There once was a time when Gran Turismo was everything. If you visited a video game store at the turn of the century you'll surely remember stopping to admire the sight of a Nissan GTR splashing its way through a rain-slicked Special Stage 5 demo run, its headlights glistening across the puddles in the ultimate PlayStation 2 powerhouse. For a short while, Gran Turismo was the undisputed king of driving games.
Since its early noughties heyday Sony's flagship driving series has been many other things, but it's never really enjoyed quite the same status. Gran Turismo 5 was an awkward, unwieldy and never fully convincing shuffle into the HD era; with Gran Turismo 6 we got a flabby, unfocussed thing that ushered players all the way from the Goodwood hillclimb to the surface of the moon. Its breadth was thrilling, although the countless rough edges to be found in between were often frustrating.