Gran Turismo Sport - PlayStation 4

I've always been a fan of the Gran Turismo Series but I was a little hesitant after reading some reviews on the game. I wasn't sure if I wanted to invest in Gran Turismo Sport, Projects Cars 2 or completely switch gears (pun intended) and invest in the Xbox One X with Forza 7. Well since I already own a PS4 with multiple games I stayed conservative and stuck with my preorder of Gran Turismo. These are my first impressions... Sure it doesn't have over 1000 cars or a ton of tracks like previous releases. Sure it doesn't have dynamic weather or time that change during the race like other racing games. It doesn't even have a career mode really (that I can tell)... But that doesn't really bother me because there are two things here that Gran Turismo Sport seems to be focused on that may be the most important:1. The DrivingThis probably has to be the most important aspect of a racing game. There are people that prefer more of a simulation style (PC2) and some that may want more of an arcade style (Forza 7) but for me, this game is the perfect balance between the two. You can either tune your cars in many different ways or you can just fire it up and start driving. There is a "driving school" to challenge you to learn all about the different aspects of handling a car and attacking the track. They offer tutorial videos for each challenge that can be viewed while the challenge is loading. I like the fact that Gran Turismo Sport takes driving seriously and pushes you to improve. It takes a bit of discipline to become a better driver but its rewarding and fun along the way.2. The CarsThis game puts the cars on display like I've not seen in other games. Now as I mentioned, there's not a ton of cars here but that's not really a problem for me considering how detailed each car is in this game. I see where a lot of the time went the past few years developing this game because the cars look great inside and out. I really encourage using the cockpit view while racing to get the full experience. If you used to the third person view (like me), it's worth a little effort switch over and start using the cockpit view. Another way the game lets you enjoy the cars is in the new "Scapes" mode. This will let you pick from one of the many awesome looking background photos, ranging from landscapes to street scenes, and place a car (or multiple cars) from your garage into the scene. There are many settings to play with including realistic camera settings (aperture, shutter speed, etc). Once you take a photo, it takes a moment to render and the result is and incredibly realistic photo.As far as the online "Sport Mode", I haven't had a chance to jump into an online race yet but I've read plenty about how it works and I'm looking forward to the competition that comes with playing online once I've completed more of the driving school and tested out a few more of the tracks.So all in all, this game may lack content that previous installments boasted but I appreciate the risk they have taken to create a unique experience overall. I highly recommend checking this one out!

This game is amazing even without the wheel

The graphics are outstanding and the physics are fantastic as always. Some new additions really add to the game, the improved customization system, especially. But the game lacks the endless grind, massive car selection and most of the tracks we've come to expect. Polyphony say they'll keep releasing content, and at the time of this review, they've released some. At launch, however, the game feels amazing, but small.It's a must-have for fans of the series. It brings new things and the package is really solid, but it's let down by its scale compared to the previous one. If you wanted GT7, this is not it. Not now at least. If you wanted competitive online Gran Turismo, you're in for a treat. Online racing is smooth and mostly lag free. The new penalty and driver rating system changes the whole experience and turns it into undoubtedly the best part of the game, unlike previous years.Overall great game, with some untapped potential.

When I first fired up this game and played it for a few hours, I drafted out a review complaining about a variety of its single player aspects. I decided to finally give this game a shot in late 2019 after hearing a lot of hubbub online about how a slew of content had been added which improved upon its single player mode. At first, it felt too easy to win gold in everything, I didn't like that cars were doled out left and right for seemingly meaningless milestones like a daily milage goal, and feared the content was still lacking after poking through the cars and campaign. My initial score was a three.Now after about 12 hours of gameplay, my entire mentality about this game has changed and I've stopped comparing it to my past experience with a GT game, which was A Spec on PS2. I've had an absolute blast. My priorities and philosophy of how to approach each race has shifted. Whereas previously all I wanted to do was win -- through racing like a jerk, tuning up my car absurdly, or nailing a qualifying lap -- now I'm concentrated on driving lines, safe overtakes, and trying my darndest to get a clean race bonus. I've even taken on an interest in real racing, something I've never had much of an interest in before, because I didn't understand the underlying sport of racing.I will admit it's a little sad that there isn't a collection of used cars to choose from and that the game doesn't force you to start slow and small and climb you're way up like the past games; however I'm finding with a shift in attitude, that comparison doesn't hold much water. You can make whatever race you want, and can make it as difficult as you choose. It's a much more flexible game than previous versions, and there is so much content to play through.In the end, I think this 'rebrand' really helped revitalize the series and achieved what the creators were after, to bring the game back to the basics of racing as a sport, and to remove a lot of the fluff that took away from sticking to the rules.I still have tons of races and challenges to play through, and expect with the single player alone to sink at least 40 hours in the game. With arcade games and custom races through which you can earn credits to purchase new cars, I expect this to be something that I come back to again and again, well beyond that estimate. This was most certainly worth the $20 for just the single player alone, and I haven't even sunk my teeth in the online aspects yet.