Simply put, I am not a petrol-head. Not even close. Hell, I don’t even have my driving licence yet. My knowledge of the inner-workings of vehicles is very limited, with the basis of that knowledge originating from a now well known racing game called Forza Motorsport.
This is the game which redefined my opinion of cars. And it wasn’t just myself that Forza had that positive affect on, as Turn 10’s community manager Brian Ekberg states “We want to turn car lovers into gamers and gamers into car lovers”. If this is the case, Turn 10 is definitely steering the Forza franchise in the right direction, and with the release of the series’ fourth instalment right around the corner, Forza Motorsport has never looked more finely tuned.
If I could take one criticism from Forza 3, it would be that the game felt almost too clinical. Without sounding too vague, Forza 3 felt too sure of itself, it was almost as if some of the core game play element which made me a Forza fan in Forza 2 was missing. Unable to get around this, my brief fling with Forza 3 ended with me feeling under whelmed by what Turn 10 had presented to me. Looking back at the game however, I did like Forza 3. Despite the nagging feeling that the game simply wasn’t as good as its predecessor, I enjoyed my time playing the game, and after a year away from the franchise, I am ready to strap myself back into the drivers seat, and take Forza Motorsport out for another spin.
So, what’s new in Forza Motorsport 4 then? What can truly separate Forza 4, from Forza 3? First things first, Forza 4 is brimming with new features. Worried that all of the money and precious cars you have accumulated in Forza 3 will be left in the cold when you boot up Forza 4? Worry no more, as you will be able to transfer a certain amount of in-game credits and vehicles accumulated in Forza 3, into the new game. Have your fears been allayed yet? Good. Moving on, Forza 4 will be the first game in the series to utilise the oh so popular Xbox motion tracker Kinect, allowing players to tilt their head ahead of a tricky apex and see what lies ahead. Kinect will also supply as a controller for races, however by default the Kinect sensor will apply an auto-brake for the player. A decent addition, but hardly worth the purple ‘Kinect’ banner across the game case. This next feature however, uses Kinect to perfection.
Welcome to Autovista, Forza Motorsport 4’s new flagship game mode. Autovista allows players to explore vehicles in the game as if they were purchasing them in a car showroom (Yeah, like I will ever even be that close to a Bugatti Veyron), and pushes Forza’s impressive graphics engine to the limit. By applying Kinect to the new mode, players can highlight several different areas of the vehicle in order to bring up information on them, which the game will then narrate. And who better to narrate such automotive eroticism, than Top Gears very own grumpy cynic Jeremy Clarkson, who represents part of the new licensing deal involving Forza Motorsport and Top Gear.
As well as having Clarkson’s inimitable voice deliver even the most humdrum of vehicles in high-praise, Forza 4 will feature Top Gear inspired multiplayer games such as Car Bowling and Car Football, and even the official Top Gear test track complete with accurately portrayed camera angles. For people lucky enough to get the limited edition of the game, the Top Gear lads have provided a 96 page collectors book detailing every car in the game as written by editors of Top Gear magazine. Forza and Top Gear, a match made in heaven? Could be.
Next to Autovista comes another new feature in World Tour Mode. Previously known as ‘Season Play’ in previous Forza iterations, World Tour Mode is an upgraded and enhanced version of Season Play. The main upgrade being that World Tour Mode will feature a progressive difficulty level, meaning that AI drivers modify their cars based on your performance. How’s that for competition? Players now also have the option of choosing one of three vehicles to claim as a prize for winning a tournament.
New standard race types also feature, which include multiple heat races, autocross and drift races. As always with a sequel to a racing game, more cars and tracks feature than ever before. So far, several new vehicles have been confirmed, one of which is the Top Gear reasonably priced Kia Cee’d. When the game is released, Forza 4 will include just over 500 cars from 80 different manufacturers. Official licensed tracks which have been announced thus far include Hockenheimring and the Bernese Alps, with the full game set to include near 32 official tracks.
Aesthetically, Forza 4 looks close to perfection, I mean, how much more realistic can these cars actually look? My hope is that Forza 4 can take the overall fun experience and enjoyment factor of Forza 2, and combine it with the improved graphics and realism of Forza 3. If Turn 10 have managed to create a hybrid of Forza 2 and 3, then Forza Motorsport 4 will be the Forza game I have always wanted, then it will easily retain its title of being Xbox 360’s premier racing title.
Forza 4 is an Xbox 360 exclusive, available in Europe on October 14th.
The Autovista game mode sounds pretty good to me. And 500 cars in a game? I think Forza is pushing too hard to achieve what you called a game too close to perfect.
Welcome to NoobFeed mate. This is an A+ article to start blogging in here :)
Thanks for the feedback guys.
And apologies for the error, I will put that one down to tiredness.
@Demoman what @Draken said lol. Dont be such a racing game hog! Sony has all the best titles!...and i havent played one in a while so i might shoot for this one.
@Ashley great article. kudos indeed and welcome to the noob family :D
Hey I like the new banner. Just need time to get used to. Hope that you all are doing well. Blessings of March on the way!
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