Gran Turismo 6 Review

This review is for Gran Turismo 6 on the Playstation 3. As far as my background on this franchise is concerned, I have little to none. GT6 would be my first official entry in the franchise, and after this review, you will see that it won't be my last.

The Premise

The premise of the game is important, as it rides on it's own idea for the entirety of the game with a ton of enthusiasm. This game loves racing, and in particular, cars. Naturally you would assume that, considering the game you just bought is considered a 'racing' game. Although as much as it has racing in it, it admires not the actual action of the event, but more the feel. The feeling I describe is extremely palpable in it's controls.

Hold your line!

Controls

Hopefully someone that  buys this game makes an informed purchase, because this isn't your average handling game. Unless you've played a game like this before, you will be floored and lucky to cleanly finish a lap in the first tutorial. You see, the game touts itself in being as realistic as possible, so all the real-life cars that you'll be driving will handle like real-life as well. Before you play, please get rid of the notion of fantasy Mario Kart style racing. Even more, you should erase all arcade style racing games from your mind in general, because they will do you no good in this game. You can set the controls to your liking in the menu, but you will find that optimal methods of racing require analog control of throttle and braking. The more precision you allow yourself, the better. For the best and most immersive precision you'll need to buy yourself a racing wheel, but with prices for those going for as much as a few hundred dollars, it's understandable if you pass on the investment.

Driving

The game's bread and butter lies here. With your precision controls, you got to find a way to navigate your way to the finish line in the fastest way possible. Depending on what car you choose, your experience can have you trying to fight a car's brutally unforgiving handling, or trying to find an advantage to having an annoyingly low top-speed car. Sometimes the speed is too high, and sometimes your suspension is almost too good. Gran Turismo has enough confidence to call itself, "The real driving simulator", and it really shows. You'll find that in the racing events, the other drivers are really just an extension of the track, acting like obstacles of sorts. But it's not like they aren't acting like AI drivers in other racers, it's just that the soul of the game isn't in how you do against others, it's how you do against yourself. In other games, you'll win by sabotaging or strategically positioning yourself as to avoid others from passing you, but in this game, you just want to try to get the best times possible, and success will follow. The game recognizes that true racing requires you to be "one with the car" and accelerate, brake, and steer with the utmost care. One slight mistake will send you careening off the track and tack on massive seconds to your time. Yes, seconds are that important. This is why you need to learn your strengths and skill level when playing this game, because being uninformed and using the wrong car or taking the wrong line will be the difference between last place and first. Mastering the driving is one thing, but the track is a whole other beast.

Turning... It's hard

Tracks

Track selection is expansive and inspiring. You can be racing on the Indianapolis Speedway in one race and taking right angle turns in the city streets of London. Amongst real life tracks are collections of GT made courses. I find these to be a little more enjoyable since they are tailor-made for challenging and roller-coaster racing. The Matterhorn is a particular favorite racing venue in the game, as its tracks have you driving up and down a mountain, providing a perfect combination of speed and precision turning. It is truly exhilarating. Really though, all the tracks have the potential to be amazing when you put in the time to get better. Mastering the tracks are key to success, so they'll definitely require multiple runs if you want a good finish. When you finally nail the relationship between car and road, there is no greater sense of accomplishment. In addition to road courses, there are also snow and dirt courses as well as rain effects. While the rain effects feel somewhat negligible (although there is some difference), snow and dirt affect handling greatly. I only suggest highly skilled players to venture into these surfaces, because rookies like me will get trampled and frustrated at every turn. Of course, any course won't be as bad if you can ride with the right car.

Cars

Are there cars in this game? Yes, yes there are. In fact, there are over 1200 of them, and each is added to your garage by earning enough credits in races to buy them, or by receiving them as gifts for completing challenges. Each car is a replication of their real life counterparts, attempting to nail down both it's presentation and handling. Whether it hits the realism aspect will be beyond me, since I've never driven cars as exotic as these in my life. But wait, there mainstream consumer cars here as well, so I can test that! Indeed the car selection ranges from the Formula 1 vehicles to the humble Honda Civics. I have driven one of the cars in the roster before, and for the most part, it is extremely accurate. Of course, driving these cars in real-life would require more precision than what a Playstation controller can offer. Something quirky though is the disparity between the "premium" cars and the standard models. The standard models have blacked out interior and low-textured paint jobs, making them look a little disturbing to the eyes when taking a closer look. When purchasing cars to admire as well as race, I suggest seeking out the premium models, as they are much more pleasing to behold. However, if you're only buying them for a particular event, then buying any car will do, as it's not like their performances are affected. Plus, you won't be looking at the car much during races anyways.

