What follows is a pretty lengthy post, an analysis, kind of review about Gran Turismo 6, how it compares to Forza Motorsport, what it does for the average, advanced and even the non-racing game fan. If you've ever thought about giving it a try and are on the verge, you should read this, as I think that the „commercial" reviews out there are all over the place and focusing on the wrong things.
Let me start by introducing myself. 31 years of age, male gamer from austria, I didn't have any real interest in cars until my early 20ies. That interest was sparked by playing Forza Motorsport 1 and 2 with my pal. He's a real car nut and I was open minded enough to get myself infected with the „racing game virus". Since then my expectations have been refined and altered with each and every racing game I have tried - and I have tried plenty - and I want to share that experience with you and maybe get you hooked on racing games as well.
I never played a Gran Turismo game (except a bit of 3 at a friends house) before now Gran Turismo 6, as I was playing racing games on the PC and on Xbox360. So now that I got my Ps3 I was ready to take the leap, after reading the reviews being all over the place, I took the plunge and didn't regret it. I actually read so many reviews about it it made me think: Are those people even „getting" racing games?
There are plenty of examples of things that Gran Turismo 6 doesn't do overly well and people point them out. But for me and my agenda of things I want to have in a racing game, those points are moot for the most part. Let me start by telling you straight out what Gran Turismo 6 does particulary well:
- The physics simulation. I know people do talk a lot about it but honestly, I have never ever played a racing game where the cars have that much personality and come that close to their real life counterparts. It definitely is well beyond Forza (and Forza isn't bad to begin with) and what Gran Turismo 6 does paticulary well is the simulation of „mechanical grip". When you're riding your car on the edge, you can feel that the tires are planted on the road, you can feel how they did into the asphalt as your car accellerates out of a long sweeper (always assuming you're doing it right). Love it. This is the biggest plus.
-The graphics. Obviously this looks stunning for a PS3 games, and some revieweres did complain about dips in the framerate here and there. Well, I tell you, when you're eyes are peeled on the next Apex when you're riding down the Nordschleife with about 220 km/h coming out of a corner, heading for the next, you will not notice any dip in framerate whatsoever. If you have time to notice a disparity between 30 fps and 28 fps you're playing the game wrong.
-The track selection. Nürburgring, Brands Hatch, Bathurst, Monza, Spa, La Sarthe, Laguna Seca… and many other real life locations in many different layouts, recreated in staggering detail are already a treat but even the „original" homebrew tracks Gran Turismo 6 offers are excellent. When you're racing on the limit through many of their locations, like Rome (which feels a bit like Adelaide racetrack in Australia, which is awesome) or Matterhorn location, you'll often ride closeley to the barriers, let gravity pull you out of a corner, dive into a deep dipper and think „Wow that almost went wrong - almost" - but it didn't go wrong because there is some thought behind the layout of the tracks. The selection is massive and of top quality. Some tracks in the Forza franchise for example were particulary „dull" or „clunky" to race on, meaning that it is hard to impossible to find a certain „flow" that lets you weave in and out of corners. Gran Turismo does does things way better.
-The tuning. While for a top racing, motorsport simulation it isn't an integral part for me to have it, its nice to have it in Gran Turismo 6 and it's well realized. You can only fit your machines with fitting upgrades within a frame of sense and realism. Unlike Forza where everyone would end up with some 4WD double turbocharged monster regardless of car brand it makes a lot more sense here. If you want to take your Miata and pump it up by 400 bhp to let it race with le mans cars, you probably do it in Forza as in Gran Turismo are some „common sense" limits in place. That said though the upgrades themselves, like new shocks, tires, weight reduction etc. have an immediate and realistic, believable effect on the handling of your cars. You don't need to be an engineer to reap the benefits of slightly upping the game for your cars by fitting it with advanced custom parts.
