The reason I bought a Playstation2 was because of the available games at the time of purchase 3 years ago. Although I knew that Xbox had superior graphical detail, a higher processor clock speed and a hard drive I was so thoroughly enamored with games my purchasing decision was swayed to the PS2. That and there's something about supporting Microsoft that gets my blood boiling. Obviously one of the primary games that effected my decision was Gran Turismo 3, simply the pinacle of racing simulation games on any platform. With the recently released Gran Turismo 4, the level has been raised yet again, offering fantastic game play, a small leap in graphics and depth is cars, tracks and customizations that will keep me occupied for the next year. If this was the state of console gaming then, in my mind, the PS2 is still the clear choice. Enter Forza Motorsport (FM) for the Xbox and now the line is significantly blurred.
I haven't had alot of time to play FM, and I admit that I have barely scratched the surface of the game. However, I thought it would be nice to give a cursory review of the actual retail release of this amazing game. Before I begin I must say that most of my time was spent playing 2 player splitscreen arcade mode but I did take look into single player arcade and freerun. I have not yet delved into the single player campaign mode so I have no comment about the upgradeability of all the cars. Suffice to say I know that all those options are there in spades. I apologize now for the references and comparisons to GT4 as I did a side-by-side comparison of the two. And one final qualification before I talk about the game specifics, please treat this as a mini-review or preliminary review of FM as I have not had enough seat time with it to explore it's depths nor have I read any reviews or previews of the game.
Graphically FM is simply incredible. Overall it is clearer, has less aliasing and has a further draw distance than GT4. The tracks are gorgeously rendered with better texturing and seemingly more graphical road imperfections. On some tracks I almost felt the road was pitted or cambered in ways. Perhaps that has more to do with the shock mechanism in the controller than graphics but more on that later. Lighting is realistically mapped and on some night city tracks it proved to be a genuine hinderance. As it should be! I found that I was realistically smashing into certain obstacles that I didn't see were there. The cars are also jaw-dropping. On the ~60" rear projection 16:9 HDTV I was playing on, the graphical detail and moreover the real-life accuracy of the automobiles was awe-inspiring. Not to mention being able to drive select Ferraris, Astons, Mercedes and Porches was an absolute blast. On the car selection screen each car has a number of different colours and full rotation using the right analog stick for your viewing pleasure. I did notice that loading of the car graphic on these screens popped up after a few second wait. Seeing these cars in motion is a treat as there are 4 selectable viewing angles. Two 3rd persons and two 1st person perspectives. The cars look so amazing that I had to view from the 3rd person to take in the visual glory. A welcome addition to this type of game is the damage model. Rubbing up against a guard rail will leave a nice streak of paint and some nasty visual damage to the vehicle. This isn't Burnout3 so don't expect to see a caved in fender or bumpers, hoods and doors flying off (it would be admittedly cool) but the damage will effect the handling and performance of your vehicle. Side sideways into a wall a few times and you'll notice the challenge is now trying to drive the car straight.
The only graphical lows are the same issues with GT4. In split-screen multiplay mode the graphical quality drops off slightly compared to single player. Not nearly as noticable as in GT4 but still noticable. People standing off to the side are 2D cardboard cutouts and some of the tree and leaves look pretty chinsy. One niggle that I couldn't figure out was how to get the replay to work in multiplayer. I really would have liked to see the race playback from different camera angles a la Gran Turismo. I'm sure the option is there but we couldn't find it after the race completed. In a word the graphics are brilliant. Enough said about this, really just look at the plethora of online screen shots and that's exactly what its like only moving.
In arcade mode the number of cars immediately available are more than adequite with even more unlockable as you progress. Although the total number of cars in-game are not as extensive as GT4, the types of cars may actually have a greater appeal to the North American crowd. The supercars are there including the afore mentioned Ferraris and Porches but it was a pleasant treat to see the Pagani Zonda present and accounted for, right off the bat. One might figure that it would be an unlockable car but no. Noticably absent were the older cars but perhaps they are available in campaign mode. The number of tracks immediately available include a good number of short circuit tracks and a handful of point-to-point tracks. I found the point-to-points were very cool and included a few variations of "touge" or steep mountain pass tracks. This proved to be more than enough material for hours of splitscreen multiplay. Well done Forza, one of the annoying things about GT4 is that the out-of-box arcade play was severely limited.
The controls and driving feel follows the lead of GT4 to a T. Gameplay feels virtually identical in this regard save the fact that the accelerate and brake controls use the left and right analog trigger buttons. This actually works better than using the right analog stick as in GT4 as I found it's a more natural grip. Now I'm not a very good driver so the handling and control of the vehicles felt just about right in that I was still able to hobble my way through a course unsuccessfully attempting to out-in-out and slow-in-fast-out the corners. Felt right and had the similar out-of-control effects that normally occur, so let's just say it's spot on then. The only other thing I can mention is that I missed not having the G sensor and throttle/brake position indicators on screen as in GT4. Again, doesn't make or break the race for me but it would have been nice to include it.
so far from the little that I've seen and played I can safely say that FM is a milestone for the Xbox. Since launch there has been a huge void for a GT4 equivalent game for Microsoft's console that has now been filled. FM had alot to live up to and I am pleasantly surprised that this game lives up so well. If only Forza was released 3 years ago my console purchasing decision may have turned out differently. Finally I would like to reiterate that although I have not explored the full depths or exhaustively examined all game-play elements, from what I have seen we have a must-buy on our hands for any Xbox racing sim fan. Throw in Xbox live online play and a deep campaign mode and you've got alot of pasty faced Xbox owners wasting their lives away in front of their TVs. Good job Microsoft!
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