These represent only a fraction of the dealerships to choose from

Game Modes

The main single player mode has you going through stages of licenses, and when you reach the final license stage, you will have had a pretty good sense of what the game has to offer. You go through stages by earning stars in races and racking up enough to meet a certain criteria. Once you reach that criteria, you go through license challenges like brake mini-games or entire championships to get your new license. Once obtained, you go through the same process to reach the next level. Thankfully, each stage has a variety of events to keep things from getting boring. Better yet, they give you more than enough events necessary to rack up the required stars, so if you know you're pretty weak in the classic car races, it is up to you if you want to skip them and earn stars another way. This flexibility is much appreciated.

There is also an online multiplayer mode, in which players make their own lobbies for others to join. Some are intense races, while other lobbies only ask players to play nice and share tips while everyone practices on the same track. The experience was smooth enough with not many hitches and bugs. In all honestly, I find this mode to not be that entertaining, since I feel like the game is best enjoyed when you challenge yourself.

Lastly, there are more miscellaneous game modes, like moon rover driving. This is just the game showing you just how much it knows about vehicles, and it succeeds. These modes can get tiring quickly though, as there isn't much variety in the challenges. At the very least you can give yourself a break from serious racing with these events.

Presentation

The game is both beautiful and ugly, but mostly beautiful. The realistic venues and car models are nothing short of amazing. There are moments in the game in which you just have to take a lap to soak it all in. If you took a snapshot of the game, you would be hard-pressed to tell it apart from the real thing. The problem though, is when the game shows you everything else. As mentioned before, the standard car models are a little embarrassing when seen on a late PS3 system, and there is major pop-in when looking at the crowds and trees surrounding the track. Of course, you won't be looking at them much, but it is a little disappointing when such a great looking game can have problems like these. The soundtrack is hit or miss. With a wide range of tracks, you'll often be hearing jazz, techno, and rock all in one sitting. The song "All My Life" by Daiki Kasho is a personal favorite though, and sits on top of my song playlist due to the intense tone it provides you as you're trying to maneuver hairpin turns. You can hear this track in the opening cinematic.

Beautiful

The Soul

This brings me to the real reason I wanted to talk about this game. It amazes me just how much character the game has in it. What I mean by this, is just how much it wants you to love what it loves. And what it loves, is racing. Again, not the sport racing, but the feel of it. It doesn't want you to see cars as instruments of successes, but rather as partners in a journey. You can see this when you boot up the game. The opening cinematic shows school children, curiously, but it's there to show you just how basic the relationship between life and racing is. These kids are in a school that shows them the basics of driving, with a kart track just sitting right outside. As the video progresses, it shows just how complex cars can get and how big the races become. The video eventually ends with the camera looking upward from a NASCAR race, only to see the lone moon overlooking everything. This video not only shows just how big racing is, but how racing is another way of living.

The love for racing is also seen in the car selection. When you are purchasing a car, you can read a short biography on it, telling you it's history and features. Most stories are uninteresting, but when you come across a great one, you really learn to appreciate these vehicles, and want to buy more. And when you get to the point when you want to buy cars just for the sake of experiencing them, that is when I believe you are truly understanding the message of the game. Without spoiling anything, the ending credits feature a live-action video that will floor you. It will especially enthrall you since it comes right after driving in an important race. I understand I'm being incredibly ambiguous, but I don't want to ruin it.

For these reasons and more, you can tell that the game loves what it's doing. It almost seems like the developers are making the game for themselves and are just letting us play it. I find that the best games I play have this quality, and it is inspiring while being a joy to play.

