Forza Motorsport 4 Limited Edition Xbox 360

Forza Motorsport 4 Limited Edition Product Details

Released on 14-Oct-2011

Forza Motorsport 4 Limited Collectors Edition

The Forza Motorsport 4 Limited Collectors Edition gives fans seeking the ultimate day–one experience, featuring an additional 25 cars from exclusive car packs and bonus car offers. Bundled together with a polished Steelbook™ DVD Case, the Limited Collector’s Edition content includes the following:

• A 10-car add-on pack of American muscle cars (also available for purchase at launch on Xbox LIVE Marketplace). VIP Membership status within the Forza community, including special recognition in new community features, leaderboards, ForzaMotorsport.net and more.
• “Cars of Forza Motorsport 4 Presented by Top Gear,” written by the “Top Gear” team, is a stunning 96-page book that describes in-game cars from the Autovista™ experience and features imagery from game and the Top Gear photo library.
• A vinyl sticker set featuring the logos of “Forza Motorsport 4,” “Top Gear” and Turn 10.

The BMW Art Car Pack:

• 2008 BMW M3 E92
• 2008 BMW Z4 M Coupe
• 1981 BMW M1
• 2012 BMW M5
• 2010 BMW M6 Coupe

The VIP Car Pack:

• 2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
• 2011 Ferrari 458 Challenge
• 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera
• 2010 Noble M600
• 2011 RUF Rt 12 R
  

The limited quantity “Launch Bonus” car pack:

• 1965 Ford Mustang GT Coupe
• 2011 Koenigsegg Agera
• 1997 Lexus SC300
• 2011 RUF RGT-8
• 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport

Forza Motorsport 4 features the ultimate Top Gear tie-in! All the mad antics of the hit show are here; have a kick and steer about in car soccer, get a strike in auto bowling or, best of all, trounce celebrity times in a reasonably-priced car on the Top Gear track!

Move back over to the kerb, Gran Turismo – Turn 10's Forza 4 is still the king of the racers. Exclusive to the Xbox 360, prepare to strap yourself into the latest and greatest supercars, and take to the world's finest real and fictional tracks. Featuring cars from over 80 manufacturers and new circuits plus the return of tweaked favourites, Forza Motorsport 4 marks the next step in this revolutionary motoring series with its astonishing effects and 3D visuals.

• Frame-Rate Finesse – to experience the most silky racing in gaming, 30 frames a second just won't cut it; that's why Forza Motorsport 4 clocks in at a butter-smooth 60 frames per second, meaning you're immersed even deeper into the driving action
• Online Automania – create clubs with like-minded petrolheads, customise and trade your cars with fellow collectors, and best of all, head out on to the track for adrenaline-soaked races against up to 15 other players
• Kinected to your Car – turn thin air into your steering wheel thanks to the power of Kinect, and let Microsoft's head-tracking tech follow your noggin's exact movements as you instinctively look towards the corner you're about to fire yourself round!
• And on that Bombshell – take a leisurely walk round and inspect in infinite detail some of the fastest, finest supercar metal in the astonishing Autovista mode that features a barbed voiceover from telly's most controversial motormouth, Mr Jeremy Clarkson himself.

• Forza Motorsport 4 Gamescom Feature

  

  Forza Motorsport 4

  
  

  At Gamescom we were lucky enough to be invited behind closed doors to watch a presentation on Microsoft's upcoming simulation racer Forza Motorsport 4. And what we saw was the very future of the racing genre itself.

  But don't take our word for it - check out what Dan Greenawalt, Creative Director at Turn 10 Studios, had to say about some of Forza 4's exciting new features!

  Automotive Passion

  The mission of Forza is all about car passion. We want to help the next generation fall in love with cars, and we want to create a community for the current generation that is already in love with cars. So we do great things with simulation, the community and user generated content. We've added a ton of innovation, not only with our graphics engine, but also with Kinect, and all of that is to get people excited and passionate about cars.

  We've integrated Kinect in several interesting ways throughout the game. When we first saw Kinect, I instantly saw how it could help us achieve that goal, so we broke off a piece of our team and asked them to incubate new ideas about Kinect.

  Auto la Vista, Baby

  The one I'm most excited about is a new mode called Auto Vista. In Auto Vista, we can lean left or right, standing up or sitting down, we can lean backwards or we can lean forwards, and crouch down and really get a look at the closer details of the car. But also you can walk right up to the car and use your hand to literally open the door, sit down and start the car up!

