Forza Motorsport is the definitive racing sim for the XBOX, and it may even rival GT4.
GAMEPLAY
When I got my Xbox, one of the very first games I got for it was PGR. It wasn’t long before I traded it in for another game. Kudos… absolutely ridiculous. I don’t want Kudos, I want cash; and I want to be able to upgrade my car to my liking. I especially don’t want the outcome of a race, and especially the ability to progress in the game, to rely on Kudos. I want to be able to ram the car ahead of me to spin him out or put him in the sand, use him as a guide as I take a turn too fast on the inside, and cut corners and bump into walls when necessary. Forget style, I want to be able to drive aggressively. That’s the reason I was ecstatic when I found out Microsoft Studios made a driving sim more like the GT series.
When I got GT for the PSX, I automatically fell in love with it. Since then, there have been lots of improvements made to each successive GT game, making the short time I got with each one of them thoroughly enjoyable. The latest installment, GT4, came out before the release of FM. Unfortunately, it’s also the one I’ve been able to spend the least amount of time with. This is where Acid1013’s imparted knowledge comes into play.
The Green Mile:
Both games offer a line which is meant to help you follow the best path when navigating the course. It is normally green, until it would recommend you to slow down in which case it turns yellow and red. Apparently, after a certain point in GT4, this guiding line is no longer available. I actually find that to be a disadvantage. I personally continue to use that green line though I’ve been advancing quite far into the game. One of the things I disliked about driving sims is that I felt like I had to memorize the tracks in order to win tough races. The green line makes it easier for me to just jump on a track I haven’t done in a while and successfully complete it in good time. This is not completely true however, because if you followed the line exactly, chances are that you’re not driving aggressively enough. Regardless of that fact, it still helps so that you don’t have to memorize each track. Either way, when you go head-to-head, and probably when you play on Live, you don’t have the option of using that green line.
Have It Your Way:
In the same way you can choose to always have the green line, Forza allows you to manipulate the difficulty in several different aspects instead of simply selecting between Easy/Normal/Hard, rewarding or penalizing you accordingly by awarding/deducting from the money you earn from a race. In this way, even little kids can continue to learn and enjoy the game. The aspects they allow you to choose from include AI difficulty, ABS on/off, STM on/off, Car Damage cosmetic/simulation, etc. I don’t know if GT4 always works in this way, but I know that GT1 did not, so I’ll assume it still doesn’t.
And the Rich Get Richer:
In the GT series, you must earn licenses to be able to participate in the next level of competition, which is indeed intuitive. However, in FM, you’re able to participate in higher difficulty races by simply earning a certain amount of money. I believe this is actually better in the long run. That way if you get stuck, you can continue playing in races you know you will win to continue earning money until reaching the next level, where you may find that there are other races you may be able to win and continue to move on.
The Fast and the Furious:
I was informed by Acid1013 that in GT4, one could install Nitrous Oxide shots in their car. Though that’s cool and all, both he and I agree that FM has a much cooler feature, which is dropping an entirely new engine in your car. NOS vs. dropping a new engine…. And FM comes out on top!!!
GRAPHICS
This is where the PGR series comes out on top in comparison. PGR is a more stylized game with greater attention placed on the cars, and even more so, on the environments. However, the difference between them would be PGR=10 & FM=9.5. As for comparisons between FM and GT in this realm, they are imho dead even.
Emulator Note: For some reason, graphical quality actually gets degraded when playing FM on the 360. There must be an issue with the emulator. This is degradation in graphical quality is especially noticeable when you use the behind the car view. It becomes very choppy whenever you attempt it unfortunately.
SOUND
The sound effects in the game are impeccable. As for the musical styling, I love it!!! However, it likely won’t appease everyone’s tastes. The tracks focus mostly on rock, which for me is great since I love rock. That shouldn’t be a problem though, since I believe that you can use your own tracks, though I’m not sure seeing as I’ve never felt the need to do so.
Emulator Note: The emulator for B/C on the 360 distorts the sound quality, muffling the music more than the sound effects, but degrading both.
VALUE
This is where the GT series comes out on top. GT has more game content then Forza. This is probably FM’s weakest point. However, you can go on Live and play real life opponents whenever you want which I think increases its replay value a great deal.
OVERVIEW
All-in-all, Forza Motorsport is a superb game, and I would recommend it to any Xbox owner over a PGR game. While I feel that FM has not reached the same status as GT, I feel that it is actually more noob and casual driver-sim friendly, and holds certain other advantages over the GT series. Hopefully, if and when FM2 comes out, it will surpass the legacy of its predecessor, and even outdo the GT series. However, if you have an Xbox360 and think of buying FM for it, there are some issues with the B/C emulator that will disillusion you.