Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

Sony

When Gran Turismo Sport arrived for the Playstation 4 at the end of last year, I wrote that it was a great game . Any lingering problems I'd had with the way Polyphony Digital had been simulating tire physics disappeared, plus it looked and sounded better than any prior installment of the franchise. But it also wasn't perfect, particularly for long-time fans of the series with little interest in racing other humans online.

Since the October launch, Polyphony Digital has been hard at work sending out regular updates, adding new tracks, new cars, and (perhaps most importantly for much of our audience) beefing up the single player mode. The latest of these updates was pushed out to PS4 consoles this morning, adding eight new cars and a new track. Among the additions are the 2017 championship-winning Mercedes AMG F1 car, the 1991 Le Mans-winning Mazda 787B, and a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (serial number 3729GT for those who keep track). However, there is one tweak to the game that might enrage some: microtransactions.

Starting Monday in the Asian and American regions (and beginning August 2 everywhere else), it's going to be possible to pay real cash money for GT Sport vehicles as long as they cost less than two million credits in the game. Based on screenshots on the GT Sport website, it looks like paying real money for cars via the Playstation Store will cost about 99 cents per car. However, when I had a look this morning, this option wasn't fully live yet so I can't confirm that.

Leaving aside any anger about microtransactions—which are optional, don't forget—I must say my enjoyment of GT Sport really has grown over the past few months. Perhaps like many of you, I find I have less and less time to devote to gaming these days, but when I do it's invariably GT Sport that gets some action—and invariably in single-player. As the career mode gets expanded with each update, there's now plenty to do. And even if the game hasn't gotten quite as much variety as Forza Motorsport 7 when it comes to picking a car to drive, there's more than enough for me to choose from.

Some of the recent additions include tracks or cars from previous installments of this long-running franchise. I can't be the only one who was overjoyed to see the return of the short Tsukuba circuit, for example. And the futuristic single-seater Red Bull X2014 cars—designed by legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey—now have their own race series. Specifically, the one for the Red Bull X2014 Jr is a great way to grind credits and a much better alternative to reaching for your real credit card. Not only will you be able to feel smug about avoiding microtransactions, you'll also undoubtedly improve your performance in the game along the way.

So if you read our review from 2017 and were put off by the emphasis of online multiplayer in GT Sport, worry no more. Today, you can race for days and days without ever interacting with another real human being.

Listing image by Sony