This is Forza?
User Rating: 9.7 | Forza Motorsport XBOX
First of all, WOW! Talk about night and day, talk about Forza demo and Forza final version. What a difference! I was really excited about this game, until I played the demo; yes, I was thinking another Sega GT. I love the GT series, and when GT 4 came out, I was laughing at Forza…that demo pretty much proved to me that GT 4 has nothing to worry about. Plus, Forza was delayed from end of 2004 to March, then April, and finally May. Microsoft, thank you for taking your time! What a difference does a few months make, because I was just shocked by the graphics alone. GT 3 had better graphics than Forza demo; the final game’s graphics are so clean, and polished. Cars are very well detailed, and the stages…they are just to die for. And I thought GT 4’s graphics couldn’t be topped. From pictures you may think the cars look like plastic, or that glare…but once you get to play the game, you will…just…watch, and not complain. The Nurburgring in Forza and GT 4 are like two different worlds….GT 4’s Nurburgring has very little going on in the back ground; while Forza has like crowds, big factories in the distance, and just lots of little attention to detail…wow. Moving on… I could care less about sound, yeah, the cars sounds good, tire squealing never sounded better, and yeah, music is ok I guess. Now the best part about Forza, its gameplay! The control is so smooth, the gameplay is so polished, and you will ask your self why you spent that $50 on GT 4 to begin with. Each car, yes, an S2000 and a 350Z will handle lot differently. Considering both are RWD cars; and that green thing that helps you keep on track, it’s just amazing. In GT 4, it was hard to pick the right angle and speed for a turn; but in Forza…it’s so simple, and yet fun! The actual race in GT 4 can also get dull and boring after a few laps, but in Forza, you are always looking for the next turn or straightway…because the AI keeps up with you! They don’t follow a pattern like they do in GT 4; instead, they will actually battle…and it’s worth watching the replay and seeing what the AI is doing. Amazing! There are roughly 230 cars in this game, yes, about 500 less than GT 4…but in Forza, you actually drive every car you buy/earn. It’s like every car has its purpose in this game, and you will end up driving and “modifying” almost all of them. In fact, I’ve repeated so many races, just so I could modify the NSX…and when I was done, I was just amazed at the level of speed, and how it felt; something you don’t get in GT 4. Also, it doesn’t take a lot of money to modify you car; well it does, but the races pay VERY WELL. If you are a good driver, raise the difficulty level, turn off the traction control; you will be rewarded! I haven’t had the time to check this game out over XBL; but I am just having a blast playing this game single player! There are plenty of races, and you spend half of time modifying/tuning/checking out the cars you have in the garage. I haven’t had this much fun with a racing game since the original GT or Wipeout XL; and I am just shocked at what MS did with 5 months they delayed the game for. If you like the concept of racing, then get this game; it’s the best car racing/simulation game in the world!
