It therefore took Polyphony Digital five years to release the successor to Gran Turismo Sport. Five years, and quite a change of direction. Where the PS4 opus bet the package on the competitive aspect, to the point of having relegated the single-player experience to an update deployed several months after the release, Gran Turismo 7 aims at a certain return to basics. No more question of neglecting the solo experience now, while Polyphony Digital has made no secret of its ambition to offer a slightly more old-school experience in order to seduce the former licensees who have used the tire on the mythical GT4.
And if we talk about Gran Turismo 4 in the intro, it’s because we find in this GT7 a good number of features that had appeared in the PS2 opus of the series. First of all, from the menu, with this pretty map which serves as a menu, and which reminds us of the road map of which served as a menu on the PS2. Here, everything is more advanced, and we even have the right to a real day/night cycle (decorrelated from reality), just for the beauty of the menu. Yes sir ! And on this menu, we happily find several stalls that will make players nostalgic. Indeed, Gran Turismo 7marks the return of GT Auto, the car preparation workshop, and even the used vehicle salesman who you have to visit regularly to see the current selection of cars.
However, the new game of the teams of Kazunori Yamauchi also changes, and this, from the first moments. Indeed, when we arrive in the world, nothing is accessible, and a charming young lady will introduce us, starting with a brand new place: the café. This space will in fact be used to guide the player, and transforms the title into a much more linear and interventionist experience than before. In this cafe we meet Luca, who will offer us various car menus. Each menu will ask us to obtain three cars according to a particular theme, immediately putting the player in this collector atmosphere dear to the series. We will thus start by bringing together Japanese city cars, then we will evolve on sports cars, German cars and so on.
NANI? Kansei Dorifto?
After investing our meager initial savings in a Japanese city car, we immerse ourselves in what looks like a campaign that will last a good thirty hours, and which covers no less than 39 of these menus. Moreover, once the last menu is completed, the player will be able to see the end credits scrolling. To obtain the target cars, all you have to do is let yourself be guided by the game, and go run on the appropriate events. In addition to offering a progression that does not lose the player, this system also makes it possible to take a broad tour of the possibilities of the game, since these menus are not limited to the collection of cars. We will also have to complete championships, and learn to use the many features offered by the game. Each completed menu will be an opportunity to unlock circuits, game features,
Single-use, these allow you to get your hands on a reward that will depend on the value of the ticket (from 1 to 5 stars), knowing that the higher the value, the greater the potential winnings will be (if you have played Forza Horizon, you see the system). Traditionally the draw will allow us to win a sum of money (low or high), a car, high-performance parts, or even an invitation that allows us to buy a prestigious vehicle from a dealership for a limited time. For example, we were thus authorized for a few days to buy a Veyron from Bugatti or a GT by Citroën, whereas these models are normally absent from showrooms.
The Gran Turismo 7 café is also an opportunity to learn a little more about the cars, with the intervention of several experts who come to give us their impressions of our vehicles, regardless of whether they are iconic or prestigious. You understood, even without being crazy about mechanics, we quickly find ourselves hooked by this hyper educational presentation of things. The café also allows us to contemplate our trophies, and to review the family photos of the vehicles on each menu, all for the beauty of the curves. Because yes, apart from its racing game label, Gran Turismodelights in a somewhat specific genre, where it is not really a question of offering the most cutting-edge driving simulation, but of taking the player on a journey through the world of automobiles, whether it is the driving, or everything that goes around, like the simple contemplation of gleaming bodywork.
Jacky Ickx and Michele Mouton
We could group all this under the term Car Porn, and in this area, Gran Turismo 7 is a real masterclass. We are not going to turn the knife in the wound of ray tracing which is only available in the garage, but you should know that the game is also a contemplative experience. The player is pushed to collect cars through cafe menus, through a collector level, but also to get an eyeful of meticulously modeled cars. Yes Gran Turismo 7looks great in-game, but it becomes visually sublime when you focus on modes dedicated to showcasing cars. Forgotten the premium vehicles of GT5 where only certain mechanics were entitled to their cockpit view, here each car is modeled with a care that gives the maniac. The smallest detail is present, and even highlighted, having a typically Japanese care, like the clock on the dashboard of our Alpine A110 which indicates the exact time!
