Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Just plain fun"

When I played Forza 4, I really liked it, but the appeal wore off as it became the same after a while (go around this track really quickly). When I heard that Forza Horizon was coming out and that it was going to be free roam, I was really excited for this new angle. After months of anticipation, I was in no way disappointed. This game is everything it promises to be, immersive, realistic, beautiful, and just plain fun. You can just drive around in the huge world without racing and still enjoy yourself. The popularity rankings set goals for things other than winning races like driving at high speeds and drifting. These side goals are a great way to make some more credits to buy your favorite car, but they also make the game have more depth and more enjoyable even if you aren't a big racer. The off-road areas bring new parts to the game that the previous Forzas never had. This game though, does have a few flaws. First, because the game is so big, it does not have as great of graphics as Forza 4, but this is barely noticeable when you are driving on a highway completely absorbed by your speed. Secondly, the off-road sections seem somewhat limited. There are dirt trails and some open areas, such as a golf course, that you can drive on, but much of the open land, such as a pretty cool looking wind farm, is fenced off making it impossible to enter. This is a disappointment if you are looking to endlessly driving off-road without it getting repetitive. Apart from these flaws, you may find that there are not many cars available to be purchased. More cars of course will be added by DLC, but this costs more money on top of the sixty dollars that have already been paid for the game, so be prepared to put out more money if you want more cars. This game overall though is great. The free world gives a new sense of speed, and the speed cameras make speed a competition with everyone. The ability to race computer players almost anywhere right from the street is also fun, but when it comes down to it this game is great because it gives something that previous driving games have not really been able to do: make a realistic game that gives the gamer a sense of adventure.