Gran Turismo is here

"Better than it should be"

August 11, 2023

In partnership with

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This week sees the release of Gran Turismo, the latest game-to-film project looking to cash in on the success of an established gaming IP.

Gran Turismo has to be one of the most unlikely series to be made into a movie, but it does at least come at it from an interesting angle - that of the GT Academy; a competition which sees top players awarded real-life racing scholarships and the possibility of racing in competitive events - and boasts District 9’s Neil Blomkamp in the Director’s chair.

Unfortunately, early reviews have been mixed. Some have praised the film’s ability to put you firmly in the seat of a racing car, and also credited Blomkamp with making something that’s “better than it should be.” Other reviews simply can’t see past the film’s cynical product placement. The Guardian stating bluntly that “commerce contaminates the whole endeavour” in its 1-star review.

Still, fans of the game might not mind seeing a feature-length Gran Turismo ad as much as some film critics, and there are worse things you could be doing on a rainy school holiday than sitting inside watching two hours of well-directed racing.

If you go to see it this week, please get in touch. I’d love to know what you thought of it.

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As always, thank you so much for reading. I hope you have a great weekend, enjoy your games, and I’ll see you next week!

Jeff

Game or movie?

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THE WEEK IN GAMES

The week’s best news and content

NEWS

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MORE!

Bitmap Books Reprint

Reprints of a selection of books from the always brilliant Bitmap Books will be made available for pre-order soon.

The books in question are “The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games (Expanded Edition)”, “Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups”, “The Art of Point-and-Click Adventure Games”, and “The Games That Weren't”.

Pre-orders start on the 14th of August with shipping starting on the 21st. For full details, check out the Bitmap Books online store.

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Recommended Read: The Game Boy’s Pokemon Trading Card game is still unrivalled, 25 years later

The Pokémon tabletop card game has radically evolved since its debut, but Nintendo’s Game Boy adaptation is still a phenomenal crash course in learning how to play, says Charles Pulliam-Moore in this excellent piece for The Verge.

You can read the full article right here.

INDIE SPOTLIGHT

Shining a light on noteworthy indies

Roto Force

Release: Out now
Platforms: PC, Mobile
Developer: Accidentally Awesome

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This “high-energy 2D bullet-hell shooter” from Accidentally Awesome was released a couple of weeks ago on Steam and mobile and has been sweeping up a lovely collection of high review scores since.

When Edge magazine describes a game as “…the kind Vlambeer would still be making were it still around” you know you’re onto a winner. When it adds “Not only that, it would belong firmly in the upper tier of the Dutch duo’s extraordinary catalogue” then it must be something very special indeed.

You can find out more about Roto Force and check out the trailer over on Steam.

NEW RELEASES

The big releases for this week and next

In partnership with

OUT NOW:

OUT NEXT WEEK:

Jet Set Ra… sorry, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk! Out next week!

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…and that’s it for this week!

If you have any comments or suggestions, or if you just fancy talking about games, simply reply to this email directly or catch me over on Twitter. I’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to advertise your product or game to The Week in Games’ readers, click here.

Thanks again, and see you next week!

Jeff

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