Legendary F1 driver Jackie Stewart once advised, “It’s not always
possible to be the best, but it’s always possible to improve your
own performance.”
That’s a good attitude to take into GT
Sport, which takes the artistry of racing really rather
seriously.
It also takes visuals seriously. Once you wade
through initial setup they’re stunning – especially if you have an
HDR-equipped telly. Sonics? They’re alright. But the visuals? Yummo!
Of course, all the prettiness ever is nothing without a great
game to back it up. This release marks a reset for the series, a
start from scratch. This may explain the relative lack of content,
which might surprise some GT fans. There are only 17 tracks – just
six real-world (including Bathurst – yay!), while the rest are
made-up. But lots of cars, right? Erm, 162 currently, assuming we
can count properly.
Yeah, but the single player campaign must
be stunning, right? Uh, well... There isn’t one, really. Seriously,
if the thought of taking on real life opponents fills your pants
with smelly stuff then you’d better like simple (but useful)
training exercises and brief blats in an arcade mode (the rally
tracks are ace fun).
As you may have gleaned from the above
paragraph, online is where GT Sport is at. This is where
the big career thing happens, and where all aspects of your racing
style will be judged. If you’re a crash and basher, for example,
you’ll be shuffled off with other such racers to continue your
destruction derby fantasies – which, considering some of the
gorgeous metal here, is shameful.
In fact, the game requires
an active internet connection to function properly, which is fine if
you have a reliable link – which can also be read as “if you don’t
live in Australia”.
Presentation has been a GT issue
in the past, but not so here.
Everything’s a delight – and makes sense. We just wish that there
was more content to improve our performance with.
To quote
another great, Murray Walker, “With half the race gone, there is
half the race still to go.”