  One of the big challenges we had when we started putting all of this together was building cars that were highly interactive; where things could move, and held up to this sub-six inch level of detail. If you think about games outside the racing genre, it's all about being epic and expansive, like overlooking a burning New York with aliens and everything. But when you get right up close to a wall, it falls apart. You see the pixels, and it gets all tangly and weird. Auto Vista is exactly the opposite. And that meant rethinking how we did lighting.

  In most games, including Forza 3, lighting is handled in two ways: There is object lighting and environmental lighting, with two different systems. The two of them look very similar, but they are actually different math. This means that in very extreme cases they just don't fit, so we usually throw a bunch of post processing over the top and hope no-one notices!

  We took a different approach in Forza Motorsport 4. We hired some guys from Pixar, as well as some other Hollywood studios, and we went with a Hollywood technique called image-based lighting. In image-based lighting, the item is lit by the environment, so there is no separate lighting math for the car and the track. So if there is a tree going by, you get light coming from the tree, which happens in the real world. The cars just look so much better now.

  Going on Tour

  There are also some big changes in the career mode itself. In Forza Motorsport 3 we had a calendar mode, where you selected what events you wanted and you filled up your calendar. But it was pretty much eight car race, after eight car race, after eight car race. In Forza Motorsport 4 we have the World Tour Mode. This mode adapts based on the cars that are in your garage, as we want the career to feel like it was made for the cars you love. So for example, I'm in the BMW M3, and it's given me two events that are custom made for a BMW.

  Every time you level up you get an option of cars. In Forza 3 you got one gift car when you levelled. In Forza 4, you might get a few options and you can choose the car you like. Then the career offers up events that were made for that car. Lots of other games would say, "We know you love your Ford Focus, but you've got a Ferrari now so you need to get rid of the Focus!" We say if you like the Focus, drive the Focus! That what I want you to do. I want you to fall in love with your car. Our hope is that you can play it however you want to play it, and it feels like it was just made for you. There will be entire features that you might not ever use, but for someone else that's all they do.

  There is a lot of diversity in the racing itself, so it's not just eight cars racing. We've got passing car challenges, where there are an unlimited number of cars on the track and your goal is to pass as many as possible in one lap. We also have Autocross where you're going through gates on the track, and Top Gear Bowling where you are on the Top Gear test track and you have to drift through and knock over as many bowling pins as possible. The goal is to give you a playground to play with your car.

  Smells Like Scene Spirit

  We've got people in our community that only paint, and there others who only want to race all the time. You have all these different ways to play, and you can do all of them in your favourite car.

  When you come into the community you get news about the Forza world. Every month we'll add DLC cars to the game, it'll tell you about challenges and things that are happening in the community. Then there is File Depot, and this is where your auction house cars and your gift cars come in. Then there are rivals and car clubs. Those are new features in Forza 4.

  Car Clubs work kinda how you expect if you've played a first-person shooter in the last ten years. You can start a club where you can run your own events and things like that. You've got car collecting, customisation, tuning and a shared garage. Cars are expensive in Forza, with some being over a million credits. In a club, you can work together and then use each other cars, regardless of whether you're online or offline. But it gets even more interesting with painting and tuning. If you've got a great tuner in your club, he can tune the cars in your shared garage and you can all take advantage of that. This works the same with painting, so great painters can create decals for your cars.

  Football at Top Gear

  And painting your car is even more important, as we have Top Gear Football in the game! So you can go onto a pitch with a giant ball and two goals, and you can play 5-a-side or 4-a-side. You are still using simulation physics, but you're having fun in cars that are frankly too expensive to do this with in the real world, and this has affected how we play these games. For example, in Top Gear Football we selected SUVs for defenders, Evos in midfield and up front, lightweight super cars that can really take the ball and move it around. That'd be too expensive to do in the real world, but is more than possible here. If you're in a car club, your painter can make decals for all of your team, so that when we all go out and play football together we can go out looking smart and unified!

  One more feature is Rivals mode. There are a series of challenges such as Autocross or drifting, or maybe a track day where you have to move through cars as quickly as possible. On this track day I might set a hot lap time, and then you can see my car on the track and you'll be able to chase it and, if you beat my time, you're gonna send me a challenge and you're also going to earn XP and collect credits.