As soon as you put the controller down for a few moments, the game launches into a series of sumptuous shots and tracking shots, in order to highlight the beauty of the cars. Hang around on a car in your garage for five minutes, and the game will directly offer you a myriad of close-ups of your car, whether it’s the exterior, or even the hidden corners of the interior. not see when you are in cockpit view. The replays of our races are also great moments with a production to the hair, supported by a dynamic soundtrack of the first order.
Gran Turismo 7: photorealism
All this finds its climax in the Scapes mode, where the game offers us quite simply the most complete photo mode, and the most mind-blowing ever seen. Gran Turismo 7 manages the feat of inserting our car in the middle of photo environments without more than we can tell the difference. The number of places is also quite incredible, with a very long list which offers, among other things, prestigious destinations such as St Mark’s Square in Venice or La Place Rouge, before taking us to the port of Honfleur. Given the complexity of the tool, we suspect that we have only scratched the surface of its possibilities, and that car photography enthusiasts will have a great time. However, to be able to rinse the eye without talent, we can also count on the video version of the Scapes mode. Here, nothing to do except choose your favorite car before seeing it evolve in a hyper realistic way in sublime environments. In short, if you like to get an eyeful on 18-inch rims, on heat-blued titanium exhausts, or on gleaming bodywork, there is no better.
Especially since the game offers 420 cars to collectwhen it comes out. But beware, it will not be enough to go to the merchant. Three sources are available for shopping: The Brand Central showroom, the second-hand seller and the Hagerty auction house, which specializes in exceptional vehicles. Brand Central brings together what we knew before as dealerships. You will find new cars there, but only built after 2001, knowing that some are unavailable unless you have an invitation (we talked about this above). The second-hand seller offers a selection of 15 models at reduced prices, and he is also the only one to have some old cars (like our 1972 Alpine A110). Of course, its selection changes daily, so you’ll have to be diligent if you have a model in mind. Finally, at Hagerty we only sell mythical cars whose prices oscillate between 6 and 8 figures. We were able to burn our bank account there in order to obtain the Supra Tom’s Castrol of Pedro de la Rosa who won the JGTC in 1997, The Nissan GTR Pennzoil NISMO of the French pilot Erik Comas (champion JGTC 98 and 99) or even put hands on the 1993 Alfa Romeo 155 2.5 V6 Ti that won the DTM in the hands of Nicola Larini.
Gran Turismo 7: a Pay to Win?
The problem is that car prices can be very steep, with models that exceed 3 million credits. Can you easily get money? Not really. Clearly, after finishing the cafe menus, the most profitable races offer 65,000 credits (plus a bonus for a perfect race – without exceeding the limits of the circuit or any contact with the AI) for 5 laps. We let you do the math. Exit the old B-spec mode where you could do the 24 Hours of Le Mans for a few million credits. The most frustrating thing is that you can no longer resell a car! After having cracked on a Supra, then having won the same during a race, we wanted to resell one, before realizing that it is just possible to delete it from our garage. In the trash what!Why such a decision? It was by clicking on our credit balance that we understood, with a small link that sends us to the PS Store to buy credits with our credit card. For the moment, the server is unavailable, and we do not know the price, but we imagine that this is a good lever to easily bring in fresh money. On the other hand, it is a bit average for the players. Hopefully, more rewarding events will be added to Gran Turismo 7 over time. You understood it, it is in the very tedious state to make a garage of madness. but we imagine that this is a good lever to easily bring in fresh money. On the other hand, it is a bit average for the players. Hopefully, more rewarding events will be added to Gran Turismo 7 over time.You understood it, it is in the very tedious state to make a garage of madness. but we imagine that this is a good lever to easily bring in fresh money. On the other hand, it is a bit average for the players. Hopefully, more rewarding events will be added to Gran Turismo 7 over time. You understood it, it is in the very tedious state to make a garage of madness.
