Gran Turismo is the Ferrari of the video games. A myth. A name that makes hearts beat faster. The team around Studiochef and Mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi has always set the standards in the racing genre - which has been achieved regularly since the first Gran Turismo, which was released in 1997 for the Playstation 1. At the Geneva Motor Show, we had the opportunity to ask Yamauchi about his new game. Shortly thereafter, Sony started the closed beta phase in Europe, where we spent a week studying the game and making countless races.
Fair Drive
Late braking and using opponents as bounce blocks. Rivals from the track defend his placement without regard for losses. Probably no couch-racer can be completely free of such a driving way - we at least not. In Gran Turismo: Sport, rude actions affect the sporting value. This, in turn, contributes to the qualification criteria for the racing license, the developer Polyphony Digital distributed together with the automobile world federation FIA to GT: sports players. Of course you have to meet additional criteria and not least to achieve excellent round times. But the top riders are then beckoned to be admitted to real racetracks. The extent to which the sporting value also affects the campaign in Gran Turismo: Sport is not yet known. We can imagine, however, that a fair driving system increases the bonuses at the end of a race - that would be
A fine thing. In order for beginners to be successful without reckless actions, they can learn how to drive curves optimally, find the ideal braking points and drift without time loss as usual in the beginners' school. In the section "Track experience", the 19 race circuits included can be circulated in sections. Here you can complete every curve and every chicane until you are perfectly traversed. Yamauchi's team is also keen to ensure that players not only look for the fastest cars and best performance upgrades, but also get the decisive tenths of a second through driving skills.
One for all
The campaign has more than 100 tasks for you. This includes regular placement races as well as drift or slalom events. According to Kazunori Yamauchi, however, the career should only serve as a preparation for the sports mode, in which one races against human opponents online. In the Nation's Cup one represents his home country, in the Manufacturer's Cup his favorite manufacturer. In addition to the successes so far, the matchmaking also includes the reputation value. From a ligasystem or the like, however, we have not seen anything yet. If you are in the mood for a sprint, you can watch Gran Turismo Sport Live official races. These are accompanied by professional commentators and fixed as with a TV transmission of virtual cameras. An interesting innovation!
Real Driving Simulation
Along with Brands Hatch and the Tokyo Expressway we were allowed to visit the legendary
Nordschleife at the Nürburgring. In order to explore the differences between the cars, we naturally switched off the aid. This is one of the great strengths of the new Gran Turismo: the vehicles are completely different. While our Lotus Elise almost chases like a kart around the curves, the Dodge SRT shows that he likes straight lines. In order to prevent the muscle car from breaking out, we have to push our Thrustmaster-Wheel over and over again. When we flew off, the force feedback rattled over the gravel bed so much that we had to mobilize all the forces to hold the steering wheel. So there is reason to hope that the comparatively small number of 140 vehicles still provides enough variety to make sure that no boredom will arise. Also visually, the Boliden in the beta version are beyond doubt.
Jewelery like the Bugatti Vision GT is so perfectly modeled that every car fan's heart goes up - probably on the standard PS4 and "only" in full HD resolution. If you have a PS4 Pro, you can enjoy Gran Turismo: Sport even in 1800p resolution, which is checked by checkerboard to 4K and, moreover, fantastic HDR effects. Both versions run with butterish 60 images per second and produce an impressive speed feeling, especially in the bumper perspective. On the sound lay the Japanese
This time special value. Engines sound most authentic, too transmission noise is clearly heard. Although not all are 140
engine sounds are true to the game, but according to Yamauchi, the sound engineers record new sounds every day.
Beim Durchschalten durch das HUD fällt auf, dass Polyphony die Anzeigenvielfalt erweitert hat. When switching through the HUD, it is noticeable that Polyphony has expanded the display diversity. So you can now show a kind of radar showing the positions of the enemy vehicles next to or behind one. This is especially practical in the cockpit, bumper or engine hood.
Who has the damage...
Some weaknesses showed the beta anyway. Thus, the damage model is still limited to scratches on the varnish. We fear that this will not change much since Kazunori Yamauchi played down the importance of a realistic damage model in Geneva. Also the happening off the track is so far somewhat disappointing. Barriers can not be destroyed and trees or spectators look anything but modern. When traveling to the gravel bed, our vehicle does not produce any visible traces. In isolation, all of these are not serious problems, but in sum, they diminish the atmosphere considerably and contradict Yamauchi's often propagated perfectionism. In the beta, three race events took place every day at fixed times, during which the qualifying rounds were held for the rest of the day. The vehicle class was given, whereby PS and weight were unified, so that the best driver and not the strongest car wins. The adjustment of traction control or braking force distribution is possible - by means of HUD display even during the race. A concrete release for gran
Turismo: Sport still stands out. In the first half of the year, we are no longer counting on racing simulations. So Yamauchi's team remain a few months to work on the weaknesses. There may be the direct duel Gran Turismo: Sport vs. Forza Motorsport 7.