  Your Car, Your Way

  With Forza you get to play how you want, and that has always been central to the assist system, where you can turn assists on and off. So you're already at Expert level, and we've now turned off all the steering assists that we had in the past, making it even more 'simmy' and harder than it was in Forza 3. You can turn off rewind, or turn off the race line, or play with the clutch. When you turn all these things off, you are playing with the raw physics.

  We've also completely thrown away our old tyre wear system from Forza 3. We worked with Pirelli and asked them to run some test data for us, then we modified our system so we could take their test data and put it straight in the game, without us having to touch it at all. The goal of this was to have the most cutting edge tyre simulation available.

  Now, we already have great simulation for body flex, but tyres are really key to a simulation and that why we put a lot of effort into that. But at the same time I want my kids to be able to play with the cars and have fun. So we have an easy level where the game will brake for you and has an easier steering assist that will kind of correct your steering and help keep you on the path.

  One last bit of news I like to talk about at Gamescom is the Hockenheim track. We included this for a number of reasons: Firstly, it's another stop on the world tour, and secondly it's just a very historic track, one that people who are familiar with racing will know. It's got this really long straight with a slight bend on it that heads straight into a nasty corner, and it's really one of those great gameplay moments.

  Published: 31/08/2011

• Forza Motorsport 4 to feature Halo's Warthog

  Forza Motorsport 4 is to offer a special treat for Halo fans with the inclusion of the sci-fi shooter series' iconic Warthog.

  The gun-mounted all-terrain vehicle will be among the model on display in the new Xbox 360 racer's Autovista mode, which gives players a virtual tour of some of the world's most stylish cars.

  It means Halo lovers will be able to walk around and interact with the Warthog as though it were right in front of them, learning more about its specifications and features.

  To sweeten the deal further, the Warthog featured in the game will be a new model from the upcoming Halo 4, while the experience will be narrated by Cortana, Master Chief's popular AI companion from the classic games.

  Forza Motorsport 4 will launch in the UK next month and will feature hundreds of meticulously detailed cars from more than 80 manufacturers.

  It will also feature support for Kinect, increasing the immersion offered by Autovista mode even further and making it seem like players truly are interacting with vehicles such as the Warthog.

  Published: 02/09/2011

• Forza Motorsport 4 Review

  Forza Motorsport 4 Review

  Racing rivalry

  
  

  Forza Motorsport was the plucky young upstart to Gran Turismo when it first raced onto the scene in 2005, but now in its fourth iteration, it has arguably established itself as the leading racing simulation on the market. Over the course of the last seven years, Forza has grown to match its great rival's vast and impressive car collection over 500 are featured in the latest game, although licensing squabbles prevented Porsches from making the final cut as well as its roster of painstakingly recreated racing courses.

  There's not a big distance between the two franchises, and ultimately it boils down to a matter of taste, but the younger series' unmatched level of accessibility and its comprehensive online features might just give it the edge approaching the chequered flag.

  World Tour

  
  

  Forza 4's single player World Tour career option bounces you around the globe to compete in races over the course of ten seasons. Rather than dictating which events you participate in, the game picks the location and lets you choose any event of your choice that has a race located at the track in question.

  On top of the standard lap-based races, there are a range of event types. These include King of the Mountain, which sees you race a single opponent down a mountain road while cutting through much slower traffic, wacky Top Gear branded ones such as car bowling, which sees you belting it around the Top Gear test track trying to smash into as many pins as possible, and multi-class events, which place wildly different cars on the same track.

  Take the race online

  
  

  Multiplayer is where you can be most expressive, tweaking every last parameter of events, cars and control options if you please, with support for up to 16-player races. Or you can jump straight into a basic online contest and the game will automatically pit you against a rival of similar ability.

  Whether you win or lose, completing races and challenges will earn you lashings of experience points that go towards your next driver level and new cars, as well as 'affinity' to a particular car manufacturer, giving you discounts on parts. Every single time you play the game, in any mode, you get the rewarding sense that you're progressing, earning and achieving.

