Celebrating the car one last time with «Gran Turismo 7»
3.3.2022
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
«Gran Turismo 7» – the mother of all console racing simulators – is back on Playstation. This «Real Driving Simulator» is an ode to cars and to the last 25 years of «Gran Turismo».
It’s May 1998. Céline Dion is belting out «My Heart Will Go On». My Panini book for the World Cup in France is still missing a handful of stickers. After school, I always ride my bike straight to «Next Level», a short-lived video game store just around the corner. I can hardly believe my eyes when I see what’s being shown on the «gigantic» 32-inch tube TV one afternoon: the breathtaking racing simulator «Gran Turismo». Real car models that lean into the bends thanks to simulated shock absorbers. A slight squint of the eyes makes it hard to tell the difference between a virtual car and the real deal.
Fast forward 25 years and the combustion engine is on the verge of being replaced by electric drives. It almost feels as if the seventh version of Gran Turismo wants to pay one last tribute to the car. Tons of lovingly researched and compiled information about the story provide the foundation for this extensive racing game. It’s not primarily about driving but about experiencing the car and paying homage one last time to the internal combustion engine as a relic of the past.
This becomes apparent in the extensive «Spheres» photo mode. It lets me place the cars I’ve earned around the world in real photographs. Thanks to ray tracing and various filters, the lines between reality and the virtual world are blurred. The developer studio integrated over 2,500 of these scenes into the game.
Back to the future
The consistency with which «Gran Turismo 7» carries over the 25-year-old formula into 2022 is frightening. The menus are almost exactly the same as they were on Playstation 1. In a virtual city, you locate places where you can buy, upgrade and photograph cars or use them to participate in online or offline races. It’s a highly awkward and convoluted interface that rarely makes sense. For example, it’s not the tuning store that mounts my spoiler but GT Auto. The same place I can buy rims, wash my car or change the oil. New cars are available at the dealership. Older cars are available from the second-hand dealer, where you’ll always come across different models. You’ll always need a bit of luck to learn where to find a specific car. Because these locations aren’t all in the same place, I have to go back to the map when I’m buying a car. Next, I need to select the new location and click through submenus.
Much to everyone’s confusion, there’s also a novelty car dealer. The range of rarities and used cars is not always the same, which may well make sense in real life. In a game, however, this is awkward because you can be sure that the model you want to drive is never available. Even the multiplayer mode can be found in two places. Once in Multiplayer and once in GT Sport, where I can climb the ranks online. Despite or maybe because of this, «Gran Turismo 7» makes me feel right at home. Everything is as it was on the tube TV in my childhood bedroom 25 years ago. Except for the high gloss and 4K. I would hold the awkward menu and confusing setup against any other game. But in this case, everything’s the way it should be.
Rückschritt durch Technik
Of course, the current version is much more extensive than it was a quarter of a century ago. There are over 400 cars, 34 locations and almost 100 tracks in the game and they’re all waiting to be unlocked. GT7 is merciless. It gives you nothing but a handful of credits you can invest in a Japanese compact car at the second-hand dealer. That’s how you start your career.
New tracks are only unlocked when you complete certain missions, which are assigned to you by a nice gentleman in a café (for whatever reason). To advance in the game, a mission could be «unlock three American muscle cars», for example. At least the game tells you at which events you can win these mighty US cars. While games such as «Forza Motorsport» put you straight in the seat of a super bolide, GT7 introduces you very gently. With price tags beyond the millions, Lamborghinis, Porsches or Ford GT 40s are out-of-reach dream cars at the beginning. First, you have to earn your spurs with VW Golfs, Mazdas Demios or Renault Clios. This requires a lot of patience, but is also loads of fun. Never in my life would I have bought a virtual Ford Mustang, but I had to for a racing series. The rear-wheel drive monster was so much fun.
Speaking of patience: the licence tests are back. You’ll have to complete these driving tests to progress in the game. The tasks range from braking at the right time to driving a lap on a certain track under a certain time. There are bronze, silver and gold ratings, with free cars waiting for you if you complete all the tests with gold. That’s always been the case with Gran Turismo. The bronze tests are so easy that you’ll hardly find them a hard nut to crack. They were sometimes more difficult in earlier versions. It will take you dozens of hours to gold-plate all the licences. If you don’t have masochistic tendencies like me, don’t bother.
Drive my car
Admittedly, I’ve only spent a few hours in Gran Turismo, and so far have only used one type of controller. It feels great thanks to the adaptive triggers. I immediately notice if the rear end is breaking away or the wheels lock. This is where the Dual Sense Controller comes into its own. Overall, the driving experience is fairly realistic. But it won’t give simulators including Assetto Corsa or iRacing a run for their money. The cars tend to understeer a bit, which can be fixed later on with tuning and settings. Once again, this is where Gran Turismo offers every conceivable possibility to tinker with your car while remaining true to itself even when it comes to beefing up your drive.
While a push of a button is all you need to pimp your car to the next level in «Forza», GT7 requires manual work. Each part has an impact on how your car is rated. Based on the so-called Performance Points, you can then assess whether you have a chance in the next race. My tip: always invest in better tyres and brakes first and then take care of the power of the car.
But then there’s so much I haven’t even tested yet. Creative minds can work on their car’s paintwork in the extensive editor, challenges offer a change from everyday racing, the online mode appeals with its various leagues. And in the «Music Rally» you get to race against the time of a song and earn valuable extra seconds by overtaking.
My first conclusion
«Gran Turismo 7» doesn’t stand out because of new features but because it doesn’t have. The Japanese creators of the game have completely ignored all racing game trends of the last few years. There’s no rewind function to save your behind when you make a mistake at the wheel. And there’s no way of destroying your opponents with a 1000 hp monster after just a few hours. There’s no such thing as qualifying (as far as I can tell), you always start at the back. Everything needs to be hard earned unless you buy it with microtransaction credits. Gran Turismo is like holding the complete Panini booklet from 1998 in my hand again. Although it’s complete, the pages feel greasy and some of them are dog-eared. But this takes nothing away from the emotions the game sparks in me. Gran Turismo fans can get going right away. So can everyone else, even though the navigation will take some getting used to at first. I for my part will enjoy returning to «Gran Turismo» again and again in the years to come.
Playground Session
On 26 March, you can take part in a «Gran Turismo 7» race and win cool prizes including a Logitech steering wheel for first place.
Prizes
- place: CHF 200 digitec voucher & Logitech G G923 Trueforce for PC and Playstation
- place: CHF 150 digitec voucher
- place: CHF 100 digitec voucher
Registration
Simon Balissat
Teamleader Editorial
Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.chWhen I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.
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