Final Thoughts

If you are going to buy this game, please understand the big jump you are making. This game is not for the faint of heart. It wants to challenge you with realistic driving while attempting to make you appreciate exactly what it's all for. Remember, it's about the journey, not the destination, and your tantrums from your small mistakes will only be met with tears of gratification in the end. If you find yourself booting up the game just to read the biographies and take new cars for endless laps, you know you're getting your money's worth. I know I did. Admittedly, there is a McLaren MP4-12C gracing my desktop background because of this game. I would say that I'm looking forward to the next game (which I am) but I'm too content on just admiring this one. Plus, imagining this franchise on PS4 hardware is a little overwhelming for me at the moment.

RATING: 9.5/10

what. (Review)

"what." is a comedy act performed by Bo Burnham. What will be reviewed is how it is seen on Netflix. This is not a review of the live performance.

what.

I apologize if this review is spastic, as I honestly don't know where to start with Bo Burnham. There are so many different things to say. So I think I'll start with that. He has so many things to say! This guy is beyond random. In one second, he pretends to be a singing Godzilla, in another, he talks about God, and in another, he pretends to masturbate. There is really no way to see where he is going next, and you know, that actually sounds nice. A comedian that isn't predictable. Sounds great in theory, but it can be a huge detriment at times, as your mind isn't quick enough sometimes to pick up the joke he's trying to tell. It would've been nice to be able to follow some sort of train of thought to keep the topics easy to pick up. Yet, while I say it would've been nice to have some smoother transitions in between topics, it really would take away a lot of what the show's about. You see, the show likes being random and jarring. If it weren't random, a lot of the jokes would be fall flat because they rely on the strangeness of the previous one. I will say, however, that there is one segment that combines random comedy with a strange sense of progression. That moment is one of the only ones, though. 

I guess that's a good segue into another thing I'd like to talk about. As random as the show wants to be, it becomes progressively predictable. While you don't know exactly what content is coming up, you can guess the type of content that's arriving. An example of this happens when he reads a sweet poem to the audience, only to have it end with a dead protagonist. All of these switches are sudden too, adding a bit of shock value to the joke. In this instance, I wasn't going to guess that the main character was going to die, but I knew that something bad was going to happen. When it's at its best, it's witty, at it's worst, it feels like Bo's pulling the rug out from underneath you. Comedians do this all the time, but Bo almost always does it, and it certainly can become a drag in some parts. I know some people that love these kinds of jokes, but I know some that absolutely hate it. If you're one of those people, then steer clear. Also, be warned, there is a LOT of irony in his jokes. So much so that you might get sick of it. That being said, at least the delivery is excellent. 

Speaking of delivery, his stage presence in general is something to be admired. He is incredibly convincing in his message. It is so good that I didn't even notice it at first, but I caught it once when I thought to myself, Why is this part so great? In the instant that I thought that, I realized what he was actually saying was just ok, but the way he said it was amazing. The little facial expressions and body movements he makes with each remark really go a long way. This showmanship can be best seen when he reads poetry. Simply put, he is passionate and it shows.

When he isn't performing stand-up or reading poetry, he is singing. Bo Burnham can sing quite a tune. While I might not know much about a singer's technical prowess, I can say with certainty that he is very comfortable to listen to, and blends well with his piano. His entire set pieces in general are something to behold. His songs set the tone, and his voice carries the message, while the effects wrap everything up in a polished bow. Bo and his effects team really deserve more recognition, because none miss each others cue, and that is outstanding considering how much of his material relies on it. His piece on the two halves of the brain is an excellent example of when every aspect of his show comes together in one incredible performance.

He has great songs, but something about the final one bugs me. He closes the show by performing another song, and in it, he meshes all the complaints and doubts from the outsiders in his life into one. While most of it is funny, there are definitely some intentionally heavy moments in which you really feel sorry for the guy. So this makes him more relatable right? What's wrong with that? Normally this would be a great thing, but it ends up contradicting the messages he threw at you the entire show. Without spoiling any of the jokes, I can say that he tells the audience not to trust him, and that his stage persona is only an act. He tricks the audience with his deceitful humor the entire show, then has the audacity to ask for the audience's sympathy in the end. This I believe, has the potential to break the show, taint anything you've seen before that song. One complaints thrown at him is his seemingly arrogant form that he takes when he's performing. A lot of that comes from audiences thinking he likes to seem smarter than them by using big words and witty jokes. I personally, don't see it that way, but I can see arrogance in performing the song I just mentioned. It's ironic that he does his skit, a skit that asks not to see him as self-centered, when he himself is being selfish by doing the skit.

