I am not sure how to quantify my like/dislike for GT6. I guess I'll just make a list of pros and cons and do the math afterward. I will say that when I racing or cursing with friends and other who are down to have fun and drive clean, GT6 is a joy to play.
One of my PS friends (VR6CAS) said the aim of the entire GT series was for you to select a real world car, drive it around a real world track and be able to have close to the same experience you would have if were actually behind the wheel of that car on that track.
VR is one of the fastest drivers I know personally. And I feel his statement is true. Otherwise what’s the point of buying a simulator? The thing is a simulator without a wheel, shifter, seat and pedals is not really giving you a true picture/feel of what the real experience would be. It just can’t.
So like it or not, the GT series and I suspect other racers/simulations will almost make it mandatory to own a rig in order to get the real world experience the games aim to reproduce. For those of you who know VR, perhaps you also know that he drives with a D-PAD. I could only imagine how fast he would be with a wheel. So something I both like and dislike about Grand Turismo is having a wheel steps up the level or realism you experience. That’s fine if you if you have the $$ for a rig, frustrating if you don’t.
I can't truthfully compare GT6 against FMS because I've never played a lap in Forza and never will.
I've played PC Simms like GTR, GTR2 and R-Factor. And I really loved them.
They all sound much better than GT6. None of PC Simms I've played looked as good as GT5 or GT6. And frankly, they didn’t have the driving physics nailed. I don’t think any game including GT does. And unless you’ve driven a GT500 or Le Mans prototype, how the hell do you really know what it feels like?
You have to trust the creator of the game to have knowledge of what that experience is like, and how to transfer it to the gaming environment. That said, I do like what I’ve seen of Project Cars. And I know the realism nod may go to I-Racing due to the amount of real race car drivers who use it and swear it feels real to them.
I think KAZ and his current GT (5 &6) projects may have an edge in that area because KAZ is a race car driver, and the GT Academy drivers used GT5/6 for practice rounds. Bottom line is GT6 and all the other simulators are still in the end, games. So real is in the senses of the player.
I like the level of detail the PC games offer as far as adding and adjusting performance options.
In other words, if you understand how to setup and tune your car, you will do well in races against your peers or the AI opponents. In GT6, you either have performance options either turned on or off.
In GT6/7 the room owner needs the ability to either allow or disallow each individual tuning option.
The room owner should be able to have racers create car that are stock except for whatever individual options the room owner wants to allow. So the performance point system is not my favorite thing.
In my opinion it should gotten rid of.
The menuing system is OK. But in key areas (like garage/tuning/painting) the menu is still very clunky.
The weights and measures for cars (Torque/HP/top speed/Gear Ratios/Tires and so on) are not accurate.
That information in what the creator (Kaz) described as not just a racing game but an encyclopedia of cars should be spot on. It is not. In fact even the detail between body styles of different model years is off. So the game is not authentic and that's a killer.
The various car classifications is hosed IMO. The list cars allowed to race against each other needs to be researched and updated and applied to the game. I’m sure I am not the only one to notice there is no longer a Touring Car class? And that the LMGT class is a mystery because the two premium Corvette LM cars are not allowed to participate in LMGT races. That’s kind of silly.
The amount of DLC cars and tracks has been disappointing. Where are the Ferrari and McLaren GT3 cars? Where are the La Ferrari and the McLaren P1? Where are Imola and Oschersleben?
Finally, I think all the standard cars should be updated to premium. And why not update the RUF line with new premiums as well as updating the RUF old models? That would quell a lot of the thrust for Porsche which may or may not ever come to GT. The micro transactions are a mixed bag. On one had they offer instant gratification while on the other hand they force the player to part with real money.
The cost of the cars and upgrades has been pushed up while the ability to make credits via various events has been lowered. So they are in effect forcing you to spend real money, or wait a very long time to make enough credits to afford some models of cars. That’s almost rip off territory.
So while I do like GT6, I'm very disappointed with it.
PRO:
Physics model is good/Graphics for premium cars/Real world track replication/Sky box, lighting and weather effects/Car selection despite standards/Night racing.