazed all over again by a racing game as I was all those years ago.
Gran Turismo Sport is amazing, it screams quality at every point. That screen with random facts is a great summarization of the "weirdness" (I don't quite know a right expression for it in English, so "weirdness" will do) of any PD work: no other racing game in the world will tell you the year of the first Bob Marley record, let alone in a elegant, "right" way. Feels like booting up the first GT to find that you have to prove yourself and get a license before racing, or blasting through Apricott Hill on GT4, or that you need a spreadsheet in order to find the exact day to look for some random car on GT5: Only on Gran Turismo.
I'm glad that I finally took the time to play GT Sport, specially after years of heavy criticism towards PD in the dark days of GT5 and GT6: it seems that they somehow listened, the cars sound great, the GT4 era assets are long gone, the UI is great, the long requested livery editor blew my mind away, everything just works as it should and, for the most part, I didn't found anything that just didn't belong in the game (like, you know, that infamous lunar rover on a racing game). From what I managed to explore, the game has to major flaws:
- The concept cars. OK, look, I know that is nice to have major manufacturers design cars just for your game. It is, this kind of access just underscores the impact a GT game has. But that said, hot-wheelesque pipedream cars have absolutely no business minglying with some of the greatest racing cars the world has ever seen, period. Sorry, but it feels wrong, fake and empty and a small part of me cringes whenever I see some Star Wars like design exercise on the same track as a mighty LMP1 or Group C car.
- I've got the platinum trophy on GT5 and GT6 because I had time to spare to play videogames and all of that. It really upsets me knowing that I'm not going to get the platinum trophy on Sport because 91 wins/65 poles is borderline insane for a busy adult which is as average as a (digital) racing driver can get.
But was also sad because, man, all the sweet memories about Gran Turismo games, every single one of them up to GT6, were part of me, my passion about motorsport and cars. It was sad to feel that GT was no more, that I'd simply have to make do with other games that, as good as they can be - and surely there are quite great simulators to choose from nowadays - none of them would have the same feel, the same aurora, the same "purposeful weirdness" of somethings that you'll only find in GT games.
Than a friend of mine, who has a far less sophisticated taste for racing games and knows next to nothing about motorports bought GT Sport and told me awesome things about the game. I couldn't accept that I was wrong and decided to see for myself.
Downloaded the game a couple weeks ago, but didn't have the guts to boot it up and see for myself. I didn't want to be disappointed again with some baffling gameplay design choice by Poliphony, I didn't want to be shocked about half-assed content as I was on GT5 and 6, I didn't want it to be yet another chapter on a dying icon, so I simply didn't played.
Until I did because after this whole crazy month with Le Mans and Nurburgring 24H I was craving for more racing. And I'm more than pleased or impressed, I'm quite stunned by what Poliphony achieved: the game is far from perfect, but is such a huge step forward from previous instalments that it felt for me as I was a 13 y-old again, who was once completely transfixed by this inovative racing game with actual cars, those incredible replays and all that. I'm not overstating things: it really felt like being amazed all over again by a racing game as I was all those years ago.
Gran Turismo Sport is amazing, it screams quality at every point. That screen with random facts is a great summarization of the "weirdness" (I don't quite know a right expression for it in English, so "weirdness" will do) of any PD work: no other racing game in the world will tell you the year of the first Bob Marley record, let alone in a elegant, "right" way. Feels like booting up the first GT to find that you have to prove yourself and get a license before racing, or blasting through Apricott Hill on GT4, or that you need a spreadsheet in order to find the exact day to look for some random car on GT5: Only on Gran Turismo.
I'm glad that I finally took the time to play GT Sport, specially after years of heavy criticism towards PD in the dark days of GT5 and GT6: it seems that they somehow listened, the cars sound great, the GT4 era assets are long gone, the UI is great, the long requested livery editor blew my mind away, everything just works as it should and, for the most part, I didn't found anything that just didn't belong in the game (like, you know, that infamous lunar rover on a racing game). From what I managed to explore, the game has to major flaws:
- The concept cars. OK, look, I know that is nice to have major manufacturers design cars just for your game. It is, this kind of access just underscores the impact a GT game has. But that said, hot-wheelesque pipedream cars have absolutely no business minglying with some of the greatest racing cars the world has ever seen, period. Sorry, but it feels wrong, fake and empty and a small part of me cringes whenever I see some Star Wars like design exercise on the same track as a mighty LMP1 or Group C car.
- I've got the platinum trophy on GT5 and GT6 because I had time to spare to play videogames and all of that. It really upsets me knowing that I'm not going to get the platinum trophy on Sport because 91 wins/65 poles is borderline insane for a busy adult which is as average as a (digital) racing driver can get.
Last edited:
:tup