Maybe I am looking at the last piece too harshly... after all, it is a comedy show. It's supposed to be for fun right? Plus, it was quite catchy. Also, maybe that song was meant for us to examine our own lives, and take inspiration from his lyrics. I wish I knew. His brand of comedy deals with a lot of self examination, and going a little bit further when it comes to thinking about the society we live in. Perhaps Bo just wants the audience to think about that last song, not necessarily understand in completely, but just think about it and how it fits in society in general. Or maybe Bo could care less and just wants you to have a good time...

I've thought it over hundreds of times, and while I think people will love him for the song, I can't help but feel a sense of arrogance. But that's just me...

Ah, but was the show funny. Yes... yes it was. Kind of. If you aren't into the humor I described earlier, you'll be hard pressed to do a lot of laughing. There was a good long while when all I could manage was a smile. Don't let that discourage you, however, because even though I wasn't laughing, I was still having a great time. There is plenty else in the show to keep you entertained. Bo's showmanship is really something to marvel, and if you don't think the songs are funny, you'll still think they were catchy. I suggest people give this show a try, you just gotta give him a bit of your trust along the way.

RATING: 8.5/10

Battlefield 4 Review

My first review of many will be of Battlefield 4 for the Playstation 4. To start off, it is necessary to share some background on myself. While I am familiar with the Battlefield series, I did not actually play every game to there extent, so you should read this review knowing that I have little experience with the franchise before this game. Also, my review is of the PS4 version and that version alone.

Battlefield 4 is a first person shooter developed by DICE and published by EA. With a known legacy for having tight shooting coupled with engaging multiplayer, this game is something many have clamored for, and it attempts to prove the might of the Frostbite 3 engine.

Single Player

We should begin by talking about the single player. Veterans know that this part of the review is going to be the most pointless, as this franchise is known for it's robust multiplayer. For the sake of thoroughness, however, I will share my thoughts on the campaign. For warning, there are some specific story events mentioned, but they are minor and occur early in the game.

Story

The campaign leaves a lot to be desired, and should only be played for it's introduction to the game's main mechanics, which will prove useful in multiplayer. Everything else the story has to offer will only leave you with confusion and disappointment. The actual story itself is very poor, if you can understand it in the first place, that is. Essentially your name is Recker, and you are a silent character who is part of the rough and tough American squad named 'Tombstone'. You guys are part of a skirmish with China, who was in the midst of an election, only to have the popular and well-liked presidential candidate assassinated. For some reason, Russia backs Admiral Chang of China, so they are in the war against the Americans as well. Tombstone comes in when they are sent on a covert mission to rescue a few VIPs on Chinese soil, only to be met with death, betrayal, and some other war movie cliches. Honestly, I didn't catch a lot of the plot, because it's so vague. The story feels very "me too", almost trying to check off a laundry list of war story situations, and it goes on to seemingly take situations from the Call of Duty series under it's wing. Anybody who has played the prison break levels in Call of Duty: Black Ops will understand exactly what I'm talking about. The characters themselves are equally as uninspired. Irish is a smart-mouthed, reckless soldier in Tombstone whose heart is bigger than his head, and for better or for worse, you will be with him for almost the entire game. Your other squad-mates are Pac and Dunn, who are devoid of any personality whatsoever and are only there to serve for some important plot-points. And your character? Not much of a character at all. You supposedly lead the squad in some missions, but really it's everyone else in the story that tells you what to do. Really, there isn't much else to say about the story. It's boring, uninspired, and just devoid of really any life in general.

Irish. Better get used to this guy...

