Photo gallery: Forza MotorsportForza is a racing simulation that has long been in gestation, but the delays and years in development will all seem worthwhile when you see how much has been packed into the game. Forza features more than 230 cars from more than 60 manufacturers, which you can race on more than 30 real world and fictional tracks. But it's not just sheer numbers that are important (GT4 has by far more cars and tracks, for example) - it's the level of gameplay and customisation options available that make Forza a standout.
Forza has all the typical racing simulation gameplay modes - arcade, career, time trial and more, but it's the career mode that will form the bulk of your experience. Players begin the game by choosing their 'home' region - North America, Asia or Europe. Choosing a region makes buying cars from that same region cheaper, while 'imports' from overseas will be more expensive. After you choose your first car (you begin with 23,000 credits), then it's off to win races.
Winning races is your key to earning credits and new cars. Credits won can be used to customise your rides (everything from performance upgrades to cosmetic ones), or to buy new cars from around the world. The amount of credits you've won also determines what level you are, with certain races in Forza only available after you reach a certain level. The races themselves pit you against seven other cars on tracks or point to point street races. Each race carries certain restrictions which limit the types of cars eligible, such as only front wheel drives or a certain class of vehicle.
Pimp out your ride
The cars in Forza are all grouped in classes depending on their power and performance - D for standard vehicles, C for sport, B for performance, A for high performance, S for ultra-high performance and R for purpose built race cars (most of the classes are further broken down into four subclasses). Forza, particularly once you get past the beginner races, uses these classes as race restrictions to make sure that you'll never see a Porsche against a Mini in a meet. In a handy feature, players can also preview what class of cars they're up against in a race. If there's something there that you're not competitive with, then it's off to your garage to buy some upgrades.
In the garage, players can add and tweak their cars to their heart's content, with the ability to add real manufacturer upgrades to engines, suspension, brakes, rims, superchargers and much more. Upgrades can bump a vehicle further up its class, and can even elevate it to a whole new class. Smart players will quickly learn that the secret to Forza is to intelligently manage their car classes. This means upgrading you car so it sits on the top of one class before tipping into another, where it can suddenly become drastically uncompetitive.
Performance upgrades are one thing, but car geeks will find Forza's impressively exhaustive car exterior customisation options a godsend. Players can truly pimp out any of their rides with real world decals, new paint jobs, side skirts, flares and much more, resulting in unique looking cars (and any of your changes will appear on the car during races). Casual car fans will probably find the level of customisation daunting, but fanatics will probably spend as much time tricking out their cars as they do on the track.
When it comes to actual racing, it's clear that Microsoft has gone to a lot of effort to make sure the game's physics engine simulates real world conditions as much as possible. Different car classes each have their own unique feel, and you will need to approach the driving in this game with more seriousness than something like Midnight Club 3. That means finding proper racing lines and corner entry points, braking early, and knowing how and when to accelerate.
For revheads and non-revheads
But while GT4 wore its ultra-realism and complexity as badges of honour, Forza goes out its way to welcome in players that may be new to the genre with a series of features that makes the game less daunting to pick up and play. Leading the charge is the Active Racing Line feature, a dynamic marker that appears on the track that tells you what line your car should take, and when to accelerate, brake and take your foot off the pedal. Newbies will find this feature indispensable, as it allows them to take on even the most complex track practically straight away without having to spend dozens of practice hours. Experienced players can, of course, turn off the Active Racing Line, but trust us - when you start racing the truly high powered beasts any help you can get is welcome.
This user-friendliness extends beyond the track into the cars themselves. As well as the typical ratings of power, torque, displacement and more, each car in Forza is rated on a simple numerical basis on speed, acceleration, braking and more. For those who have no idea what torque or displacement is, these simpler ratings allows them to easily see and compare one car to another, as well as quickly gauging what their planned upgrades will do to vehicle performance. There are plenty of other features (such as the game telling you how many cars you have in your garage that are eligible for a particular race, and taking you to them directly) which pop up throughout Forza that makes it welcoming for the inexperienced.
Even the game's much touted car damage feature can be tweaked for newbies. Forza features real time damage to your vehicles should you hit other cars or track barriers, and can be set as either simulation or cosmetic. Cosmetic means a few paint scrapes are all you can expect, while simulation will result in damage (should you prang your car seriously enough) that will affect your car's performance. This can range from subtle losses in power to more difficult steering and more. While you can't actually write off your car, doing serious damage will definitely lose you races.
But don't let all that fool you into thinking that Forza is car racing simulation-lite. Underneath the easy to use hood is an absolute beast that can be truly realistic (ie, unforgiving) if you turn off assists like the Active Racing Line, ABS, traction management and more. The game even rewards you for your expertise by giving you more race credits depending on how many of the assists you have turned off. And there's enough information about all aspects of your cars performance that would make Mark Webber's head spin- everything from tyre grip on corners, engine performance, acceleration rates and more are there if you choose to pay attention to it.
Take on the world
When it comes to your computer opponent's AI, Forza will pit you against credible opponents who react dynamically to situations. Opponents won't just blindly follow their preset racing lines -- they will check their courses, brake, swerve and more depending on the conditions in front of them. This adds even more realism to the game - sure, they will still crash into you on occasion and squeeze you out on corners, but the opponents behave intelligently and realistically for the most part.
But for true realism, nothing beats racing human opponents, and it's this area where Forza perhaps shines the most brightly. On-line play through Xbox Live is not just an afterthought to this game - it's an integral part that permeates all levels of play. Not only can you play multiplayer games online, nearly all of the regular career races can be performed against human opponents through Live.
If you're connected to Live while playing, the system will display before each race the top lap times from players around the world (meaning if you've got a top time, you've got some small claim to fame). And it's not just simple lap times - Xbox Live will feature hundreds of different leaderboards that will rank depending on car classes, time trials and much more. Add to this the ability to create car clubs, specify to the nth degree what type of Live races you want to play, buy and sell cars online from other players, and more, and it's easy to predict that Forza will quickly become a massive and interactive Live community. If you're planning on buying Forza, then trust us when we say getting it on Live is an absolute must.
Forza looks stunning on the Xbox, with the cars all showing exemplary details. And when you do hit something, the damage looks extremely realistic, whether it is paint scraped off your passenger side door or a bent bonnet. The tracks themselves are also well detailed, but in terms of raw eye pleasing punch, GT4 still takes the cake. Forza's sounds are well presented - the vehicles have come off better than the music though, as most of the game's soundtrack sounds like generic air guitar riffs. It does allow you to listen to your own custom playlists though, so start burning music onto your Xbox post haste.
There's plenty of other features that we just don't have the room to mention, but suffice it to say that Forza Motorsport is now the racing game to beat on the Xbox. In fact, in terms of sheer fun, ease of use and online integration, it's now the racer to beat on any system.
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