-Advanced simulation. This here is the absolute dealmaker for me. This game has advanced tyre-wear and fuel-consumption phyics. Depending on the car and the way you drive, you push it, your tyres will detoriate and the fuel will deplete. You will require to refitt and fuel up at the pits, when the weather changes you need to fit yourself some new tyres and to make matters worse you gotta time it nicely to gain some advantage over your opponents, just like in the real world. And this is the single most biggest advantage Gran Turismo 6 has above current competing products. Of course this only means anything to you if you're into the thrill of real life racing, especially endurance races. Forza has a ridiculous way of working those things. Still present somewhat in Forza 2 it was absent or completely botched later on. Dent your aerodynmaics, can't be repaired, fuel and tyres won't detoriate at all or have little effect on your driving. No thanks. If you reach a level of personal interest in a racing game, this will provide you with countless hours of thrills. If youre just the „hit gas and drive" type of guy you might want to get another game than Gran Turismo 6 anyways (nothing wrong about that).
-The online. This game has the online we we're screaming for in Forza 3. No stupid hoppers that put you into 2-3 lap races all over the place with strangers. No. Public custom lobbies. An awesome system lets you create and join rooms (that can even have a title, sounds simple but Forza was never able to do this) where you can set up your races, complete with practice and qualifying, hang out in a lobby, chat and talk, watch a race in progress, set up your car and tune it from within the lobby without having to leave it (big advantage if you're serious about racing online, Forza never had this) and you can even set a multiple-track race and on most tracks a change of weather, mandatory pit stops, how quickly fuel and tyres will be used up (to simulate a 24 hour endurance race in just half an hour race for example). All of this for up to 16 players and it shows you before you join such a room how good the connection is expected to be during the race. Awesome. I'm wildly in love. If you played Gran Turismo forever and things like this are not new to you, fine, but I came from Forza and can appreciate those things to the fullest. Also the community and the people you meet online seems to be far more mature than the „showing off my naked manga paintjob on my car while crashing you sideways"-crowd thats wreaking havoc on Forza's online.
Pretty long read eh? If you're still sticking around I suppose you have some general interest in Gran Turismo 6, too much time at your hands and possibly a wider interest in racing games. If you're still on the verge of diving into racing games in general - and by that I mean racing games that focus on the simulation side of things - I urge you to do it, if you have the willingness to spend some time learning how to drive correctly, you'll rap great rewards and „get" why racing games are so awesome. Even if you never were much of a car-person. Let me explain.
This is not Forza Horizon, Need for Speed, Blur, Burnout and not even Driveclub. While all those games provide you with cars, speed and some sense of „quick motion from a to b" and even „racing" to some extent, they do not really capture what - in my opinion - makes a racing game addicting.
By practice and paying attention to details such as apexes, „slow in fast out" principle, understanding the difference in handling between a FWD, 4WD and RWD car and developing a feel for the minute controls you'll be able to start playing for example Gran Turismo 6 without any driving aids, without any ABS, TCS or what have you. You will start „feeling" the car as it smoothly corners a bend seemingly flying towards the next straight as you're riding that very thin line between perfect steering angle, throttle applied and entrypoint of a corner. You will feel that you just shaved off a few .10's of a second over the last lap because you're focused. You will instantly notice that your car, in a certain situation behaves differently than you'd like to behave it, you'll put a stiffer suspension into the car, tweak it a bit and you'll be able to tackle that particular corner with higher speeds with less braking required, enhancing your time. This is instant gratification. While all „other racers" that focus on the fun and arcadey side are well and good and I play them as well occassionally (big Blur fan here) you're driving „messy" in them. More paying attention about bumping, roughing, shooting your opponent than really „feeling the track". I know this might sound a bit swollen and inflated to most of you, but it can be compared to a perfect run in a mario game, where every jump hits its mark, it can be compared to that „god"-feeling you get after playing a first person shooter to a point where you're really good, you know the map, you know where to expect a hiding enemy and this gives you just that little edge, you're on your trigger a fraction of a second earlier, you have your traget in sight just that little bit quicker thus you dominate. This is the thrill of racing games right there. They take time to be learned, they take time to be appreciated and thus arguments I've read like „Gran Turismo 6 has a crap damage model thats why it sucks and I won't play it" are moot. You're not going to want to crash and while it would be nice seeing things fly around, it won't add too much to your experience, or that certain kind of experience that makes a racing game's magic do its tricks. Think Need for Speed and you need flying parts and gross damage, when I think about racing I think about fuel consumption, camber and tyre deformation, hitting a blind apex and braking zones.
