Monday, November 14, 2011

Forza 4

You'll know from previous posts that I was never a huge fan of Gran Turismo 5, with it's total lack of AI, it's lack of crash damage, its over-complicated interface and sketchy online play. In fact, after years of buying Gran Turismo games, GT5 did such a poor job that I went out and bought an X-Box so I could play Forza 3. Naturally that led to Forza 4 which came out about a month ago, and I've been in racing-driving-game heaven ever since. I adore Forza 4. The physics are great, the visuals are great, the online play is spot-on with the addition of public-private lobbies (where you can determine your own rules). I think all the cars have detailed interiors - at least all the ones I've driven so far have. The whole look and feel of the game is more polished and mature than Forza 3. It's a little disappointing that some of the best tracks (New York) have been removed but I suspect they'll appear as a DLC pack later on. Oddly, some of the older tracks that have long since undergone major revisions in the real world (Silverstone for example) are still represented in their mid-90's layout in Forza 4. That's a bit of an oversight for a game that is so polished in so many other areas. For the same of trying to get over the honeymoon period, I went back and rented a copy of Gran Turismo 5, downloaded all the updates and spent a day trying to play it again. I stick by my original opinions on that one - nice idea but poorly executed. It's just too perfect - it's a great simulation but it's just no fun to play or look at. So back to Forza 4 it is. I can highly recommend it if you're in the market for a top-tier racing game. I'm hoping to get a wheel for Christmas so I can explore it to it's fullest. For now though you'll find me in the online hoppers racing mostly A- and B-class. Look for gamertag biggerPixel - that's me.