[Released today] The latest in the “Gran Turismo” series! Review “Gran Turismo 7” that pursues a more realistic car life and more kind functions!

March 04, 2022 07:00

On Friday, March 4, 2022, the real driving simulator “Gran Turismo 7” was released by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE). This work is the latest in the “Gran Turismo” series, and is the culmination of the technologies that the work has cultivated over 25 years. This time, I would like to send you a review that I played just before the release of this work. In addition, when reviewing, I played “Cafe”, which is the campaign mode of this work, to the end.

The axis of the game is the base where various facilities gather

In this work, we will proceed with the game based on the base where several facilities are gathered. “World Circuit” which records courses from all over the world, “Cafe” which is a campaign mode, “Used” which sells used cars, “Brand Central” where you can buy cars after 2001, “Tuning Shop” where you can buy parts for cars There are various types such as.

Immediately after the game starts, most of the facilities are locked, so you need to go to the cafe first. At the cafe, you will clear the theme written in the “menu book”, and as a reward, the functions of the facility will be released and you will be given a car as a gift. Most of the tasks are collecting specific cars, and it is basic to participate in a race where you can get a car with a top prize or purchase at a store in the base. It’s easier to buy, but instead it’s to use the in-game currency “credits” like hot water. If you buy it every time, you tend to run out of money for customization, so I personally recommend racing while also practicing driving.

Although the facilities are open, the appeal of the cafe is that you can learn about cars. While you can get rewards for completing tasks, you can hear from a person named Luka about topics common to cars collected by players, such as “Nissan sports cars” and “Mustangs.”

Beginning with the year the car was released, it will summarize topical stories such as the track record in the race, the number of cars sold, and the impact they have had on the world, so even people like me who are not familiar with cars are interested. I can have it. In addition to specific stories, photographs of the present age and the beginning of the 20th century are also included as needed, and it is also worth reading. Instead of simply emphasizing car lovers, I was thinking about how to convey the appeal to more people, and I felt the enthusiasm of the developers.

You can check the car you got in the “picture book”. The history and features are written in detail, and it seems to be valuable as a material.

The cafe is a so-called teaching material mode where you can learn about driving and the history of cars through games. As a racing driver, I’m not going to race around the world, so if you’re looking for a crunchy race, it might feel a bit overwhelming. However, it teaches car knowledge gently and deeply, and in that sense, the “cafe” mode of “Gran Turismo 7” seems to be acceptable to both car lovers and beginners.

Realistic image quality and immersive driving experience

At “Gran Turismo 7”, which has a real driving simulation, you can enjoy a race that is completely likened to reality. With the help of many advisors, including legendary F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, the behavior of the car during the race and the effects of climate and wind direction are reproduced in the game.

Since the weather changes in real time, the rain that was falling on the course may stop in the middle, and the speed at which the puddle dries differs depending on the location, so it is tremendous to make it to reproduce the reality. We were able to confirm the movement of raindrops remaining on the car body and the instruments placed inside the car. Since I played with the PS4 version this time, I did not see the “ray tracing” (technology that reflects light reflection etc.) implemented in the PS5 version, but the image quality and texture of this work are still high. I understood it enough.

In other words, driving requires the same technique as in reality, and rough operations can be fatal in a race. After a long time in a full-scale racing game, I had to fix the habit of turning a curve by drifting from the maximum speed. It slows down in front of the curve and accelerates from just before the turn. At first glance, such technology is nothing, but in reality, delicate movements are required.

If you make a mistake in handling the brakes and steering wheel according to the angle of the corner, you will be out of the course immediately. When I stepped on the accelerator to recover the delayed time, it was not possible to turn because of the sudden acceleration. If you have a corner that is sharper than a right angle, you have to drive slowly down the alleys of a residential area. In addition, even if it is a gentle curve, if the speed is too high, the car body may lose its balance due to slight shaking and spin as it is. During the race, I can’t let my guard down for a while.

The Nürburgring, a course that is said to be one of the most difficult in the world. One of the two types, the “North Course,” has a total length of about 20km.

As I repeated trial and error, I suddenly started to make the same movements with other AIs who wanted to pull out as many as possible. It wasn’t a compromise or tampering, but rather a necessary technique to shorten the time, for the AIs to run the corners at a fixed angle and speed. There is no point in changing the run strangely, and the foundation is the strongest. It seems that this work has reached such a result because it pursues driving realistically rather than deforming it like a game.

