It's not exactly Assetto Corsa - and if a PC release ever does materialise as Sony’s studios continue to make headway into that space, it'll sit awkwardly alongside more dedicated sims - yet there's still nothing on console that immerses you so fully in the quirks and character of any particular car. It's with the benefit of all that time, and with the hype and drama of launch having dimmed, that it becomes ever clearer how much of a step forward Polyphony Digital took with Gran Turismo 7. That's something that continues to shine, and continues to draw me back in all these months later. Thanks to Gran Turismo's partnership with Toyota this is the only game where you can find the Le Mans-conquering GR010. ![]() Watkins Glen, the gloriously faded, fantastic gem from upstate New York, made its series debut in July and underlines everything that makes Gran Turismo great: a respect and understanding of heritage, and an execution that's near flawless in what's surely the best virtual representation of the track yet, its dips and surprising cambers the perfect canvas for Gran Turismo 7's exquisite handling. ![]() The updates have kept flowing, sticking to a monthly cadence and introducing some genuine surprises amidst the usual culprits. Gran Turismo games have always been a serious grind, and in this way Gran Turismo 7 is no different - it's just been lent a new unsavoury edge by its new business model.Īt the same time as Yamauchi was justifying all that, he requested players take a longer view of the project - and in that light Gran Turismo 7 looks a little better. Those kinds of numbers will always overshadow Gran Turismo 7, as should be expected for a full-price game stuffed with microtransactions (another uncomfortable figure is the £3600 it'd cost you to unlock all of Gran Turismo 7's ever-growing garage, a number I'd baulk at if I wasn't aware I'd probably spent as much on fuelling an iRacing addiction over the years). The photo mode's a constant source of delight, and the best place to get up close and personal with Polyphony's incredible models. ![]() Unless you're willing to part with just under £150 of your own cash, that is, and follow the prominent in-game prompt to the PlayStation Store where you can purchase Gran Turismo 7's virtual currency. There's an enforced scarcity to the more rarefied cars found in Gran Turismo 7's auction house, and no easy way to get your hands on the game's most desirable vehicles like the astounding Porsche 917K that has an asking price of a cool 18 million in-game credits. It's frankly ludicrous, though part of me admires Yamauchi's commitment to his bit (an admiration that would come that much easier if it was possible to sell on your own cars in Gran Turismo 7, a promised feature that's yet to materialise and that leaves the economy still firmly weighted against the player). Watch on YouTube Updates have kept to a regular monthly cadence, typically introducing three new cars and a little else besides. I want to make GT7 a game in which you can enjoy a variety of cars lots of different ways, and if possible would like to try to avoid a situation where a player must mechanically keep replaying certain events over and over again." "So I do think it's important for it to be linked with the real world prices. "The pricing of cars is an important element that conveys their value and rarity," he said in the heated aftermath of that early update. Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi's justification for the always online element and the inflated prices was simply maddening. The spotlight was on Sony's series for its first numbered outing in almost a decade, and it duly shat itself. Polyphony Digital's initial updates only exacerbated the situation: an early patch nerfed payouts of some key grinding spots players had been exploiting, but most damningly its deployment took the servers down for 24 hours, underlining the madness of a single-player campaign rendered unplayable without an internet connection. That controversy defined Gran Turismo 7's early days, and in so many ways continues to do so today. ![]()
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