If you have only the slightest interest in cars or motorsport and want to „up your game" beyond the quick thrills of Need for Speed, give Gran Turismo 6 a chance. Yes, some cars don't sound their best (even though most of the 500 premiums I've heard so far do) and yes there are things that could be better, like in any game nowadays. But by all means don't let yourself loads of fun, probably a whole new world of videogames and the delicate thrills of smooth racing be spoiled by a few biased reviews or reviews that focus on the wrong parts. While all still opinion, I do feel and believe that Gran Turismo 6 is a far better „motorsport simulation" than Forza, it all of course depends on the experience you are expecting and want to have. But for me, after years of Forza, Gran Turismo took the crown.
Now the only thing left to do is wait and see how Gran Turismo 7 will evolve on PS4 and how Project Cars is going to shape up.
Oh by the way, one more thing. IF you are into racing games, if you're at a point where you're willing to spend some money to further enhance your gameplay experience, then by all means, get a proper force feedback racing wheel. I play Gran Turismo 6 with my G27 and it's an absolute game changer compared to the controller. It's a whole different beast. It's fabulous and also compared to iRacing, GTR, RaceOn, Forza and Toca Racedriver Gran Turismo 6 has by far the best, easiest to „read" (with your body) force feedback sensation of them all. Im stunned and right now, Im going back riding my SLS around the Nordschleife a bit more!
PS: If you wanna race, add me on PSN: Scollurio. Happy racing. If you have any more questions about Gran Turismo 6, feel free to ask! Thanks for reading.
#supportindies
Top 5 Indies I'd recommend you try: #1 Lovecraft's Untold Stories, #2 Moonlighter, #3 Hotline Miami, #4 Inside, #5 Into the Breach.
To be honest Im not even a fan of racing sims, more of a Wipeout/F-Zero kinda guy for racing (although the Motorstorm series is one of my favourites on Ps3) but I love Gran Turismo. It just 'feels' amazing to drive the cars on it. Plus due to the fact that it has so many cars, all the crying over GT4 upscales was amusing so Im guessing people would prefer it if they didnt add them?, Im able to do some funny tuning. Last night I took a 106 s16 and spent about a 100k just modding the hell out of it and created a beast for the winding tracks. 0-60 in like 3 seconds with some incredibly tight handling I dont have GT6 yet though, for some odd reason a raft of bills have sprung up this months so Im pen & ink. Im making do with GT5 though.
I also liked Forza 1 & 2. From 3 onwards Ive not really bothered with the series as the game seemed to be going in a different direction and when I played Forza 5 a couple of months ago, I was left a tad unimpressed. Id rather Microsoft stuck with Project Gotham Racing instead of Forza, that was a better series.
To be honest Im not even a fan of racing sims, more of a Wipeout/F-Zero kinda guy for racing (although the Motorstorm series is one of my favourites on Ps3) but I love Gran Turismo. It just 'feels' amazing to drive the cars on it. Plus due to the fact that it has so many cars, all the crying over GT4 upscales was amusing so Im guessing people would prefer it if they didnt add them?, Im able to do some funny tuning. Last night I took a 106 s16 and spent about a 100k just modding the hell out of it and created a beast for the winding tracks. 0-60 in like 3 seconds with some incredibly tight handling I dont have GT6 yet though, for some odd reason a raft of bills have sprung up this months so Im pen & ink. Im making do with GT5 though.
I also liked Forza 1 & 2. From 3 onwards Ive not really bothered with the series as the game seemed to be going in a different direction and when I played Forza 5 a couple of months ago, I was left a tad unimpressed. Id rather Microsoft stuck with Project Gotham Racing instead of Forza, that was a better series.