  A racer for everyone

  
  

  Perhaps Forza 4's biggest selling point is the level of accessibility it offers, with varied control and race options making it perfectly suited to newcomers and veterans alike. Whether using a regular Xbox 360 controller or a force feedback steering wheel, the handling is fantastic. The behaviour of the cars is second to none, incorporating tyre/track interaction, suspension performance, and body roll momentum. With all the driving aids disabled, experienced players will lap up the challenges involved in mastering their chosen vehicles.

  For novice players, Forza 4 features both steering and braking assists that will help you get around the track. Those who feel overwhelmed by too many options can also use Kinect motion controls exclusively, which simplifies the gameplay to steering a car using an invisible wheel, with acceleration and deceleration handled automatically. It might not be a genuine option for achieving record lap times, but it opens the game up to a much broader audience. Kinect can also be used for head tracking purposes, enabling you to look towards the apex of a turn as you drive through it and shifting the camera in the direction you're facing.

  Premium driving experience

  
  

  From its simple to navigate and slickly presented menus to its authentically recreated cars and tracks, almost everything in Forza 4 looks absolutely stunning. The lighting is particularly impressive and it's one of the first driving games we've played where as much attention to detail has been given to the background scenery as it has to the inside of your cock pit and your more direct surroundings.

  Forza 4's pitch perfect driving experience, gorgeous graphics, varied online gameplay modes, and it's ability to satisfy both racing nuts and more casual driving fans combine to deliver the biggest and best racing game on Xbox 360 yet.

  GAME's verdict

  Good:
  + Suited to veterans and novices.
  + Packed with content and online features.
  + Stunning visuals.

  Bad:
  - Single player mode not as feature rich as online.
  - Single player mode not as feature rich as online.
  - No Porsches.
  

  Review by: Tom 'Speed Freak' Ivan
  Version Tested: X360
  Review Published: 14.10.11

  Published: 14/10/2011

  Published: 13/10/2011

• Forza 4 Review

  Forza the win.

  Do you have a passion for cars? Sleep at night under your Ferrari duvets in a bed modeled after a Testarossa, and wake to the smell of petrol and burning rubber being pumped through your humidifier? We've got a feeling that you're quite going to like Forza Motorsport 4 then.

  Sony's always had Gran Turismo as its automotive mascot, the shiny perfection of Polyphony's series sitting perfectly with the PlayStation brand. Microsoft, on the other hand, countered with Forza, a game that's as precise and exacting as the corporation that bankrolls it. One thing the games have also shared with Microsoft, however, is that they're a bit soulless.

  Forza Motorsport 4 does away with that in various ways. The first is the most obvious: Forza 4 looks stunning. Cars are bathed in a rich, realistic light, with the tracks displaying the kind of warmth that's previously been absent from the series - the famous Nordschleife has arguably never looked better, while semi-imagined locations such as the Bernese Alps are drop dead gorgeous.

  The car's the star

  
  

  The cars are really the stars though, in more ways than one. Autovista, a new Kinect-compatible mode, allows you to get up close and personal, and as beautiful as the cars are the real marvel is developer Turn 10's exemplary work - the attention to detail is astounding, with each rivet and bump perfectly recreated.

  Looking at cars is one thing, but driving them is quite another - thankfully, Forza 4's made plenty of progress in this regard. Handling is impossibly lively - no matter what you're driving, Forza 4 seems to be keen to get the rear end out and send you into a lairy powerslide. Gran Turismo this most certainly isn't, but it's no less fun for that - teasing cars around corners and catching them as they threaten to break away never fails to raise a smile.

  Even if you don't want to indulge in the handling at its most extreme, Forza 4 has much to offer. As ever, Turn 10 has worked tirelessly to ensure that the game is playable by all. There are assists and variable difficulty levels to take the pain out of driving.

  Keep Kinected.

  
  

  This year's model goes a little further as well, using Kinect to make sure that if you want it really easy all you've got to do is mime a steering wheel. It works surprisingly well, as does Kinect-enabled head-tracking, but for the real racers they're just slight diversions. Thankfully there's a lot of meat for that particular crowd to get tucked into.

  Top Gear makes an appearance, and if you can cast your mind back all the way to last year you'll remember that it's not the first time that the BBC's best have popped up in a racing game. This time out, though, the license has been used to its fullest.