Story Gameplay

The gameplay is a little bit better, at least, but not by much. The game starts by dropping you in a tense situation in which you and your squad are trapped in a car sinking into the sea, and the only way to escape is to shoot the window, letting in a rush of water only allowing for a few precious seconds to swim out. What I just described sounds exciting, and worthy of play, but the sad news is that you will be seeing a lot of these types of events on the sidelines. Your only action in this sequence is to, "press R2 to shoot window". This is the main problem with the campaign. They try to make you think you are doing something spectacular when you really aren't, and it diminishes the little value this story has. In another situation, you are supposed to run onto a chopper as the building underneath you crumbles. Out of curiosity, I decide to stop running, only to find my AI squad-mates standing still with me, and the chopper still hovering like nothing is happening. Isn't the building supposed to be falling apart? Aren't we supposed to be dead now? I realized these events were basically just scripted movie sequences that waited for you to trip their wire.

Thankfully, those scripted events aren't the whole game, and are only sprinkled in between the shooting segments. In order to differentiate themselves from other shooters, the game implements the spotting mechanic, which allows you to point to enemies in mid-fight and direct your AI companions to engage them. While it feels novel at first use, it quickly becomes pointless. Shouldn't your AI be smart enough to engage enemies when they see them? They are, as I've seen, so why add the spot button in the first place? Supposedly it's there to add a strategic element, giving you the ability to send your troops to enemies you can't engage with while you're trying to pick off others. Also, I noticed some events don't start until you give the go ahead, allowing you to get into an advantageous position before engaging an enemy. This mechanic could thrive, if only your troops weren't such bad shots. Every skirmish seems to end up with you shooting everyone yourself. Plus, not a lot of the game requires such tactical engagements, and really could be finished with players going in guns blazing every time. It's an admiral attempt to change things up and add a wrinkle in an otherwise glorified shooting gallery, but it largely fails. Another effort to differentiate itself comes in the form of choice in weapons. Throughout the campaign, you unlock gadgets and guns that can be used for later missions. So by end-game, you essentially can tackle the missions with a huge assortment of weapons, ranging from assault rifles, to shotguns, to sniper rifles, to RPGs and everything in between. This is very welcoming, as you will quickly become fond with a particular gun's play style. Of course, some missions favor different types of weapons more than others, but for the most part, it gives you a lot of freedom in this regard. Unfortunately, that doesn't save the game from being a bore. Playing on normal difficulty, the game was easy and didn't require much of the player's intelligence. You just shoot the bad guy and move on.

The single player campaign tries to inflate itself by having showy set piece moments and implementing an artificial sense of strategy, only to show it's drab story, characters, and mundane gameplay. At least you can use your own gun...

Taken from title sequence

Multiplayer

The main attraction, indeed, is the online multiplayer. This is the part of the game that is actually worth the money you spent, and it surely does prove it. Multiplayer consists of a variety of modes that range from conquest, to rush, to deathmatch type objectives. You and your team are basically either trying to kill the opposing team, take their base, steal their flag, or plant a bomb on their territory. All these game modes are fun in their own way, and are really subject to player preferences. One thing is for sure though, they have their bases covered when it comes to multiplayer modes. It should be mentioned that Conquest mode is really the core experience, and is where Battlefield is best played. Conquest starts off with both teams having 800 tickets, and the objective is to take bases and make kills in order to drain the opposing teams tickets to 0. This is also the mode with the biggest maps and highest player count, and allows for excellent flexibility when it comes to how a player can participate in the skirmish.

The maps give an incredible sense of scale

Classes

With that, it makes sense to dive into the game's class system. There are 4 classes that the player can choose from before they go into battle. Each one totally customizable, and permit the player to change things like weapons and attire to their preference. However, to differentiate the roles of each class, their gadget selection is restricted. The first class is the assault class, which requires the player to be in the thick of battle with light weapons and med kits to revive players. The second class is the support class, which is a little more involved with shooting than the assault class. They specialize in suppressing the enemy when making pushes towards objectives. They tote heavy machine guns and grenade guns that pack a punch in ways the other classes can't. The engineer is the third class, favoring in weapons designed to destroy and repair vehicles. If you want a ride, it's best to ride with an engineer. And lastly, my personal favorite, the recon class likes to use sniper rifles and spotting equipment to help their team with intel on enemy locations and vehicles. Each class is unique and offers players a nice slate of choices that compliment each other very well. Be warned, though, their is quite a bit of a learning curve if you're not used to a game like this.