As a result of being put on the opponent’s pace or being nervous about the atmosphere of the place, the fact that the original power cannot be exerted is described as “drinking”, but in this work, you can feel the tension of being swallowed. You can also do it. When I caught up with the lead group in the second half of the final lap, if I wanted to pass in the corner, I couldn’t win anymore. As soon as I accelerated, the balance I had maintained up to that point was lost in an instant, the car spun, and my pace was disturbed. It’s hard to recover the rhythm that was once broken, and from the author’s point of view, if I do it on the final lap, I’ll start over immediately.

If you are conscious of the 1st place, you cannot be the 1st place. This work made me realize the importance of keeping my own pace. As for the tasks that can be obtained at the cafe, the number of powerful cars increased in the latter half, and it became difficult to remove the burdock that was made in the early stages, and the above mistakes tended to increase.

In dirt races, you run on unpaved roads. Unlike the circuit, it is slippery and it is difficult to control the car body. It can be said that it is also attractive to be able to run violently, such as drifting and jumping depending on the speed.

When it rains and runs on a “wet” course, the tension is even greater. Since the road surface is slippery, it is difficult to accelerate or decelerate. When running with dry tires for racing, the car body sways from side to side even in loose corners. Grip power will increase and operability will be considerably easier just by changing to wet tires, but it is still difficult because the spray of the leading car obstructs our view.

However, maintaining such a state and continuing to run means that my ability is considerable, and I am happy to feel the growth. Whether the sense of reality pursued to create a realistic race is immersive or stressful depends on the person, but at least for me it was a good factor to immerse myself in the world.

Full of modes and functions for beginners

While the delicacy required for driving is required, this work has many elements for people who are not good at racing games.

At “License,” one of the bases, races are held according to various goals. This mode is for people who are about to start racing, and has a lot of basics such as starting and stopping, turning at corners with different angles, and running on dirt roads.

Each goal is fairly short, and it’s pretty easy because you can finish it in a minute at a time. It is divided into 5 stages from domestic B grade to super license, and it will be cleared in order from B grade. To be promoted, you must pass the graduation exam while clearing all the goals of that grade.

In other words, if you have the skills to complete the graduation exam, you can definitely go get the next license. It is possible to challenge the higher level little by little while checking the feeling that your skill is rising. Gold, silver, and bronze badges are set for each goal for each clear time, and if you win a license of each class with bronze or gold, you can also get a car as a reward. If you are a beginner, please try it as well as collecting and training cars.

In “Mission”, we will clear the presented conditions. Similar to the license, but more for combat. Just right for testing your skills

There are also many assist functions while driving. There are two types of assist settings: “for beginners”, “for intermediate users”, and “for advanced users”, and the items to be assisted are different for each. “For beginners” will automatically help you to brake at the right position and turn the steering wheel too much. In addition, it is possible to display a marker that indicates where to brake and where to run. If you’re not confident, it’s a good idea to get used to it with a beginner’s assist.

However, there is a limit to the correction by AI, so if you start to worry about the running time, at least I want to turn off the brake and steering wheel assist. The assist function can be set individually for each item, so it is recommended to decide according to your play style. In my case, I quickly turned off the brake and steering wheel corrections, leaving only the car positioning and brake location markers.

Customize the car body by combining various parts

The tuning shop at the base has more than 60 kinds of parts. There are five categories, “Sports”, “Club Sports”, “Semi-racing”, “Racing”, and “Extreme”, and basically higher performance parts are sold in this order. At first, you can only buy sports, but if you collect cars and raise the “collector’s level”, they will be released little by little.

If you change the parts, the “PP” of the car will move up and down. PP is an abbreviation for performance point and indicates the performance of a car. Basically, the higher this is, the faster it is. Detailed items such as total displacement, maximum torque, and power-to-weight ratio are lined up, but at least when the last task of the cafe was cleared, there was no problem if PP was given priority anyway.

