Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox 360)

==Introduction==

Forza Motorsport 3 (known as Forza from this point onwards) was one of the most eagerly awaited titles to hit the Xbox 360 in 2009. Its predecessor, Forza 2 was released in 2007 and was acclaimed for being the most realistic racing game on any console due to its precise physics, collisions and general handling of the cars. Some people didn’t think that it was possible to improve on what already seemed like perfection ...
...go. Forza 3 was first previewed at the E3 video game conference in mid 2009. First impressions were that the graphics had been updated to stunning high definition backdrops and even more detailed cars, add to this the ability for cars to actually leave the road and flip over for the first time in the series. Of course, as this was being demonstrated at a show, we were only getting video footage but would the game live up to this hype on release date?
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Introduction

Forza Motorsport 3 (known as Forza from this point onwards) was one of the most eagerly awaited titles to hit the Xbox 360 in 2009. Its predecessor, Forza 2 was released in 2007 and was acclaimed for being the most realistic racing game on any console due to its precise physics, collisions and general handling of the cars. Some people didn’t think that it was possible to improve on what already seemed like perfection but developer, Turn 10 were determined to give it a go. Forza 3 was first previewed at the E3 video game conference in mid 2009. First impressions were that the graphics had been updated to stunning high definition backdrops and even more detailed cars, add to this the ability for cars to actually leave the road and flip over for the first time in the series. Of course, as this was being demonstrated at a show, we were only getting video footage but would the game live up to this hype on release date?

Installation

On opening the box, I was surprised to see the inclusion of two dvd disks instead of the normal one. This is the first game that I have owned which had come on two disks so I was eager to find out why. One reading the on-screen instructions I was told that the second disk contained extra tracks and cars, meaning that there was now even more items in the game than ever before. This extra content takes up 2.1Gb of space on your hard disk. This, of course means that Xbox arcade owners are not able to make use of this extra disk (due to the fact they have no hard disk drive), the game is still playable for these users but it does mean that they are not able to enjoy the full quota of circuits and cars meaning that their experience is going to be diluted somewhat.

In total, installation takes about 5 minutes. Once this is done, the second disk is not needed again as the actual game runs from a combination of disk one and the hard disk.

Game Modes

As with previous versions, Forza has multiple modes which will suit players of all types. Each of these game modes allow you to unlock extra content by completing races in high positions or by beating a qualifying time in a time trial. With each of these modes you can set the difficulty level to suit your needs. The easy level will assist you in braking as well as showing you the correct driving line for the entire race. This setting is probably a little too easy but it does serve as a gentle introduction to the game for users who are new to the series. As you go through the predefined settings, each higher level reduced more of the artificial assistance, taking things like car damage and manual gear changes into account. What I do like about this game is that it rewards players who prefer to use the harder settings, for example, on easy level you will get the basic points if you win a race, but on the harder levels, you get awarded a bonus for each aid that you have turned off. Another new feature introduced in this version is the facility to rewind part of the race after you have crashed in order to do that part of the circuit again. Now on the face of it, this sounds like cheating but I believe it actually improves your driving within the game as it teaches you how to take tight corners, be it to floor the accelerator to beat the other driver into the corner or to hold back and wait for another chance to overtake.

Career Mode

This is without doubt, where all offline players will spend most of their time playing the game. The career mode has been completely revamped from Forza 2. Now, there is the concept of an actual calendar for the season which is broken down into 2 sections. In midweek, you get the choice of 3 events to attend. You have to choose one of these events which typically consists of 3 to 4 races with points being awarded for each race to decide the winner of the event. At weekends, you get the chance to race in a stage of the world championship. These races are a lot longer in terms of laps than the normal midweek events and the quality of the opposition is considerably higher too. For each race you complete, you are awarded experience points (known as XP), these points allow both the driver and the car to ‘level up’. Basically what this means is that as a driver you get to unlock extra cars when you change level and when the car levels up, you are able to get discounts on your modifications from certain manufacturers. In my opinion this works well although it is probably a little unrealistic that all these manufacturers are queuing up to give you a brand new car, just because you happen to win a race or two. If you find you are struggling to get podium finishes in the races, you can hire a more experienced driver to race for you, this will give you a better chance of picking up some much needed points but this does come at a price. Depending on the experience of the driver you hire, he will demand anywhere between 80% and 100% of your total XP for that race. This option should only be used if you really cannot master a particular course and even then I’d recommend extra practise and race the course yourself as it defeats the object to allow the computer controlled driver to race for you whilst you put up your feet and watch.