  Jeremy Clarkson makes an appearance, narrating the Autovista mode as you poke around a supercar, but it's the test track that's the real star. A barren strip of land in Surrey's Dunsford, it's a far from spectacular backdrop - but it's been worked in well. The Kia Cee'd, the famous Reasonably Priced Car from the series, makes an appearance, allowing you to see how your lap times compare against the stars.

  What's best, though, is how you can compare times with your mates and those playing the game in the wider world of Forza. Rivals mode is Forza 4's big addition to its online features, and it's quite brilliant - you'll be pitted against a time from a similarly skilled rival, and post a belter yourself and it'll be posted for others to beat.

  It's the kind of brilliant feature that makes up for the fact that Forza doesn't offer much in the way of new tracks or rides - what it offers instead is a smart and exhilarating refinement of one of the best raving games of this generation, and one of the most thrilling games of this year.

  

  Forza:
  + Looks stunning
  + Rivals mode is inspired
  + Handles beautifully

  Againsta:
  - Not enough new content
  

  Published: 14/10/2011

• Forza Motorsport 4 to bring supercar display to London

  Forza Motorsport 4 to bring supercar display to London

  A display of real-life supercars is on its way to London this week to celebrate the imminent launch of Forza Motorsport 4 on Xbox 360.

  More than 20 high-end vehicles are to be shown off at a new Shoreditch car park opposite the Holiday Inn on Old Street, with models having been provided by the London Motor Museum.

  Included among the display will be a Bugatti Veyron, a carbon Pagani Zonda, a McLaren F1, a Ferrari Enzo and an Aston Martin DBS Coupe, with the exhibition to include models from many of the world's top manufacturers.

  The special event will help to whet appetites among gamers to climb inside virtual recreations of these supercars in the latest instalment of Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios' acclaimed racing series.

  When Forza Motorsport 4 hits stores this week, it will allow players to take control of stunningly recreated vehicles from more than 80 manufacturers, each featuring true-to-life handling.

  The game also offers support for the Kinect motion sensor, which is used in the new Autovista mode that lets users take a tour of their virtual vehicles, with narration by Jeremy Clarkson.

  Published: 14/10/2011

  Published: 14/10/2011

• Forza Motorsport 4 accelerates to top of UK charts

  Forza Motorsport 4 accelerates to top of UK charts

  Acclaimed racing sequel Forza Motorsport 4 has cruised into pole position in the UK all-formats sales chart in its debut week.

  Turn 10 Studios' new simulation managed to edge out reigning champion FIFA 12 to top the official GfK-ChartTrack rankings, achieving the best ever launch for an Xbox 360 racing game in the process.

  Forza was one of several big-name new entries in the chart, with new Wii and Xbox 360 release Just Dance 3 slotting in behind FIFA 12 to claim third.

  Holdover hit Rage came fourth, while FIFA 12's football rival PES 2012 made its arrival in fifth place this week.

  Other newcomers to the top 20 this week included the likes of Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record.

  Next week sees the debut of one of the most anticipated games of the year with the launch of Batman: Arkham City on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with the PC version to follow next month.

  Published: 17/10/2011

• GAME : Essential Xbox 360 games from 2011

  2011 was full of big releases for Xbox 360, including sequels to some of this generation's best franchises, high definition remakes of classic games and innovative motion control offerings. Here, GAME rounds up five of the must-own 360 titles that no Xbox 360 owner should be without.

  Brothers 'til the end

  Sci-fi third person shooter Gears of War 3 is the explosive finale to the current story arc of one of the biggest and best series in Xbox history. With mankind on the verge of annihilation at the hands of nightmarish monsters, players step into the boots of a military force battling to preserve humanity in the face of overwhelming odds. A tale of brotherhood, harsh realities, sacrifice and redemption, it features an engaging story, breathtaking visuals, meaty gunplay and tactical, cover-based action. The epic story campaign supports four-player cooperative play, and is complemented by a host of cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes for veteran players and rookies alike.

  Get in the race

  Offering traditional controller-based racing as well as the freedom and accessibility of Kinect motion controls, Forza Motorsport 4 is one of the most ambitious takes on the genre to date. With top supercars from over 80 manufacturers and a selection of the world's finest real and fictional tracks, the game features silky smooth racing, realistic physics and effects, gorgeous graphics and stereoscopic 3D support. Community features allow players to create auto clubs with like-minded car nuts, customise and trade rides with fellow collectors, and head out on to the track for adrenaline-soaked showdowns against up to 15 other online racers.

