Nissan GT Playstation Academy (Gran Turismo 6) Demo Review

For the longest time, Gran Turismo was the head hancho of racing. Polyphony arguably created one of the first realistic simulators to appear on console. The series remains one of Sony’s strongest first party franchises. In recent years, fans have accused it of becoming stale. Especially since Forza hit the Xbox scene back in 2005. Not only was it more accessible to the average gamer, it was just a better racer. Now we have Gran Turismo 6 to look at. After playing through the demo, I can say with confidence that Forza 5 will be the racing game to get this holiday season.

The GT6 demo is packaged as  the Nissan GT Playstation Academy. It takes the form of a contest, with a series of online qualifications. Yep, this is real. You race hard and try to aim for the top of the leaderboard. The best drivers will get a chance to go to a real world racing camp. Sony is holding the qualifiers until the end of July. It’s an awesome opportunity if you’re into that sort of thing. Most of us are only interested in the gameplay. If that’s the case, you may end up being disappointed with GT6, depending on whether or not you liked its predecessor. This is a classic case of more of the same.

If you’re not interested in the contest, you can play the beginner and clubman races. There are two cars and a couple of tracks to play around with. You start with a Nissan Leaf and progress up to the Nissan 370Z. Both cars look great. Overall vehicle aesthetics haven’t really changed at all since GT5. The same applies for the tracks. The two I raced on are series staples: the Autumn Ring and Suzuka Circuit. Both are suitable for beginners. New is the Silverstone Circuit, which the time trials for the contest take place. I feel the tracks themselves do look a bit better, though this owes more to lighting than actual graphical improvements. Otherwise, it’s visually identical to GT5.

Better dynamic lighting, same tracks. Image via Gran-Turismo.com

Not much has changed in terms of gameplay either. Driving is the same as it always has been. Oddly, GT6 defaults to using the Square and X buttons for braking and acceleration instead of the triggers. These can be changed, but only after the introductory lap. It also doesn’t let you put the speedometer to kilometres per hour. Quite annoying if you’re used to the older way of doing things. Most of the racing changes are small. Suspension now sways as you corner instead of your car riding flat. However, GT’s most irritating problem still remains unsolved.

The AI has always been a issue within the series. They do not race, they run on a rail. Computer controlled cars will never deviate from the driving line regardless of the circumstances. They sideswipe you, brake hard, don’t pay attention to what’s around them. I had hoped that GT6 would add some much needed improvement to this area. Sadly, I was disappointed. While they don’t seem to slam the brakes anymore, they’ll still steer into you like a drunk, texting driver. Sometimes it’s easier to just play bumper cars than try and race clean. It’s not a huge problem most of the time, but certain events in GT5 required no contact or else you’re disqualified. More often than not, you’re penalized for the AI hitting you. GT6 has made no effort to change this.

Not a heck of a lot has changed from Gran Turismo 5. Image via Gran-Turismo.com

Polyphony are like the Toyota of the racing game world. They never change their whips for better or worse. From what I’ve seen, GT6 is just GT5 with a fresh coat of wax and a new air freshener. Nothing lost but nothing gained. Sony and Polyphony missed out on a great opportunity to beat Microsoft at their own game. They could have created a hardcore racer that’s still accessible to the average gamer. Instead, they kept the status quo. Perhaps the most mind boggling is why they chose to release it for PS3. Especially considering Forza 5 is an Xbox One launch title. I wanted to give it a solid seven out of ten, but it gets docked half a point for lack of effort. Sony needs to start cracking the whip on Polyphony. For now, you’re best sticking with GT5.

Score: 6.5 out of 10

What works:
-Better dynamic lighting
-Cars move and sat realistically through curves

What doesn’t work
-Recycled tracks
-Poor AI that still hasn’t been fixed
-Essentially a re-skin of GT5