Thank you for reading my wall of text. Sounds you're enjoying yourself and that's all that counts! And yes I agree totally with what you said about Forza and Microsoft. Project Gotham, even though it wasn't as "sim" as Forza was in a way better, had more soul or something!
#supportindies
Top 5 Indies I'd recommend you try: #1 Lovecraft's Untold Stories, #2 Moonlighter, #3 Hotline Miami, #4 Inside, #5 Into the Breach.
Im hoping that Driveclub will occupy the middle ground that PGR used to hold. It sounds similar from what Ive been reading and I trust Evolution to do it right. Their WRC games on Ps2 were superb so they've been doing racing games for a long time now. Hopefully my bills clear up soon so I can get a copy of GT6. The UI for GT5 is so slow & unbearable at times and is probably its weakest aspect. I hear GT6 fixes that...
Wow very interesting and what a great write up. Of course your write up is one reason I don't enjoy Gran Turismo it's way to technical for me and I am not that much of a car guy to begin with lol. Still I am not going to review something I have no knowledge about and give it a low score because of that like it seems alot of places are doing. For me I am more happy with a racing game like Mario Kart more so the GT but that's just me. Would I choose Mario Kart over GT heck yeah. Do I think Mario Kart scores higher then GT in my book again yes, but that's because I enjoy the MK games more then GT. I agree with you that they should have a reviewer who understands the game review it but sadly that too often is not the case.
Also I want to touch on something that you brought up in that other thread and that is the grinding aspect that some are complaining about and you are absolutely right. If you enjoy the game then the grinding isn't a chore. I guess that's why these games are adding microtransactions so that why they can get more people interested in the series.
Anyway again great write up and I will say it is very interesting although it hasn't changed how I feel about GT, but I can now see why so many people would like it especially if you are a car nut.
RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.
@Scollurio After reading through it again, it is indeed a great write-up On that note, Im wondering if its possible to use your wall of text to create an article on my blog for it? Obviously all the credit will go where its due ad I'll link back here for those looking for the original. Let me know. It does deserve a wider audience with the amount of effort you've no doubt put into the write-up
Wow very interesting and what a great write up. Of course your write up is one reason I don't enjoy Gran Turismo it's way to technical for me and I am not that much of a car guy to begin with lol. Still I am not going to review something I have no knowledge about and give it a low score because of that like it seems alot of places are doing. For me I am more happy with a racing game like Mario Kart more so the GT but that's just me. Would I choose Mario Kart over GT heck yeah. Do I think Mario Kart scores higher then GT in my book again yes, but that's because I enjoy the MK games more then GT. I agree with you that they should have a reviewer who understands the game review it but sadly that too often is not the case.
Also I want to touch on something that you brought up in that other thread and that is the grinding aspect that some are complaining about and you are absolutely right. If you enjoy the game then the grinding isn't a chore. I guess that's why these games are adding microtransactions so that why they can get more people interested in the series.
Anyway again great write up and I will say it is very interesting although it hasn't changed how I feel about GT, but I can now see why so many people would like it especially if you are a car nut.
Oh thank you for that. Well guess what? I love Mario Kart too! It's not always about finding the perfect line, sometimes it's just about pissing your friend off with a blue shell! I appreciate you actually took the time to read this behemoth. It's just nowadays people tend to give other folks a hard time about their taste in games just because they don't "get" why that other guy loves a given franchise. It's the same with people calling Mario Kart a "kiddy game". Well considering the style it probably is, but it doesn't mean that a grown up person cannot have fun with it, and I guess "fun" - no matter how to generate it for one's self - is pretty much without age. How goes the saying? Whatever floats yer boat (drives your car/bounces your cart/peels your banana, .... ).
Thanks again for your input!
#supportindies
Top 5 Indies I'd recommend you try: #1 Lovecraft's Untold Stories, #2 Moonlighter, #3 Hotline Miami, #4 Inside, #5 Into the Breach.