  Global warfare

  Accessible, highly polished and perhaps best described as the gaming equivalent of a Michael Bay Hollywood blockbuster, Modern Warfare 3 is the latest entry in the world's biggest first person shooter franchise. Featuring a globe-trotting campaign that sees players attempting to avert World War 3, it offers access to a range of high tech weaponry and military hardware including remote turrets, predator drones and gunships. The same tools of destruction also feature in the series' deepest yet most accessible multiplayer offering yet, which features competitive online battles across a range of fan favourite and innovative new game modes, plus co-operative challenge and survival missions for two players.

  A classic reborn

  Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is a spectacularly remastered version of the game that launched the Xbox brand ten years ago. Offering a diversity of action, a freedom of movement and enemy artificial intelligence that rivals its modern day competitors, the title's stellar gameplay remains unchanged from the original, but the alien blasting action is supercharged with a lovely high definition makeover, stereoscopic 3D support, Kinect voice control and new multiplayer maps and features. Widely regarded as one of the first great first person shooters on consoles, Combat Evolved lives up to its subtitle even a decade after its initial release.

  Choose your own destiny

  Action RPG Fable III puts the fate of fictional world Albion in your hands as you rally the oppressed, start a revolution and eventually take the throne. The choices and sacrifices you make on the path to greatness create an ever-evolving world of consequences that will be felt across the entire land. Will you play as a hero, villain or someone between, and once you assume power, will you rule with kindness or an iron fist? Playable co-operatively with a friend, the game is brought to life by an all star cast featuring the voice talent of John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Simon Pegg, Ben Kingsley and Zoe Wanamaker.

  Published: 14/12/2011

• Newest Forza Motorsport 4 car pack out now

  Another batch of additional cars have been made available for Forza Motorsport 4 through the release of a new DLC pack.

  The February American Le Mans Series Pack is available now via Xbox LIVE and can be purchased for 560 Microsoft Points, or at no extra cost those who have already invested in the Forza 4 Season Pass.

  It includes ten high-end Le Mans race cars, including modified luxury models, award-winning racers and old-fashioned American muscle cars.

  Fans will be able to take the tracks in the 2011 #2 Audi Sport North America R18 TDI, the 2011 Panoz #050 Panoz Racing Abruzzi, the 1992 Alfa Romeo 155 Q4 or the 2010 Dodge Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson Challenger SRT8, among other models.

  Hundreds of cars are available to drive in the acclaimed Forza Motorsport 4, which was released exclusively on Xbox 360 last year.

  The game offers an ultra-authentic driving experience with realistic handling, stunning visuals and Kinect integration, as well as a range of BBC Top Gear content.

  Published: 08/02/2012

• Forza Motorsport 4 to receive March Pirelli Car Pack soon

  Forza Motorsport 4 fans will be able to add ten new cars to their virtual garages when the March Pirelli Car Pack is released online later this month.

  Arriving on Xbox 360 on March 6th 2012, the new batch of DLC will deliver a mix of high-performance supercars and classic consumer models, with each car benefiting from stunningly authentic presentation and physics.

  Petrolheads will relish the chance to get behind the wheel of the 2011 Aston Martin V12 Zagato, 1971 Ferrari #2 Automobili 312 P, 2012 Ultima GTR, 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS 396 and 2010 Renault Clio RS, which are just some of the models on offer.

  Each vehicle's handling has been refined through developer Turn 10 Studios' partnership with tyre manufacturer Pirelli, which provided real-world performance data to help create an ultra-realistic driving experience.

  The new DLC can be purchased separately, but will be available for no extra cost to those who already bought the Forza Motorsport 4 Season Pass.

  Turn 10's latest Forza game has been wowing Xbox 360 owners since making its chart-topping debut last October, offering an unparalleled selection of cars and innovative Kinect features.

  Published: 02/03/2012

• Forza Horizon announced for Xbox 360 this year

  The newest instalment in the acclaimed Forza Motorsport racing series will be arriving on Xbox 360 later this year.

  Officially unveiled during Microsoft's recent Xbox Showcase, Forza Horizon is due for release this autumn and will be developed by UK-based Playground Games, in collaboration with Forza creator Turn 10 Studios.

