Review by: Michael Barnes

Kaz Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital know cars, and their long-delayed next-gen entry into the venerable series that bills itself as the “Real Driving Simulator” is a wonderland of automotive enthusiasm, a passionate playground featuring almost every aspect of motorsports from go-karting to NASCAR and over a thousand cars ranging from ultra high-end Italian dream cars to the car that’s parked in your driveway right now.

As in previous Gran Turismo titles, fetishistic details like changing the oil, washing your car, and tweaking wheel camber to squeeze out a tiny improvement in cornering are almost as much a part of the experience as the racing action is. When the game is playing to its strengths—primarily the actual racing, which features some of the best physics and most satisfying challenge of any game in the genre that I’ve ever played--it’s really like nothing else on the market. This year’s model features some series firsts too, like snow and dirt tracks that require not only different tires and tuning but also different driving tactics. A-Spec remains the central activity in the game, with progressively more difficult events with various entry requirements and purses. B-Spec returns as well, but I’ve never understood the point of telling an AI driver what he ought to do when I could be behind the wheel.

The RPG-like experience system and the drive to earn credits and purchase modifications or new cars is hugely addictive and tremendously rewarding. There are enough game modes, including the classic license tests and special events like a series of Top Gear challenges and a “driving school” that incrementally teaches you the ins and outs of the fabled Nurburgring, to fill at least three games. And if the realism or the commitment required to unlock the more advanced cars scares you and you just want to hop straight into a Lamborghini Murcielago, there’s an arcade mode with three flavors (race, drifting competitions, and time trials).

There is so much content it’s almost overwhelming, and that’s without taking into consideration the copious background information for each and every car in the game, downloadable videos, ridiculously full-featured photography modes, telemetry, and extensive replay options. I absolutely love that the concept is to create not just a game but a set of car-centric activities that empowers the player to choose how they want to proceed through the game and at whatever pace they desire. It’s the kind of game where you might find yourself running a couple of laps in a 1944 VW Schwimmenwagen just for the heck of it or collecting old Fiats for no reason other than fun.

The massive quantity of what you can do in the game turns out to be somewhat problematic however. Many features are definitely vestigial, such as a course creation suite that doesn’t really do much more than allow you to tweak existing tracks. Online is something of a disaster as of this writing, with dated room-based games and no matchmaking. The rally races aren’t going to convince you to sell your copy of Dirt 2. It almost feels as if certain elements of the package as a whole simply exceeded the ability of the game to deliver.