@Scollurio After reading through it again, it is indeed a great write-up On that note, Im wondering if its possible to use your wall of text to create an article on my blog for it? Obviously all the credit will go where its due ad I'll link back here for those looking for the original. Let me know. It does deserve a wider audience with the amount of effort you've no doubt put into the write-up
Oh thank you, I feel honored, feel free to do so, if you find some typos or bad grammar, feel free to correct it (as Im typing faster than I think and english is not my native language). Thank you lots for that great compliment. Make sure you post a link to the blog once it's up, Im curious to see it there! I just enjoy writing loads I guess!
#supportindies
Top 5 Indies I'd recommend you try: #1 Lovecraft's Untold Stories, #2 Moonlighter, #3 Hotline Miami, #4 Inside, #5 Into the Breach.
Wow very interesting and what a great write up. Of course your write up is one reason I don't enjoy Gran Turismo it's way to technical for me and I am not that much of a car guy to begin with lol. Still I am not going to review something I have no knowledge about and give it a low score because of that like it seems alot of places are doing. For me I am more happy with a racing game like Mario Kart more so the GT but that's just me. Would I choose Mario Kart over GT heck yeah. Do I think Mario Kart scores higher then GT in my book again yes, but that's because I enjoy the MK games more then GT. I agree with you that they should have a reviewer who understands the game review it but sadly that too often is not the case.
Also I want to touch on something that you brought up in that other thread and that is the grinding aspect that some are complaining about and you are absolutely right. If you enjoy the game then the grinding isn't a chore. I guess that's why these games are adding microtransactions so that why they can get more people interested in the series.
Anyway again great write up and I will say it is very interesting although it hasn't changed how I feel about GT, but I can now see why so many people would like it especially if you are a car nut.
Oh thank you for that. Well guess what? I love Mario Kart too! It's not always about finding the perfect line, sometimes it's just about pissing your friend off with a blue shell! I appreciate you actually took the time to read this behemoth. It's just nowadays people tend to give other folks a hard time about their taste in games just because they don't "get" why that other guy loves a given franchise. It's the same with people calling Mario Kart a "kiddy game". Well considering the style it probably is, but it doesn't mean that a grown up person cannot have fun with it, and I guess "fun" - no matter how to generate it for one's self - is pretty much without age. How goes the saying? Whatever floats yer boat (drives your car/bounces your cart/peels your banana, .... ).
Thanks again for your input!
I like that fact that you used valid points as to why rather then just saying cause I like it and anyone who doesn't agree with me is wrong. It does help me get why you love the franchise. I have always been a firm believer to play what you like. If GT is your thing then more power too you if MK is well that's great too. And again its nice that you explained it.
RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.
Thanks, I wasn't even sure anyone would read through that whole thing. Im kinda burned out on fanboyism and also on invalid or just "off-the-point" reviews by so called professionals. Some reviews I read made it sound a bit like:
Oh yeah it is a racing game. You go around in circles, no innovation there, the tires squeal and the engine revs, thats good, but I want explosions, super boosts and basically a simulation of everything, but it shouldn't be too hard, or a grind, and actually, why is there no button that I can press and I instantly see the credits and unlock all trophies....
Or to put this all into a fun way and into another genre:
I just played that shooter. It's so weird. So bland. You shoot your gun and you keep losing ammo. When it's depleted all you do is reload your gun and it's the same all over again. Also when I get hit often enough, my character dies. Everoyne does that. No innovation. Why can't there be a flowerpetal growing out of my tummy and we all dance around holding hands when my health reaches zero...
Ah well.
#supportindies
Top 5 Indies I'd recommend you try: #1 Lovecraft's Untold Stories, #2 Moonlighter, #3 Hotline Miami, #4 Inside, #5 Into the Breach.