  Little is known about the new game, other than that it will offer a new take on the classic franchise, with the teaser video suggesting an experience that celebrates car culture as much as the machines themselves.

  Fans should rest assured that their beloved series is in safe hands, as Playground Games is made up of staff who have previously worked on acclaimed hits like DiRT, Colin McRae Rally, TOCA and GRID.

  The Forza franchise is in rude health following the October 2011 debut of Forza Motorsport 4, which proved to be a chart-topping hit and a critical darling.

  Featuring more cars than ever before, the game also introduced Kinect features that allow players to explore the interior of virtual cars in a uniquely realistic manner.

  Published: 06/03/2012

• Xbox 360 - The Essential Games

  
  

  So, you've just got yourself an Xbox 360 - congratulations! You've now entered a world of fantastic HD graphics, powerful gameplay and everything Xbox LIVE has to offer, from online gaming and chat to streaming movies, music and more. There's only one question left - what games should I get?

  Worry not - help is at hand! Thanks to our wonderful customers who entered our recent Facebook competition, we can now recommend the top Xbox 360 games you need to get going, and our competition winners will tell you why!

  Presenting, the Xbox 360 Essentials List - as chosen by YOU!

  

  Action/Adventure

  The consensus was clear. If you want action and adventure on Xbox 360, there's only one man who delivers - Batman. Arkham Asylum broke the mould of what you could expect from a comic-book adaptation. Winner Oliver Brown says "Every time I played it, there were more and more secrets to find, even after finishing the game... The story was very well driven as well, creating an emotional bond with the man behind the mask and cape... and I feel it is essential, for some long term single-player action that you don't see much any more". This was followed by formidable sequel Arkham City, which you said was "pure badass Batman" and "one of the best super hero games of this generation but also one of the finest action/adventure titles available on Xbox 360"
  

  

  Shooter

  You must really like Battlefield 3. You voted for it at the Baftas, and it was the overwhelming winner here too! You all loved the sound, visuals and destruction, but winner Harlen Hatter tells it best: "The Xbox 360 manages to bring an incredible Battlefield experience directly into your front room. The game is a massive scale shooter featuring 4 diverse classes, vehicular warfare, dog-fighting and endless destruction. Oh, and this is usually happening all at once... If you want to call in an airstrike, you have to tell your buddy up in the aircraft to fly down and give you fire support. Every player has a role which makes you feel like a valuable asset to the team... It pushes the Xbox 360 to its limits."
  

  

  Sport

  Your top choice for sports action on Xbox 360 also won by a landslide. FIFA 12 is, according to winner William Chan, "...far superior to any other football games out there. Each goal you score in this game feels like a life accomplishment - even more, if you play LAN with friends. The whole experience is just unbeatable. The game is packed with different game modes which can be frustrating, but fun and rewarding once you get into the stride. This games is one of those laid-back games you can play at a mates house, a local pub or anywhere the pitch takes you." The varying game modes, realism and the ability to defeat your mates were firm reasons from many entrants, praising it as "the closest you will get to the beautiful game" and "an almost complete football experience".
  

  

  Sci-Fi/Fantasy

  You praised its epic scale, it's characters, and the emotional bond you make with Commander Shepard across the series - the Mass Effect saga is the essential Xbox 360 sci-fi experience! In the words of winner Curtis Taylor "This game will last you a long time, it's so immersive and you can play it how you like, you can play it like an RPG or if you're more of a 'run and gun' kind of player then you can just play like that and ignore the RPG aspects, this is what made this game stand out for me. I normally get bored of a game after finishing the campaign once but with Mass Effect, I played it through at least 3 times as I thoroughly enjoyed it. Mass Effect is a must-have for any gamer."
  

  

  Party

  In what was the closest fought category, some top music and sports games narrowly missed out to the fun that is Dance Central. Making full use of the Kinect's motion controls to get you to match the dance routines on screen, it is, according to winner Dario Orlando, "All the fun of a night on the tiles, without drunk people stepping on your feet! Plus, with different difficulties, even those with two left feet can own the dancefloor!". You all loved the game's versatility ("guys' night in or girls' wine party"), but most importantly, the fun factor "there's nothing like making an absolute fool of yourself, especially if you couldn't even dance to begin with". So shake a leg and get dancing!
  

