Racing fans: The ultimate racing simulator is finally here!
User Rating: 9.6 | Forza Motorsport XBOX
To start off, I would like to give my opinion on the Forza vs. GT4 matter... Everything decribed in this review is based against other Xbox racing games. I don't care about GT4 or the crappy system it was made for. This review is entirely about Forza Motorsport and how it compares to other Xbox racing games. Those of you PS2 junkies who decided to review this game before playing it just to give praise to GT4 can just go to another review. In my opinion, Forza is much better, and yes, I have played them both. But this is my own personal opinion so you need not take it too heavily. Now that I've got that out of the way, I can start... Forza Motorsport has been a highly anticipated and long awaited (and delayed) for. The game was supposed to entirely surpass other great Xbox racing games such as the PGR series and have some of the gameplay components from racers such as Sega GT 2002 and the NFSU series. I'll tell you one thing about these propositions: they did more than I ever would have expected. The game seems to go on forever in terms of physics and realism. Everything from tire heat and brake heat can effect everything that goes on while you're racing. Even engine heat and damage is incorperated into the physics. While this may seem like a dumb addition, the whole perpose of this game was to be as real as possible. Many things on the difficulty changing menu can make the game much easier but yet so much harder. When you make the game easier, you get less money for your winnings, and when you make the game harder you will get more money for your winnings. Those who need a easy start will probably like it best at default because of the "Best-Route" line. This is a line indicated by arrows along the track. They stay green when you either need to accelerate more or if you are going at a good pace. It then turns yellow when you need to let off the gas or let on just a little brake, and it then may turn red telling you to slam on the brakes. It all may seem so unrealistic to most, but that's because many arcade style racing games have poisoned our minds with unreal racing and making us think that that's how it should be. Think about it: are you really going to make a 90 degree turn going 150 miles per hour? I don't think so! You're going to fly off the track and slam into the railing just as Forza does. You may also think: "Dirt doesn't slow me down that much!" Well, it may stop you more depending on the car weight, the percent of the weight to each side of the car, and the amount of friction and traction there is on your tires. And, yes, Forza also includes these aspects into the realism. But it doesn't stop here! Tuning is a great thing for gearheads to look at. You can tune many things from camber, caster, and toe of tires, damping, aerodynamics, stiffness of springs, and much more that is too complicated for me to understand but it sure is nice that it's there just in case I figure out what it is one day. Of coarse, though, there is a long description of each tuning area that will help you tune your car to perfection. After tuning you can really tell the difference in the way your car handles. You can almost feel the change. No game with tuning would be complete without the addition of exterior customization! You can place up to 600 layers of decals and vinyls on your car. Yes, that's right, six-hundred layers. And you can shape them, twist them, and flip them in so many ways that the car can be nobody else's but yours. You can also change the color of your hood, mirrors, and spoiler if you wish to do so. Also there are front and rear bumpers that you may add, sideskirts, spoilers, rims, and some cars can even have their rear lenses changed. Many cars are restricted from these because of the professional way they are built, and putting on these parts would just mess up the handling of the vehicle. There is another feature that is very cool and is great to have in the game. This is the locational damage modeling. If you get hit fomr behind at "thus and such" speed then it will have a certain unique damage model on the rear of your car. The damage can also affect alignment and aerodynamics to add even more realism. For instance, if you get hit on the front right side of your fender, your car may drift that direction because of the change in the alignment and aerodynamics. It all may seem very stupid, but it is such a realistic feature that you must enjoy it! Another part of the damage is internal. You can heat your engine, gearbox, you can ruin your suspension, brakes, and axels. Racing is intense and the sounds are great. When a car races past you going the other way, it makes the cool whizzing sound that has that engine hum to it is very cool. Every car sounds unique and the sound changes when you add new parts to the car. And that's another feature. You can add new engines, exhaust systems, transmission, brakes, tires, the works. It all makes a huge difference in handling and can usually insure a win. However if the game difficulty is turned up on the racing A.I., then the cares you race against may be tuned also. The types of races vary in length and location. There are "point-to-point" races which involve you going from one point of the track to another. NFSU fans will know them as "sprints". There are the amature races which usually have minimal race requirements and may use the lower class cars. Then there are professional races which are longer and require that you are a highter level. You gain levels by getting money from races. Professional races also may demand more expensive or unmodifyed vehicles. Championchip Races are the next level up and require races that are at least 10 minutes in length. Lastly there are the Endurance races which are very long (minimal of 25 laps), and require you to use pitstops for gas. Yes, you do have gas in this game but you never really need to look at the gauge until you're in the Endurance races. Overall this game is great and should not be passed up by any racing fan. And I have one thing to say for all you Xbox racers out there. Racing fans: The ultimate racing simulator is finally here!
