Gran Turismo 6 arrived on December 6, 2013 as the sixth main entry in Polyphony Digital’s series, released by Sony for the PlayStation 3 at the moment the PlayStation 4 was launching. That timing is the most interesting thing about it. It is a lavish, deeply considered racing simulation built for hardware that was about to be retired, and it plays like a studio getting everything it knew onto the last disc it could.
Trailer, via GRAN TURISMO TV.
More of Everything
The headline features are additions: more cars, more tracks and improved customization. The series’ appeal has always been breadth, and 6 pushes it further than any previous entry on the platform. The garage is enormous, and the tuning options let a patient player turn an ordinary hatchback into something that embarrasses the field.
The Partnerships
What separates 6 from a content pack is the company it keeps. Polyphony partnered with the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Ayrton Senna Institute, the FIA and NASCAR, and it became the first game to feature officially FIA-certified content. The Goodwood hill climb is a highlight, a short, narrow, unforgiving stretch of tarmac that rewards precision more than power. The Senna material is a tribute done with care.
The Driving
The handling is the series’ signature and it is in fine shape here. Cars have weight and personality, and the difference between a front-drive road car and a rear-drive racer is felt through the controller rather than read on a stat screen. Split-screen and online multiplayer are both present, and the online racing is where the physics earn their keep.
Where It Falls Short
The PlayStation 3 was at the end of its life, and it shows. Some cars are modeled to a far higher standard than others, and the gap is obvious when the two share a grid. Load times are long. The menus are dense in the way the series’ menus have always been dense, which is to say they assume you already know what you are looking for.
The structure also leans on the grind that has always been part of the formula. Early events are slow, and the credits needed for the interesting cars take time to accumulate.
The Verdict
Gran Turismo 6 was received positively and was a financial success, and both are deserved. It is not a leap forward. It is the fullest expression of what the series was on that generation, made by people who plainly loved the cars.
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