  

  Racing

  In another landslide victory, Forza 4 was your choice for pole position. You championed the graphics, realism and choice of cars, while the competitive gameplay and Kinect controls were also reasons you recommended it. It was clear from your entries that this game is a car lover's dream, as summed-up by winner Oliver Dyson: "The 'Autovista' system allows true car enthusiasts to get within 4-inches of closeness to over twenty different dream vehicles... Jeremy Clarkson will not only take you through the ins and outs of each vehicle but also let you compete for times on the infamous Top Gear circuit... Forza 4 is simply essential to anyone with a love of adrenaline, and a passion for the cars you can obtain in it."
  

  Many thanks to all of you who entered - there were some really good choices and reasons why. And if you are in the market for an Xbox 360, I hope the advice of your peers will help!

  As usual, if you have any comments on these games - or alternative essentials - feel free to share them below!
  

  Published: 17/04/2012

• Forza Motorsport 4 - Review

  
  

  

  Forza the win.

  Do you have a passion for cars? Sleep at night under your Ferrari duvets in a bed modeled after a Testarossa, and wake to the smell of petrol and burning rubber being pumped through your humidifier? We've got a feeling that you're quite going to like Forza Motorsport 4 then.

  SONY's always had Gran Turismo as its automotive mascot, the shiny perfection of Polyphony's series sitting perfectly with the PlayStation brand. Microsoft, on the other hand, countered with Forza, a game that's as precise and exacting as the corporation that bankrolls it. One thing the games have also shared with a big corporation, however, is that they've always seemed a bit soulless.

  Forza Motorsport 4 does away with that in various ways. The first is the most obvious: Forza 4 looks stunning. Cars are bathed in a rich, realistic light, with the tracks displaying the kind of warmth that's previously been absent from the series - the famous Nordschleife has arguably never looked better, while semi-imagined locations such as the Bernese Alps are drop dead gorgeous.

  

  The Car's The Star

  The cars are really the stars though, in more ways than one. Autovista, a new Kinect-compatible mode, allows you to get up close and personal, and as beautiful as the cars are the real marvel is developer Turn 10's exemplary work - the attention to detail is astounding, with each rivet and bump perfectly recreated.

  Looking at cars is one thing, but driving them is quite another - thankfully, Forza 4's made plenty of progress in this regard. Handling is impossibly lively - no matter what you're driving, Forza 4 seems to be keen to get the rear end out and send you into a lairy powerslide. Gran Turismo this most certainly isn't, but it's no less fun for that - teasing cars around corners and catching them as they threaten to break away never fails to raise a smile.

  Even if you don't want to indulge in the handling at its most extreme, Forza 4 has much to offer. As ever, Turn 10 has worked tirelessly to ensure that the game is playable by all. There are assists and variable difficulty levels to take the pain out of driving.

  

  Keep Kinected.

  This year's model goes a little further as well, using Kinect to make sure that if you want it really easy all you've got to do is mime a steering wheel. It works surprisingly well, as does Kinect-enabled head-tracking, but for the real racers they're just slight diversions. Thankfully there's a lot of meat for that particular crowd to get tucked into.

  Top Gear makes an appearance, and if you can cast your mind back all the way to last year you'll remember that it's not the first time that the BBC's best have popped up in a racing game. This time out, though, the license has been used to its fullest.

  Jeremy Clarkson makes an appearance, narrating the Autovista mode as you poke around a supercar, but it's the test track that's the real star. A barren strip of land in Surrey's Dunsford, it's a far from spectacular backdrop - but it's been worked in well. The Kia Cee'd, the famous Reasonably Priced Car from the series, makes an appearance, allowing you to see how your lap times compare against the stars.

  What's best, though, is how you can compare times with your mates and those playing the game in the wider world of Forza. Rivals mode is Forza 4's big addition to its online features, and it's quite brilliant - you'll be pitted against a time from a similarly skilled rival, and post a belter yourself and it'll be posted for others to beat.

  It's the kind of brilliant feature that makes up for the fact that Forza doesn't offer much in the way of new tracks or rides - what it offers instead is a smart and exhilarating refinement of one of the best raving games of this generation, and one of the most thrilling games of this year.

  GAME's Verdict

  The Good:

  • Looks stunning.
  • Rivals mode is inspired.
  • Handles beautifully.

  The Bad:

  • Not enough new content.

  Published: 13/10/2011

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