Forza 5 worth buying now?

I really wanted to buy Forza 5 shortly after launch to play on my Xbox One as it simply looks amazing and its been a very long time since I've played a racing sim. However I was extremely put off by all the negative reviews regarding micro-transactions. I haven't played it myself so please correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I heard there was basically a progression wall where if you wanted to get the best cars you either; a) grinded for an endless number of hours, or b) pay extortionate prices for them with real money. I found this scandalous, and as a strong opposer of micro-transactions in full retail price games this completely deterred me from buying it.

However I've only recently found out that they have since changed this (in December afaik), by significantly reducing the cost of cars when using in game currency while at the same time increasing the rate at which you earn said in game currency.

Without a doubt the game play and visuals are fantastic, the huge gripe myself and many others had was the in game economy. So, my question is, have these changes solved the issue, allowing you to unlock cars at a reasonable rate without purchasing them via micro-transactions? Appreciate any feedback from players who have played both before and after, or even just after this update.

Thanks!

Turn 10 have recently performed a U-Turn regarding many of the original DLC packs and have now made them FREE.

There remain a few cars which must still be purchased, however there is now a much larger selection on offer than what was originally on offer.

Gameplay wise, its very slick, running at a silky 60FPS at a full 'Native' 1080p, its visually stunning and plays extremely well.

One of the biggest complaints is the lack of Tracks however there is a very good selection of varied types and locations for different car Classes, however Forza purists will argue that Forza 5 falls way short compared to Forza 4, however Turn 10 are releasing new cars and even tracks on a regular basis.

Sure there is the ability to 'Boost' your player level via a DLC token, but this is completely optional and you are not forced to use it in any way.

The Marketplace is still not available therefore you are currently unable to Sell / Trade cars online, but I believe this is 'Coming Soon'.

In summary, it is a very good racer (especially with/against friends), but if you have any reservations, I would simply suggest 'Hiring' it and giving it a test drive (excuse the Pun : )

Hope this helps,

Thanks man, appreciate the advice. Always hate games that are ruined by the micro-transaction plague. I honestly have nothing against DLC that adds value e.g. cod map packs, gta story lines. But paying £5 for a tiny piece of content that should be an in game reward is so annoying, e.g. gun/ character skins on cod, cars on forza etc.

Yeah I've never played a Forza before so I wouldn't really be disappointed when comparing it to the older games (since I've not played them). Just really bored at the moment, got FIFA, CoD and Battlefield on launch, played loads of FIFA but hardly touched the other two. Looking for a few new games to get me through until the end of the year when some new titles come out, already ordered DR3 and AC:BF. I think I'll likely just buy it as I know I like racing games and this has great reviews gameplay-wise.

DR3 is really good fun, especially when playing Co-Op with a friend (check out 'Uploads') for a feel of what to expect. Ryse is also worth a blast, its visually stunning with a great SP campaign, yes the fighting does eventually begin to feel repetitive, but trust me it is hard to master and perfect. The MP Arena modes are 'Ok' but the SP really shines.

Definitely worth buying! They released some tracks for free as DLC as well as made some updates. I'm having a lot of fun with it!

It was always worth buying, even from that start. This game is not for everyone as some people find racing sims boring but if you're a car nut like me it's a must, microtransactions or not. They have fixed your gripes and concerns with the game though with the recent set of updates. So enjoy the game mate.

Just so it is clear, the paid dlc has not become free to buy. The cars are free in game to use but you must own the dlc or season pass to access them still. However Turn 10 have done two or three free packs so far (two tracks and I think a Honda pack).

Yes its a good pick up and play game if your not wanting to do a story game and just have a bezz around on it.

If you waited this long (half a year), perhaps hold out longer for an amazing lowered point on Forza 5 leaving you room buy DLC that you might want.

What really killed the game more than the micro-transactions were lack of tracks and game modes. I suppose microtransactions had a negative effect on car selection since you had to grind so much before you could get to the F1 cars, although even if you could buy any car, there were still lack of cars.

Hopefully they'll learn their lesson and make Forza 6 even better. Forza 5 had missing tracks, cars, and game modes because it needed to be a launch title. It would be cool if Microsoft kept putting out DLC releases for Forza 5 to add those cars and tracks and game modes without getting un-necessarily greedy... Probably not.

Not until they fix the shoddy menu design