Like a lot of Xbox owners, I have been waiting for that killer racing-sim to come out for the system. I was always a big fan of the Gran Turismo franchise when I owned my PlayStations, so I was excited when I heard about Forza Motorsport. While it's not perfect, if you like what the Gran Turismo games have to offer then this game is perfect for you.
Gameplay: Like I have mentioned, if you have played Gran Turismo before you will know what to expect here. But that's not to say Forza Motorsport just apes G.T. comepletely. It definately makes it's own mark and has some pretty cool new ideas. Unfortunately, it still relies on the (now getting stale) same gameplay premise: You start a 'Career Mode' with some cash. You then buy your first car. Then you go and race that car to make money. You can then upgrade your car to make it better. Then you race some more and earn some more money to buy more cars for your garage. And then you repeat this about a zillion times.
Now that is a very basic way of explaining career mode, but it's basically the addictive nature of these games. Unfortunately for me, this got a big repetitive after awhile. Sure it's fun to get new cars and upgrade them like crazy, but I did the same thing in the 90's when the original G.T. came out. And it's pretty much the backbone of the 'Career Mode'. But most people will not look at this as a bad thing, I just would've liked something different.
Fortunately, Forza has some very nice additions to the genre that I hope to see in future racing games. One of the best is, what I will call, the 'suggested line'. While you are driving there is a line on the road that helps you gauge what speed you should take corners by using a color code system. If it's green, you know to hit the gas. If it's red, you know to break. It sounds pretty simple, but it is absolutely genius if you are learing a new track. The only problem with it is that it makes the game a bit easy & you get so used to it being there that if you turn it off, it really screws you up. Other than that, it's a great feature.
Another is the fact that there are no license tests!!! YES!!!! I can't explain the amount of frustration that I used to have with those stupid license tests in Gran Turismo. Forza uses a level-up system that takes into account your cumulative cash that you have won and you gain levels at certain points. After awhile, different racing circuits open up as you gain higher levels. Very slick idea.
I also like the physical damage you can do to your car and how it effects the way your car drives and/or handles. If you smash into a wall or another car, you will pay the price. And not only will your car drive worse, you are charged for the repairs at the end of the race.
There are a nice amount of cars in the game, but it's not anything I haven't seen before. Most of the really good ones open up as your progress in the career mode, of course. The game could've really used a few more tracks though. After playing the game for several hours, you will feel like you have raced on the same 5-6 tracks over and over. And the tracks that are here, aren't all that great.
The AI of the computer drivers is very good. With most of the 'assists' (anti-lock breaks, stabitiliy system, 'suggested line', etc.) turned off, you will have some problems beating the computer on many tracks. For the most part, the AI is excellent and fair, sometimes it's just flat-out cheap and annoying. Like when you get slammed into and sent flying into a wall while the CPU continues on like nothing happened, that is annoying beyond words. Especially since if you tried that, you would also get sent flying.
There are a few other additions to the genre that are worthwhile, but I will let you find those out for yourself. Basically, if you liked the Gran Turismo games you will know what to expect here.
Graphics: This is a very nice game to look at. It' s not going to wow all of your friends or make you go buy an HD TV, but the visuals are great. The cars all look very nice and there is no pop-up (which can really kill the look of a racing game).
Sound: While the cars all sound great, the music here is terrible. Thankfully, you can use any music you have saved on your harddrive instead. So if you have some 'cruising music' to listen to, this is the game for it. I even made a special soundtrack just for this game alone.
Value: If you like the addictive nature of the career mode, this game will have you playing it for a long time. Plus the online modes are all great, so you can spend even more hours trying out your cars on Xbox Live.
I really liked this game, even though I would've liked something more 'revolutionary'. Maybe it's not fair to compare this game to the Gran Turismo franchise, but it's sure hard not to. You can tell a lot of work went into this title and I commend Microsoft for adding some nice features instead of just completely rehashing what Sony did. Simply put, if you like the Gran Turismo franchise but only own an Xbox........then you must own this game.
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