After each race has completed, you are able to watch an entire replay of the race. This will allow you to pinpoint where you could save those hundredths of a second in future races. Personally, I never watch the replays as although they look stunning, I find I don’t get any benefits from them. What I do find useful though is studying the leaderboards after each race. This allows you to see how good your fastest lap was in relation to everyone else who has raced the circuit in a similar car to yours. You can toggle this leaderboard between the entire Xbox live community and your friends. This will settle issues over who is the best driver amongst friends once and for all.

Free Drive

If you just want to get into a fast car and take it for a spin then free drive is for you. Whereas in career mode, you start of with a modest street car and build up to the powerful ones, in free drive you can get into a high speed monster for your very first drive. Whilst this sounds tempting, be warned, these high powered cars are a nightmare to control and if you are not used to them you’ll soon be spinning off into the gravel or even worse, into a wall. There is a definite learning curve in this game which I think makes a lot of sense. You don’t go out and but a Ferrari the minute you pass your test in real life so why would you think you could master one straight away in this game. Saying that, once you do master a fast car, it really feels good, almost like you really are driving it but obviously you are not. In free mode you can do as many laps of a circuit as you wish and the game will store your fastest lap. As with career mode, you can view replays and leaderboards after each race. Although I enjoy comparing my times with other players it can get demoralising when I think I’ve put in a blisteringly fast lap only to find out 90% of the other players have gone faster.

Online

This game is so much fun when taken online. You can race with upto 7 other players over 1 or a series of races to find out who is the king or queen of the track. The game supports voice communication with the Xbox headset so you can chat and have a bit of banter with fellow players while playing along.

Personally, I prefer playing online with friends rather than random people in this game. This adds an extra edge to the game, especially when normal racing appears to go out of the window and turns into stock car racing with all players trying to knock each other off the track.

One feature of the online game which I don’t like is that after each race, the host can elect to kick a player from the game. At this point, all other players vote on this eviction and if the majority vote to kick you out then you have to go and find a new game to join. While I realise this feature is important if you have got an abusive player in the game, I feel it is overused by egotistic bullys and really winds me up.

Auction

The auction room is a real neat feature which has made its way over from Forza 2 into this new version. What this means is that you can own a car in the game which is either difficult to own or you might just have modified the paintwork to look super cool and then put this car up in a live ebay style auction so that another gamer can buy it. I was surprised how many people were bidding on these cars, personally, I’d much rather unlock it myself as I thought this way, it spoilt the fun slightly. Although you buy these cars, you don’t actually pay any real currency for them, you use point accumulated through your career in the game.

Forza TV

Forza TV is a brilliant feature. From here you can actually watch any current race in real time. There have been many occasions where I’ve wanted to watch a couple of my mates playing a Fifa grudge match which is not possible but Forza sets the benchmark for this functionality perfectly. With Forza TV, you are able to select which driver you focus on during the race. You can swap between drivers also which means you are normally guaranteed to see plenty of quality crashes and funny moments as pro’s and novices alike take to the track.

Verdict

The burning question that needs answering to determine if this game is a hit or miss is ‘Is it better than Forza 2?’. The gameplay is actually very similar to Forza 2 which is a good thing as there was nothing wrong with the gameplay in that version. Where Forza 3 excels is its breathtaking graphics which are probably the most realistic I have seen on the Xbox to date and the tweaks to the career mode which make this game a joy to play. Probably, the only negative point I can think of for this game is the amount of time it takes to load each race which is considerably slower than the previous version. I am not sure if this is because the game is alternating between reading the dvd and the hard disk or if it is simply down to the increased graphical quality taking longer to load. The game now boasts 400 cars and over 100 tracks as standard, you can purchase extra ones from the Xbox marketplace with your Microsoft points should you wish to. I managed to pick this game up from amazon.co.uk for £30 so it is worth shopping around as the recommended price is £39.99 so there are savings to be had.

I really like this game and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed playing Forza 2 or anyone who just wants to enjoy a quality racing game for the first time. Even beginners will be able to pick this game up and progress through the levels within a short period of time.
 

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