In “Car Setting”, you can replace the parts you got and make finer adjustments. By replacing the suspension, the vehicle height can be changed in 1 memory units, and the positions of the aerodynamic parts attached to the front and rear of the car body can also be changed. These adjustments affect the PP and also change the feel when driving. In order to shorten the driving time and compete with the world in online play, it will be necessary to finely tune the car and your style. However, since it is an area of ​​replay when it comes to this point, I would like to get used to the big part of customizing parts first.

However, there are conditions for participation in this race, including the upper limit of PP. A car caught in PP cannot be used in that race. However, you can lower the PP by increasing the weight or reducing the engine output by using the “ballast” and “power restrictor” sold at the tuning shop. Players who want to go with one strengthened car are also safe.

As a simulator, this series has a history of 25 years as a racing game, but without being content with that history, “Gran Turismo 7” is designed with consideration for people who do not know how to operate a car. Thanks to the assist function and license, it is easy for beginners to play, and the tuning that allows you to play with realistic driving elements and numerical values ​​makes it challenging for advanced users. Please try this work, which was created as the culmination of the series.

(Sentence, Natsumu Naiyoshi)

【basic information】
■ Gran Turismo 7
Genre: Real Driving Simulator
Compatible models: PS5 / PS4 / PS4 Pro
Release date: Friday, March 4, 2022
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
CERO: Scheduled to be examined

[Product lineup]
■ Gran Turismo 7 (Package / Download)
Contents
For PS4 (package / download version)
┗ Main game for PS4
For PS5 (package version)
┗ Main game for PS5
For PS5 (download version)
┗ Main game for PS5 and PS4
Package version early purchase limited content
Download version Pre-order limited content
┗ 10,000,000 Cr (in-game credit)
┗ Car pack (3 models):
┗MAZDA RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT Stealth Model
┗ Porsche 917 LIVING LEGEND
┗ Toyota Supra GT500 (Castrol TOM’S)

• When offline, you can only play in arcade mode.
• The product code for downloadable content that is limited to early purchase is valid until August 4, 2022 (Thursday). An internet connection and a PlayStation Network account are required to use the product code.
• For other precautions and upgrades, please visit the official website.

■ Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Edition (Package)

Contents
・ Main game for PS5
・ Main game for PS4 (product code)
・ 100,000,000 Cr (in-game credit)
・ Toyota GR Yaris Country / Region Limited Livery
・ His PSN avatars from 30 manufacturers & partners
・ “Gran Turismo 7” Digital Soundtrack
・ Steel book

Package version early purchase limited content
・ 10,000,000 Cr (in-game credit)
・ Car pack (3 models):
・ MAZDA RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT Stealth Model
・ Porsche 917 LIVING LEGEND
・ Toyota Supra GT500 (Castrol TOM’S)

If you purchase the package version of the software “Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Edition” for the Internet PS5, you can get the download version of the software “Gran Turismo 7” for PS4.

• When offline, you can only play in arcade mode.
• The product code for downloadable content that is limited to early purchase is valid until August 4, 2022 (Thursday). An internet connection and a PlayStation Network account are required to use the product code.

■ Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition (Download)

Contents
・ Main game for PS5 and PS4
・ 150,000,000 Cr (in-game credit)
・ Toyota GR Yaris Country / Region Limited Livery
・ His PSN avatars from 30 manufacturers & partners
・ “Gran Turismo 7” Digital Soundtrack

Download version Pre-order limited content
・ 10,000,000 Cr (in-game credit)
・ Car pack (3 models):
・ MAZDA RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT Stealth Model
・ Porsche 917 LIVING LEGEND
・ Toyota Supra GT500 (Castrol TOM’S)

If you purchase the download version of the software “Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Edition” for PS5 / PS4, you can get the download version of “Gran Turismo 7” for PS5 and the download version of “Gran Turismo 7” for PS4.

• Contents and specifications are subject to change without notice.
• Other names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of each company.

Gran TurismoR 7 (C) Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. Developed by Polyphony
Digital Inc. “Polyphony Digital logo”, “Gran Turismo” and “GT” are registered
trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. Manufacturers, cars, names, brands
and associated imagery featured in this game in some cases include trademarks and / or
copyrighted materials of their respective owners. Any depiction or recreation of realworld locations, entities, businesses, or organizations is not intended to be or imply any
sponsorship or endorsement of this game by such party or parties. All rights reserved.