Forza Motorsport – Review

Virtually every console has their own killer racer, Nintendo offered the manic multiplayer addiction that was Mario Kart, Sega offered the instantly playable Sega Rally series and then there is Sony – who unwittingly re-invented the racing genre with its Gran Turismo series. So where did that leave Microsoft’s Xbox? Well it’s a bit of a strange one because Xbox offers you a string of very good racers without having something notably outstanding; however, you could argue that the Project Gotham franchise is Xbox’s pride & joy without actually being acclaimed to it in reputation. Maybe PGR3 on Xbox 360 will change all that, who knows! Microsoft clearly wants to match Sony’s efforts in every area possible, whether it being racers, RPG’s, shooters – where Nintendo & Sega tried and failed to compete. MS was having none of that and believed their development teams finally had the answers to oust the Gran Turismo series once and for all. Sega tried with SegaGT 3 times – but failed. MS’s answer for a perfect racing game is Forza Motorsport as it tries to fill that void in its roster of racing themes. But has it managed it?

Gameplay:
With Forza, it’s all about how many of the 233 cars you can collect & customise, from the main continents of North America, Asia & Europe. Forza has a wide variety of them all and will have something just right for you. Forza may not have a huge amount of tracks compared to say GT4, but it makes up for it with its great amount of depth found in each track. Atmosphere is very important in racing simulators and Forza achieves just that, a believably realistic environment perfectly suited to the game.

Starting out in Career mode, you’ll be asked to select a region. You are given a choice between North America, Europe, and Asia. The one you pick will affect what kind of cars you have to choose from and the location where you will first race. Thankfully, there are no licences to pass in this game and you are invited to start immediately, no messing around. As you progress in the career mode, each time you level up you will strike a deal with a manufacturer, meaning you’ll receive discounts with their products on future purchases. To level up, you have to complete races. Every time you come in first, second, or third, you will earn credits; also known as your money. Apply your credits to purchase upgrades of different kinds, and of course, your favourite cars. Bear in mind though that the career mode expects you to purchase specific cars to enter specific races, so at first it’s wise to spend the bare minimum, and believe me, there is a lot of things you can buy if you really want to smarten your car up with its various custom paint jobs and logos!. All of this can be taken online; indeed, you can actually play the career mode whilst on Xbox Live! All of the features to be found in the offline career mode are also found online. Other modes included in the game are the standard Arcade, Time Trials & Free Run modes.

And now this is where a lot of the hype surrounding Forza comes into play – it offers many different customization options, everything from basic upgrades to outrageously funky designs. The great thing about this is you can craft your car any way you want to. You can give it your own custom logo, draw something on it, give it a slogan and so on. With one hundred layers of possibility, pretty much anything is possible, a total first for a serious racing sim.

Graphics:
Depending on what you are expecting, Forza actually looks stunning in parts, but of course, direct comparisons will be made to GT4 in which arguably GT4′s vibrant, colourful & glossy visuals would win most people over, but even so, Forza produces some gorgeous landscapes, sunsets & reflections, and as previously mentioned, the game’s visuals really set an appropriate atmosphere to drive in, not wanting it to look too extravagant. You can compare some of the courses to their real life counterparts and you would seriously not be able to tell the difference. Car models are not overly shiny like in some games but does an appropriate enough job and they still look great. Damage effects are cleverly portrayed, your car can receive a good battering & unlike some racing games though, this actually matters. If your car is too damaged you will not be able to finish the race which forces you to restart. Forza has some of the most beautiful road surfaces I have ever seen in a racing game, the different textures are so life like.

Handling & AI:
In my honest opinion, discounting the arcade racing category, this game has the best handling I have ever experienced. The cars reacts perfectly, there is no hint of any under or over steer, even with car’s that you would expect to handle awfully you can still manage to complete a race without becoming frustrated or smashing into other drivers. Additionally, the game provides you with many custom options and aids, and for those who are not very accustomed to racing simulations, you can turn on and follow the racing line at all times – even during online play. This does help tremendously & also gives the player the opportunity to learn the tracks. AI opponents are extremely challenging & clever without being too aggressive, and amusingly also act as humanely as possible causing their own crashes and not always taking the perfect racing line.

Sound:
Unfortunately, something’s got to give, and yet again it comes down to the poor in game music. How often do we say that about a game! What is on offer is a mixture of soft rock with other elements thrown in for good measure. None of the music is licensed either, so it’s just sub standard. However to make up for this, you can add your own custom soundtracks just like in the PGR series. The cars engine sounds are spot-on. Different cars will have different sounds as expected. The deaf gamer can rest assured they can enjoy this title with no draw backs.

The Female Perspective:
There are no notable female elements to the game as such, not even any beautiful ladies posing against the most luxurious cars, as found in other racers. No, Forza MotorSport focuses completely on racing and if you are a female lover of motorcars then this is an essential purchase.

Summary:
Forza Motorsport is like a dream come true for serious racing game fans. Not only does it play almost faultlessly, it also looks the part. And in addition, unlike even the mighty GT4, Forza offers a unique online experience that will last you a lifetime, where you can buy and sell cars for a profit, show off your custom produced cars to the envy of your friends, breaking records for fun, playing the online Career mode & of course racing against Xbox Live players in an impressively lag free experience, the online options are endless. If you love racing games then you must buy this game, it’s as simple as that. Xbox may be nearing the end of its road, but what it has given us is one of the best racing experiences ever captured through a video game, and for me, the best racing game currently available on any console to date.

Review by Danny