Released on 23/10/2009

• Forza Motorsport 3 - Review (Product)

  Gran Turiswha?

  When Microsoft first set out to knock Sony off their perch, there were certain PlayStation-exclusive series they knew they'd either have to steal or outdo to have a chance at winning gamer's hearts. Over the decade they've done a pretty good job of the former, with new Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid and Tekken titles all on the way to 360 for the first time. Lips, Scene It! and You're In The Movies meanwhile have been solid answers to SingStar, Buzz and EyeToy respectively.

  But Forza Motorsport 3 is even more important. It marks the first time Microsoft have taken the template of a Sony superpower and arguably bettered it. With the launch of Forza 3, Gran Turismo is no longer gaming's undisputed Real Driving Simulator.

  Definitive

  The features list alone is impressive: 400 cars from 50 manufacturers; 100 tracks; a dynamic racing calendar comprising over 200 events; Circuit, Oval, Drag, Drift, and Timed race types all on offer; market-leading customisation with the Livery Editor, Tuning Garage and Auction House; Xbox Live play and online leaderboards; plus painstakingly detailed HD car models. It's easy see why Microsoft's E3 presentation labelled Forza 3 'the definitive racing game of its generation'.

  Of course, a set of bullet points and a catchy marketing slogan kind of misses something. Neither captures the sheer love of cars that developers Turn 10 have gone out of their way to embody with Forza Motorsport 3 - nor the way they've learned lessons from both their own past games, and the recent successes in the genre.

  Handling is something past Forzas were always praised for, so there was never too much to alter here - but there is one significant change that helps make Forza 3 a more thrilling drive; drifting. It's now possible to send your car skidding through corners at more acute angles, without ever getting into OutRun-style arcade territory. When you get it right, it's a real joy.

  Coupled that with the improved physics, AI which races and responds rather than simply following the perfect line, handling that's spot-on for each individual auto, and a whole raft of driving assists to turn on and off for a tailored experience, and you've got a game with that classic pristine showroom feel, control that apes the best bits of Gran Turismo, PGR and Need For Speed: SHIFT, and yet never feels anything less than altogether accessible.

  Rewind and unwind

  And then there's Rewind. Lifted wholesale from Race Driver: GRID and DiRT 2, it gives you the option to hit a button and rewind your race by a few seconds, so you never need succumb to the age-old frustration of one poor corner ruining your entire race. Hardcore driving buffs may not like it, but it's just one of many options to can use or ignore as you see fit - and to make it fair, those that do opt to take advantage of it will find their times marked with an icon on the leaderboards.

  Those leaderboards are going to be a huge draw for Time Trial players who love shaving seconds off their laps, while single races are also in there too for quick fire play. It's the Season Mode though that proves the main draw. This is the real Forza experience, where you'll enter events, earn credits and buy new cars, all the while levelling up your driver XP and car level and accruing more and more motors to tune and cool-up with the garage and Livery Editor. And because the race events offered are always tailored to the cars you have in your garage, every player's path through the Season Mode will be unique. As singleplayer driving modes go, it's an absolute marvel.

  Then there's the online features to consider. Calling these 'comprehensive' really wouldn't be doing them justice. From full-on races to more lighthearted modes like Cat and Mouse, high-stakes matchmaking to more casual affairs, there's no doubting the value for money of Forza 3 if you've got an Xbox Live Gold Membership. And that's not even factoring in the community aspects, with everything from Livery designs to tuning setups, replays and photos all there to download from other players, or upload your own if you feel especially proud. Given that these are ranked too, there's even an element of competition through creativity, which feels like a brand new standard in user generated content.

  Top tier

  I've gushed senseless so far, but there are a few flaws. The backgrounds can seem a little bland compared to some of the other games on the market ; car damage is not all that sophisticated; and most impactful of all, the impressive promise of 100 tracks is a tad misleading. There's 22 actual circuits in Forza 3, with the other 78 being different variations on those themes.

  Still, when you compare these drawbacks to what Forza Motorsport 3 offers, they barely register. The upshot is that the game runs at a smooth 60fps, damage really isn't all that important to a game focused on blitzing the racing line anyway, and Season mode unlocks tracks in such a gradual, satisfying way that they never feel re-hashed.

  Forza 3 is a huge achievement, and Xbox 360 owners can feel proud that their console can boast such a top tier driving game to rank amongst the greats not just of its genre, but of any genre in the whole of this generation. Full credit to Turn 10 for doing what they always strived for and creating a driving game to knock GT off its perch. All eyes are now on Polyphony Digital to see how they respond.

  The real winner though, is us gamers. Long may the competition continue.

  

  + Handling that's thrillingly accessible, incredibly deep, and completely customisable.
  + The Season Mode and staggering online options make for a truly comprehensive package.
  + Brilliant community features and addicting user generated content.

  - Backgrounds look a little bland.
  - The promise of 100 tracks is misleading.
  - You need a Hard Drive install to play it, such is the volume of content on the game's two discs.

• Forza Motorsport 3 Customer Review

  Forza Motorsport 3 Customer Review

  Well, the year is almost over, and looking back it has been a great year for games. One racer stood out beyond the rest, which is of course Forza Motorsport 3 (FM3). The hype and anticipation for the game was extremely high due to its predecessor's success and popularity. Turn 10 had to produce something amazing, and they have.

  I myself am a big racing game fan so when I got the chance to test out the game early I jumped at the chance and it's safe to say I wasn't disappointed at all. The game on a whole seems to have been beautifully crafted and well made from the amazing details on each car to the simple but effective menu system.

