A different kind of Forza but the same stellar conclusion. Hint: It is awesome!

User Rating: 9 | Forza Horizon X360
This game really has no right to be this good. No cops, no crazy jumps, no driving off the track in an open world racer. Yet here I am wondering if this is the best racer I have played this generation. Could be. But finding something to compare it too is a little hard. It isn't really like Forza 4 or GT5 but it isn't quite Burnout either. The cars control as arcade or as sim as you want so you basically get the best of both worlds. You have standard races, 1 on 1 races, glorified time trials racing against planes and hot air balloons, sections where you just try and hit top speeds, signs to destroy for discounts, old cars called barn finds to discover hidden in the world (Supposed to be Colorado and does a decent job of doing it), and Forza 4's insane livery / car details system. But it is all kept in realism so maybe it is a tad too safe for a system with 3 Forza's and 2 Project Gotham's. The cars look great bit not quite up to Forza 4's levels plus there are not quite as many to choose from. It also runs at 30 fps instead of 60. And when you see it you will know why. It looks incredible and some of the cars are so fast it looks like the road textures are moving backwards! Great variety in racing terrain as well. Dirt, mud, street, gravel. It is all here and most races require you driving on more than one. It has the best lighting engine in any racer by far, a sweet day to night cycle, and very little pop-in. And these tracks are insanely detailed. Nothing is better than driving through the forest and seeing the lights from a nearby town or better yet, the Horizon Festival in the background. It is a looker and one of the best looking console games out period. Speaking of the festival that counts as your hub for all things racing. Your garage, upgrades, all done there. There is somewhat of a story to it but I lost interest in it. Needless to say the music was decent enough that I did not load up my hard drive music to turn it off. The story did do a good job on how you earn the wrist bands, which in actuality just opens up more tracks. If you have a 360 and like racers there is no reason not to pick this up. It is probably the best racing game out, and since racing is usually my favorite genre, that is saying something.