Online gameplay

When you choose your role, you can finally engage in the massive, up to 64-player battlefield.
Unlike some other shooters, this one embraces teamwork. You work best, and gain the most rewards, when you are working together with your squad. Your squad is a handful of randomly chosen teammates, and by working together, your squad can earn more points for your team. Not only does this make your team happy, it raises a squad meter that rewards your group with bonuses like increases running speed and stealth for each new tier reached. The customization menu allows you to personalize your rewards by category, further demonstrating the flexibility the game offers you.

In some modes, you can further your experience by controlling vehicles like tanks, planes, and boats. All methods of transportation have the potential to turn the tide of battle. Yet, as fun as most vehicles are to drive, aircrafts come with a steep learning curve, so it's wise that the game implements a test range for you to practice on.

As evidenced by the squad mechanics, the game requires you to be helpful and supportive of team members in order to be successful. I can say first hand, that if your teammates play selfishly, your faction will be dominated quickly and mercilessly. While it feels very challenging at times, the satisfaction you get upon victory will almost always feel amazing. Not only will teamwork get results, but being tactful and patient with your squad will net you an immense feeling of accomplishment. This aspect of the game is why players keep coming back to Battlefield, and there really aren't a lot of shooters that can replicate this multiplayer experience.

Progression

When you're not thinking about the team, you have to think about yourself. After each battle, you reap the experience you earned in-game and unlock rewards. These rewards range from attachments, to whole guns, to paint jobs. While some games tend to make you grind for the things you want, the generous points system allows for quick leveling in classes you play most. The system is very balanced from what I've seen. Someone could earn an attachment within a couple games fairly easily, but would have to work harder for the bigger rewards. The progression system makes sense, and it plays fair.

"Levolution"

A new feature called, "Levolution", is added to the fray, making the maps just as dynamic as the battles. Upon certain triggers, some maps will have events that change the landscape, like incoming storms or collapsing skyscrapers. While they are impressive at first, the shock value does go away. That in itself isn't a bad thing, however. It might not be a 'wow' moment anymore, but it still doesn't change the fact that your strategy will be altered when an event happens, so it still has a sense of freshness to it. While having your planned ruined sounds annoying, successfully switching tactics on a dime feels extremely rewarding.

Crashing ships are quite normal for "Levolution" events

Presentation

Presentation-wise, the game looks astonishing, and the Frostbite 3 engine on the PS4 puts other games to shame in terms of the graphical fidelity. What's also impressive, is the sheer size of the game. All the maps are extremely large and detailed, giving the player the impression of fighting in something bigger than themselves. Seeing 64 players shoot, drive, and sneak all at once provides a sense of surrealism not many other shooters can emulate. Other than that, there isn't much else to the presentation other than dynamic visuals. The soundtrack just feels a little bit off to me. Hopefully you're into synth beats, because boy does this game have it. There are some hiccups like clipping and maybe other glitches, but all in all, there isn't anything game-breaking that I've come across. A lot of people have experienced frequent crashes when booting up the game, while others have reported losing progress made in campaign and online modes. This is something I haven't come across in my play-throughs, but it has happened enough to others for DICE and EA to acknowledge the mishaps. Apparently, it is so bad that EA announced they will stop production for future additions to the game until the current problems are fixed.

Some other thoughts

I would lastly like to point out that the actual shooting itself feels rock solid. Each gun adds an appropriate amount of weight, and character movement feels right. Also, while this is just a matter of personal taste, the blue and orange aesthetic they added to the game's menus and box art just doesn't do it for me. It feels like they were trying to add a personality to the game that just doesn't belong. This really isn't much of an issue for me though, as it doesn't seep into actual in-game environments.

Overall

The game is incredible and well worth your time. If you like deep, online experiences, there isn't really any other game like this one. It's a shame a game such as this one has plagued many with crashing systems and lost progression. Hopefully EA and DICE can sort it out soon. Also, it really is too bad the single player lacks any sort of soul. Despite the problems, I can't help but still feel amazed by the game. As long as you have an internet connection, there is plenty of enjoyment to be had.

RATING: 9/10

All screenshots were taken by ito007 in-game. Battlefield 4 is a game developed by DICE and published by EA (Electronic Arts). Screenshots were taken from the Playstation 4 version.