  The game itself is huge, far bigger than any other racing simulation game to date. And this shows by not all of the content fitting on one disc. The second game disc contains various car packs as well as a few tracks which are required to be installed on your hard drive for use in the main game. The full content takes just less than two gig of space, and to help for those with smaller hard drives only part of the content can be installed if needed.

  "Far bigger than any other racing simulation game to date."
  

  The shear amount of both cars and events in the game is amazing as well, with over 400 cars and a career with over 200 events. But don't let this put you off; they have designed the career system and car system effectively so that you can choose how to race. The main part of the career works off a calendar system which focuses around one big yearly event with smaller events in between them which are chosen by you from three categories, racing on a new track, racing in a new car or racing in the same car.

  As well as the calendar system there is also the event board which consists of all of the events in the game and shows which can be chosen to race at any time and also allows you to repeat previously played events. This is a nice addition however it can be overwhelming and the first time I saw it I didn't really know what I was looking at or doing.

  Now onto the game play, Forza 3 allows for driving of all skill levels with various assists and aids for novice drivers and of course the options to up the realism and turn off the assists for the experienced drivers, making it a racing simulator that you choose the level that you want to play at. Each car handles differently and accurately, and that have captured the movement and feel that you would expect from the Forza series. As well as the feel, the graphics of all the cars are top standard and the tracks look a lot more clear and sharper than they did in Forza Motorsport 2 which improves the whole feel of the game and the realism. They have also improved the detail of the damage on the cars to make it look more effective, however in some cases it still doesn't look realistic such as when two cars are grinding into each other side by side, the other main downside in the game is the long load times, which to be honest can be expected with a game of these detail but are still long enough to be noticeable almost every race.

  Along with the graphical updates they have also made in-game changes, the most noticeable and probably the most useful change is the rewind feature which allows you to turn back the time in the race if you make a mistake and want to retry the corner or lap. This feature is highly useful as it can be used as many times as needed and be taken back as far as you want in the race. Another new feature to the Forza series is cockpit view which is a nice addition for those that like it but isn't really much of an improvement, other changes include all cars being purchasable from the start and the new drift mode races.

  "Probably the most useful change is the rewind feature"
  

  Forza 3 also has an improved customisation, upgrading and tuning area, which has been tailored to suit both new and old players with different levels of the system, they provide quick upgrade packages for all cars as well as parts store for those who want to specify exactly what they want. The same goes for the tuning as well, so there is no need for someone new to the series to feel lost or even feel the need to turn their cars. The painting aspect has been upgraded and improved as well to make it more easy to use while still provided the high level of detail that was in Forza 2's design areas.

  Which also leads me onto one of the new features, The Storefront, each player has their own Storefront where they can show and share pictures, designs, decals and tuning setups over Xbox live. This allows players more access to user created content compared to how it was before on Forza 2. The auction house has also had an upgrade and it is now much easier to navigate and keep track of your own auctions and bids.

  Overall, Forza Motorsport 3 is the most complete and beautiful racing simulator game to date that doesn't just speak out to players who are used to the series but to everyone by letting the user choose the level of detail they want to play too as well as making it both simple to use as well as complex when required. There are very few faults in the games and what there is are hardly noticeable due to the great delivery of the game.

  Forza 3 is a game that shouldn't be missed by any racing game fan, easily my GoTR so far.

  
  Review By: Joseph Waddell
  Submitted via our Facebook 1000 fans competition
  

• Video Games Awards reveal games & more games!

  Video Games Awards reveal games, games, and more games

  This weekend saw the Video Game Awards rock the US of A, and while there were prizes, speeches, and parties, there were also announcements of new games. Lots of them. Here are the biggies.

  Mass Effect 3 is on the way from BioWare. The sci-fi sequel will see Commander Shepherd protecting the Earth from alien invasion, and will be hitting the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 somewhere around Christmas 2011. We love the first two games, so we're excited.

  Sticking with RPGs, Bethesda's unveiled Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the sequel to sword and sorcery classic Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It's coming out in November, 2011, but we've got no firm word on which platforms it's going to land on just yet, or what kind of epic fantasy story it's going to tell.

  Hellboy director Guillermo Del Toro's working on a game for THQ called inSane. Aside from the fact that it's out in 2013, that's literally all we know about it from the reveal.

  Prototype 2 is on the way from Radical and Activision. The sequel to the superhero open-worlder features an interesting twist: rather than pick up the story of wall-crawling mutant Alex Mercer once more, you're cast as the man who has to bring him down. No platforms have been revealed, but the game's on the way in 2012.

  Finally, we knew it was in development, but now we also know Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception will be hitting PS3s in America on 1st November, 2011. Whether Europe gets it the same day we don't yet know, but it's nice to know roughly when to expect it.

  But it wasn't only action and role-playing fans who have things to look forward to following this weekend's Video Games Awards in the US. Sports gamers are getting a few treats, too, with new instalments for the SSX and Forza series being announced.

  SSX: Deadly Descents reinvents the classic snowboarding game for the current console generation, although no formats - or dates were revealed.

  According to the publisher, EA, players will explore the story of a team who seek to be the first to descend the faces of the most treacherous mountain ranges on the planet. The team will travel the world to face the worst that Mother Nature can throw at them. From the peaks of the Himalayas, where the air is so thin that riders have to descend through the death zone at breakneck speeds to keep from blacking out, to the solid ice ranges of Antarctica, where a sunlit line is the only survival option when temperatures drop 50 degrees centigrade in the shade.

  Sounds great. If you're a driving fanatic, though, you'll be excited to hear about Forza 4. The latest game in Microsoft's simulation racing series will be revving up on the Xbox 360 in the second half of next year, and although details are scarce, you can expect some kind of tie-in with Top Gear, apparently, and some Kinect integration to boot.

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