As it's meant to be played, GTR is brutal, demanding, and gratifying. It's a cerebral game about learning the layout of the tracks (rally racing markers for each turn are a big help and much easier to watch than a mini-map), tuning and testing and tuning again, and even working out your pit strategies for different races. But GTR is also very visceral. The graphics, sadly, are low-rent compared to the latest games, but the sense of immersion is unparalleled. For starters, there are excellent 3D cockpits for each car. Although it's much easier to get a sense of situational awareness driving from the outside, the view from inside is really fantastic, complete with a subtle dirty glass effect for your windshield.
One for the Ears
But what really sinks you into the world of GTR is the superlative and pervasive sound. There's a powerful sense that you're on a track with a bunch of overpowered, extremely noisy engines all around you. The growling, purring, coughing, and sputtering are fantastic. There's even an undercurrent of incidental noise, like bits and pieces inside the car rattling, or maybe gravel from the road flying up into the undercarriage. You don't get a damage display -- come on now, no one has those convenient little color-coded car outlines in real life -- but you can radio your pit crew to report on whatever damage you've taken. The radio crackles and a reassuring British voice gives you a general idea of how badly you're doing. More interaction with this fellow would have been great.
Other great touches include a robust replay feature, an A.I. autopilot, and enough exhaustive telemetry stats to make your head pop. There's also multiplayer support, but the online netcode leaves something to be desired, particularly in a game that requires so much precision. Bits of lag are likely to sabotage your hard work. It all works well enough on a LAN, but there's no way to include A.I. drivers in multiplayer games.
The bottom line about GTR is that it's not a game, but a sim. This is kind of a shame, because one of the lessons learned, and forgotten, and learned again, is that even sims can be games. Compare the excellent IL-2 Sturmovik and Silent Hunter III. They're both built for hardcore realism, but only the latter is also built to be a game. The subject matter among these games is apples and oranges, but GTR takes the IL-2 approach at a time when we need more games with the Silent Hunter III approach.