Did you know that Gran Turismo 6 came out a week-and-a-half ago? I slightly forgot that it was coming out this year. I was going to get in touch with SCE PR about getting a review copy but it completely slipped my mind. And I find that kind of funny because I’m a big fan of the series. My biggest problem with GT is that GT5 had terrible load times and took up an obscenely large chunk of my PS3’s hard drive space.

As a game, the Gran Turismo series is a bit niche in its focus. If you’re looking for a driving simulator, you won’t do any better than Gran Turismo. The driving physics and the attention to detail are second to none. However, the focus on the driving experience tends to come at the expense of the actual gaminess of the GT series. The menus are a little hard to navigate. The career mode is a little grindy. But pushing for the extra tenth each lap is just one of those great feelings in gaming and I’ve never found a game that’s captured that like Gran Turismo.

Daily Telegraph (100%): Ultimately, a game, not matter how good, is still just a game. It simply can’t replicate the sensations of driving a real car, and is thus no direct replacement for the thrill of real-life racing. However, for the time being it’s about as close as you can get and for a fraction of the cost of doing just one track day. We love it.

Eurogamer (90%): And so, 15 years since its inception, Gran Turismo carries on its pursuit much as it always has, delivering a driving simulator that’s as exhausting as it is exhaustive, as infuriating as it is intoxicating. As a foundation, it’s certainly more stable than its predecessor – and as a way to explore the thrill of four wheels it is, despite its many faults, exceptional, brilliant and pretty much peerless. It’s not finished yet, but Polyphony likely never will be – and in Gran Turismo 6 it’s just delivered the broadest, most complete iteration of its epic vision.

LazyGamer (80%): As a driving simulator, Gran Turismo 6 excels at bringing you an unparalleled driving experience, but as a racing game it falls short in a variety of ways that while still good, hold it back from being a truly great modern console gaming experience.

GameSpot (70%): It’s nice to have that attention to detail poured into the physics simulation itself, but when the likes of Forza are heaping on the features, it’s hard not to feel shortchanged by GT6’s lack of vision. Maybe we’ll see the makeover the series sorely needs when it inevitably hits the PS4, but until then, Gran Turismo 6 remains a fantastic simulation; it’s just not a great game.

VideoGamer (60%): Driving itself is solid, even therapeutic, but ultimately soulless. There’s no doubting the tech wizardry that’s going on beneath the bonnet, but none of that impressiveness really comes through to the surface. The career is vast but never compelling, and any special events dotted in between feel like yet more superfluous distractions. The controller offers barely any feedback – something that feels essential after Forza 5. The AI ranges from passable to lifeless, rarely infusing races with excitement.