Customer Reviews
BEST RACING GAME EVER
Forza Motorsport is by far the best racing game not only for xbox, but for all consoles. It is better than GT4 in every way, though some people don't think so. One reason why it is the best is how you can customize any car in any way possible. Also, when you crash it inflicts damage to your car which affects your car's performance and deducts money from your race winnings, which adds to the realism of the game. Overall, I think Forza Motorsport is better than every other racing game out there.
Gran Turismo, honey, I think we should see other racing games
I've been a fan of the Gran Turismo series for a little while now, and I've had a lot of fun with it. However, Forza Motorsport has shown me the light. While Gran Turismo 4 has many strong points, it falls short of Forza in a number of key areas and can't hold on to the crown of King of Racing Games. If you're impatient, jump to my summary items at the end of this review. :-)
First off, a very important element: how easy is it to jump into the game? Forza is amazingly accessible right out of the gate. You have a number of options for driving aids and difficulty, with a corresponding change in how much you can win for each race. The "suggested line" option shows you where to drive on the track, and what speed to go. The suggested line takes into account your current speed AND the capabilities of your car - it's not some static representation of what the "ideal" car should do, it's an amazingly helpful tool for finding out where YOUR car should be and how fast it should be going. Phenomenal, especially if you're not used to remotely realistic racing sims.
Speaking of realism, how do the cars handle? Forza does an amazing job of modeling the various cars, and they all genuinely feel unique. One major problem I have with the Gran Turismo games is that most stock cars feel like you're driving the friggin' Titanic, and the only way to make them even remotely viable for racing is to hobble along through tedious races to get lots of dough and upgrade them like crazy. And once you've upgraded your car to a certain point, it basically drives like every other car in the game. In Forza, you can actually race in low level races with stock cars (go figure!) and different cars have very noticeable differences in how they drive, with and without various upgrades.
Another important element in Forza is damage modeling. The game is light years ahead of Gran Turismo in this regard, since the GT series essentially has NO damage modeling. In Forza, if you bounce your car off a guardrail, you're going to damage it and two things will happen - first, your car will handle differently, and second, the cost of repairs is deducted from your winnings. I've found that damage can have a profound effect on your driving in Forza. Bang the left side of the car up against the aforementioned guardrail and your car might end up with issues of the "dang thing keeps pulling to the side" variety. There's definite incentive NOT to bang up your ride.
The final aspect I want to talk about is the overall feel of the game. As if Forza didn't smack Gran Turismo around in all the previously mentioned areas, this is where the real deal breaker is. Forza absolutely trounces Gran Turismo for subjective feel in my opinion. While the environments may not be quite as crisp as those in GT4, they have a much more "lived in" feel. Your car reacts to the road in a much more realistic fashion, rocking as you go through bumpy banking turns, etc. Forza also offers a much better sense of location - particularly in the "point to point" races. I just got through driving one of the "hill climb" tracks, and it's amazing! You really get the feel of driving up a winding road, your engine straining against the pull of gravity, your breaks squealing as you whip around switchback turns and climb ever higher.
All right, enough blathering - and I haven't even touched on other stuff, like the "drivatar" AI that you can train to drive races for you (actually pretty handy, and a good way to hone your own skills). Here's the breakdown:
THE GOOD
- Great graphics. Not always as sharp as GT, but generally more complete feeling and offering more depth to where you drive.
- Nice soundtrack, including in-game controls for changing tracks and volume without having to pause the race.
- Fantastic modeling of the cars, with each one having a distinct feel regardless of how much or how little you upgrade it.
- Great variety of tracks. Very few of them are annoying to race on.
- Much less tedious "money treadmill" than in Gran Turismo - it doesn't feel like such a chore to progress through and win cars/cash. Prizes come a lot quicker, and cars are a LOT more capable off the bat.
- Damage modeling, and it actually adds something to the game!
- You don't need super-sticky racing tires to keep your car on the track (I'm looking at you, GT!) and even if you have them, they don't shred after just 2 laps (again, looking at you, GT!)
- The "suggested line" feature is downright awesome even for experienced players.
- Computer AI that not only doesn't suck, but actually acknowledges your presence on the track rather than riding around on rails and ramming into you! Go figure!
THE BAD
- Graphics engine sometimes blurs even close up objects (mostly during weird camera angles on replays) for some odd reason.
- Not as many cars as Gran Turismo, if you actually care - there's still tons to play with.
THE UGLY
- Can't think of a single thing. Even coming up with stuff for "THE BAD" was a stretch.
THE SUMMARY
Buy this game. Buy it now. I don't care if you like racing games or not, you will find something here that will hook you and have you driving up and down snow-covered mountains in your wicked tricked out racer.
Great Racing Game!
Forza Motorsport is a pleasantly addictive game that offers hours of challenging fun. The graphics and realistic car and track setups further entise the need to continue to play. Only two (personal) drawbacks enter my opinions of this game. Pit stops should be offered no matter what setting you are in - from practice to full on racing. Second, the custom setup (fine tuning) of each car should be supplemented by a "crew chief" making recommendations - depending on driving style, track conditions, and car upgrades (this is not so). Instead, many hours are spent tuning, testing and evaluating each car. I hope this review helps... Now, I've got to get back to racing!