Too broke to collect, we therefore turn to the life of a pro pilot, which as always begins with obtaining permits. We find the B, A, IB, IA and Special events, with as always a car offered when you get the license, and another (better) when you get gold everywhere, which requires a hell of an investment in time in the most difficult permits (or so a lot of talent). We can also try other tests on the side of the missions which again offer us various challenges with cars to recover according to our results. Nevertheless, and as in the old games, where permits are required to participate in certain races, these missions remain absolutely optional. And if we don’t have the money to buy a racing car,we can fortunately count on the return of the preparation workshop to transform our trash into a beast of the circuits. Against a nice check, the mechanics will be able to install many performance parts classified into four categories, from the pair of sports brake pads, to the complete racing engine, via the configurable suspension kit. And admit that it’s always fun to be able to go play online and smoke this guy in his gleaming 220hp Clio RS, all at the wheel of a gutted 1987 Toyota Corolla AE86 Levin, which weighs just over 800Kg on the scale. to the complete racing engine, via the configurable suspension kit.And admit that it’s always fun to be able to go play online and smoke this guy in his gleaming 220hp Clio RS, all at the wheel of a gutted 1987 Toyota Corolla AE86 Levin, which weighs just over 800Kg on the scale. to the complete racing engine, via the configurable suspension kit. And admit that it’s always fun to be able to go play online and smoke this guy in his gleaming 220hp Clio RS, all at the wheel of a gutted 1987 Toyota Corolla AE86 Levin, which weighs just over 800Kg on the scale.
AI: Random Intelligence
Especially since the multiplayer has not been forgotten. We have a classic mode with online lounge, and two players in split screen where we run for fun, as well as a Sport mode which offers a more competitive approach. The Sport mode offers us a calendar with several events, knowing that we will put our driver’s honor at stake each time. Based on our actions, our fair play rating and performance will be judged to help matchmaking. The idea being to be as fast as possible, without being a suicidal pilot. In short, we take a recipe that has proven itself and which allows to have a much more credible opposition than that proposed by the AI. Because yes, GT7 remains a Gran Turismo, and if Polyphony Digital avoidsrubber banding , the AI remains a row of cars that run more or less in a small train, and that do not often calculate us. Sometimes a bot will deviate, or react to our movements, while we will be violently hit at other times by an AI that has not seen fit to brake. The advantage is that it allows novices to learn the trajectories and the braking points, but pure racing enthusiasts will be a little disappointed.
More aesthetic than competitive
Overall, if GT7 offers a little demanding piloting, we nevertheless remain far from pure and hard simulations like Assetto Corsa. Yes, you can adjust your suspension, but you wonder if it’s not the artistic side of the thing that motivated Yamauchi-san to propose this type of adjustment, since it influences the movements of the car. This type of menu could make believe in a simulation, but it is not. Gran Turismo 7 remains The Real Driving Simulator (the real driving simulator) and not The Real Racing Simulator (the real racing simulator). It is impossible to vary the pressure of your tires for example, and no one will bother you with the temperature of your brakes.
The proposed experience is above all aesthetic, more than competitive. Proof of this is the fact that each race is done on a musical soundtrack. Here, no need to listen to the slightest mechanical noise to be efficient. However, the behavior of the vehicles remains of high quality, the weather is convincing, the rain requires adapting one’s driving, the circuits are well modeled, and if we put aside driving on land (a historical weakness), there is something to have fun.
The engine sounds have also progressed well, and we no longer find the vacuum cleaner noise that we had in the old games. Still, there are those ubiquitous tire squeals that serve to warn us that the car is understeering or oversteering, and which makes us feel like we’re in a Vinci parking lot (or in an episode of Starsky & Hutch ). However, the DualSense controller is well used, with particularly convincing haptic feedback. We feel the feedback from the suspensions when we bite on the vibrators, or the jolts of the ABS in the brake trigger.