I think most will agree on the review point, especially myself with regards to mainstream sites. One of the reasons I started doing the blog was because I was fed up of websites not giving the more niche & quirky titles out there a fair crack of the whip. Seen as I play those games and understand them better than a random who's been dumped with the game I thought it'd be good to post reviews and I've managed to find some people to help me post on it too. It's not too bad on PushSquare though. I do take notice of reviews here. I'll post up your piece in the morning n drop a link here so you can see how it is. Im trying to finish a game for review at the minute so I'm a little busy I got tasked with our first review request...
I'm hopefully going to be getting GT6 next week so I'll send you an invite on PSN when I get the chance so we can race sometime
Heheh wow thank you! This feels big for me! *cheers*
Just so you know, your write-up has pulled in more views than the Tales of Zestiria reveal, so theres obviously some interest out there for GT6 If you do a write up again for anything sometime n wouldn't mind it getting published again let us know.
Actually there is something Ive been wondering about GT6 lately, is there lengthly install? GT5 has one (it is optional though but its best to do it) that can up to about 40 minutes to do so Im hoping its been streamlined for GT6 if there is one
Thanks @Tasuki and thanks again @MadchesterManc As soon as I have a writeup on something Ill let you know, I might probably do some kind of writeup on Zelda Link Between Worlds soon as I am the NOT typical Zelda fan and might have different perspectives on things. As to your question, yes it does have an install but its running in the background once you start the game, there are a few substantial patches that start downloading automatically when you first run the game though. All in all I wasn't too bothered by it, I haven't played GT5 though so I cannot compare.
#supportindies
Top 5 Indies I'd recommend you try: #1 Lovecraft's Untold Stories, #2 Moonlighter, #3 Hotline Miami, #4 Inside, #5 Into the Breach.
For those who are interested in GT6 and racing games ing general and still read this thread, I want to update my impressions of GT6. Much has been talked about the moon missions, the coffee breaks and the license tests. I don't like the coffee breaks too much, but don't mind them either, what I really DO like is the missions. Because each and every mission is meant to TEACH you something. To improve your driving. Go for gold and many of them will take you countless repetitions. But! But if you focus on doing them and eventually get gold, you will have many many "epiphany"-moments where you realize just WHY you now were faster, why you could hold that line that you before couldn't. They teach you thinks like braking zones, trail braking, proper acceleration and much more. I consider myself as "very experienced" sim racer but even I learned a new thing here and there, especially as they make it so you can actually see, appreciate and "get" what you just did and why it matters in racing. After several missions I could improve my general lap times in the career mode by around 1 second. Thats a lot in racing.
I don't know if you even care to put that much effort into a game but for those that do or those that are willing to, take the missions seriously. You learn a lot there. The moon mission is a fun novelty but after I got gold on them all I never bothered again. Still, its eerie and nicely done and racks you quite some cash.
Online, except one dropped connection I only had positive experience. Find the proper room for you and people are generally nice and really try hard to drive and race properly. Not once have I encountered some crashing kid. I also like that you DO HAVE to get a certain license before you even can go online, thus ensuring that at least the minimum basics of racing are understood before you progress to online mode.
I still am more than happy with my purchase and think that this is the best racing experience I have had in years, no matter what system. The force feedback quality is beyond awesome and I don't mind the few "not up to top notch" sounds of the cars. Most of them sound spectacular. Really love this.
Btw, there is only ONE thing. Im driving without any driving assists and so far I've found it REALLY hard to tame that friggin F40. It's THAT hard to drive, no fun at all. Anyone got tipps? Oh yeah and I still am learning how to drift, I can do wonderfully on dirt tracks, but the proper drifting on asphalt, its hard... even with racing wheel. But hey, I do like a challenge!
#supportindies
Top 5 Indies I'd recommend you try: #1 Lovecraft's Untold Stories, #2 Moonlighter, #3 Hotline Miami, #4 Inside, #5 Into the Breach.
Its funny how the photo's people take on GT games always end up looking like professional snaps. Never tried it myself but I may give it a go on GT5 later n see what I can cook up
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Topic: The Thing with Gran Turismo 6, and racing games
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