im not one for driving games (i hate them) but this has won me over completely....
this though, is perfect in driving terms.
theres oversteer, understeer when there should be and it tracks straight and true when you do the right thing. power slides can be held round corners and you can also do Scandinavian flicks if your really good.
but lets get to the main bits of the game.
i haven't played this game much but i have dabbled in the arcade mode system yet as i haven't played it much since i bought it (Xbox now has the same functionality as a toastie maker ) but ive heard that cars can be unlocked in arcade for career, which would be good if it could but ill edit this review at a later date if it doesnt.
career mode is where ive spent most of my time and its brilliant. done most of the rookie, semi pro and manufacturer races and got myself a decent collection of cars and a tricked out mini and Golf R32 for main races but im most impressed about the class system and upgrades. the upgrades actually do stuff to your car. i was amazed, after the GT4 experience of upgrades do nothing, improving tires actually makes handling better. thee engine mods make the car sound different and behave different.
the class systems mean that you cant just go for everything max and blast the track so on the limited BHP races you play the game of getting it as close as possible to the limit which is great.
but i think whats really cool is the online stuff. you can race other people as you would expect but the longevity of the online is amazing. you can enter for tournaments and play with the vets or the rookies or just race casual.
you could also race for pink slips but it would require some comms with the other player and the best part of online. trading.
you have several methods of trading cars. first, you could just give the car to the other player using the "gift car" feature. second, you could auction it on the Forza auction house and basically play Ebay for cars. or thirdly (which is what me and my friend do) is put a car up that they want and ask them how much they want to pay for it then they just bid for it and hope that no-one else bids. its works for us so far.
this is a must have for all driving game addicts but its also a great game for the "not-so-sures" who don't like driving games. i converted after playing this game, i now like GRID and PGR4.
and for the bemused, i put "check your bargain bin" because you can now pick up this awesome game for around £12.99. if you live in england that is (gamestation are pukka).