By the numbers, this game is amazing. Over 500 cars, 24 Autovista cars, 80 manufacturers, 26 tracks, 21 real world tracks, and an endless supply of designs. Just looking at that would make any race fan squeal with excitement. They deliver on all accounts. The cars feel varied and different with cars running the full spectrum of types. Tracks have character and can accommodate any type of racing you want. Liveries are back with a larger variety of layers and the ability to import your vinyls, both created and bought, from the previous installment. Car designs, however cannot be imported this way. Speaking of importing things into the game, you can also import your Forza 3 save. While it’s not a full import, you will be gifted any “unicorn” cars you had in the previous game. You will also start with a few other cars and extra money depending on your progress in the last career.
Let me start by saying this game looks fantastic. That being said, there just a few places where the graphics could look a tiny bit better. The cars, the track and the lighting really lend itself to making everything look photorealistic. Although some of the backgrounds and textures around the tracks do look a bit out of place against the rest of the fantastic graphics. Each car is fantastically rendered. They all have in car driver views and after driving exclusively with that view in 3, there was no way that I would settle for anything less. The biggest change in the graphics comes in the lighting department. While I always noticed that the lighting was much better, something happened as I was playing the other day that really solidified the new light system. As I hit a turn I noticed a slight glimmer coming from the dashboard. It was glare coming off the clock in the dashboard! HOW AWESOME! This game is so ridiculously nice because of the lighting. Now if they would only put in night racing...The gameplay is what you expect... Awesome racing action. It is very novice friendly with all the assists turned on, but you can also tailor fit the game to how well you can virtually drive. The better you are the more assists you can turn off. The only new assist, or option, is simulation steering. It adds a new dimension to the steering dynamics of the game. You can't just swing the steering and expect to stay in control. You will spin out with too much gas and steering inputs. This ultimately gives you a better feel for cars if you can keep it in control. The AI feels as though it can be a bit over aggressive at times, but more experienced drivers can still lead the pack in career mode. I had no problem through most of the career unless my car was seriously out classed. The lighting systems not only makes the game look amazing, but different times of day can force you to take slightly different lines through a turn to avoid harsh light at a particular apex. Finding the right cars and getting into a groove with your favorite car is all part of the fun.
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| A great shot of the Brickyard at the famous Indy 500. |
The number of different events has also increased. The addition of Head to Head races, Autocross events, and Multiclass events make the career mode more varied and overall more enjoyable. My favorite of the bunch is the Head to Head race, where you are one on one with another similarly classed car... through slow traffic. Autocross has you dodging through cones and gates to get a faster time than the other racers in the event. Multiclass is like a Le Mans race. Multiple classes of cars on the same track at the same time. These races are great, but are limited to having just two classes on the road at a time. Getting more classes into the mix would have added to the action and more layers to the strategy, and that is always a plus. You never really realize how monotonous something is till you get something different thrown into the mix.
There are a few new features in this game that really help to set it apart from other games on the market. Autovista is a big digital showroom for some of the most exotic cars in the world. Although there are only a small number of cars in this mode, it helps to highlight some of the cars you will probably never see in person. On top of that the narrations are done by the one and only Jeremy Clarkson, of Top Gear UK fame. While the mode adds no real functionality to the game, it does help to bring you in to the whole car culture world. Car Clubs are another new feature that allows you to make a clan with other car minded people. The biggest draw is the Club Garage. You sync up your personal cars and anyone else in the Club can use it. No longer will you need to buy a car for a single race if someone in you Club happens to have one. Last there is Rivals mode. The mode is more like a glorified leaderboard. Although it does tell you when a friend has beaten you last fastest time or high score, I feel as if the mode may have been tacked on a bit. They do have a monthly challenge section, where the events change from month to month, but that’s about it. The mode on a whole though is another great way to get money and experience.
Another big change to the racing formula is how quickly you level up. The game constantly wants you to feel like you have some sort of progression. Each Driver Level you gain, which you gain rather fast, you are given a choice of a few cars. All of the cars follow a particular theme and some times it can be very hard to decide which one to pick. All in all it’s free cars for you to use and tune, so no huge loss on that front. The Driver level cap has also been raised to 150, which means more free cars and longer gameplay experiences. They have also replaced individual Car Levels with a single Affinity Level for each car maker. You no longer need to abandon your favorite car after you have reached the max level with it! Each manufacturer can reach up to level 50, and that can take a while for even the most dedicated drivers.
While I have not personally tried out the Kinect features, they do seem like they were very much geared toward the casual players. The only feature that really has me interested is head tracking. It gives you the ability to just tilt your head to look into a turn or check you mirrors. With the Kinect still costing what it does, I can’t justify getting one to take advantage if the feature. What it will do is to help introduce more people to the concept of gaming. It is easier for a person who doesn’t really know what a control looks like to get in and take a few laps. Another novel use for the Kinect is in Autovista. It is designed so that you can feel like you’re walking around and looking at the car without being scoffed at by high end car salesmen.
The game is absolutely amazing. If you have even a passing interest in cars, you should get this game. If you are a car nut, then why the hell are you reading this review? Seriously, if you don't already have this game and you like cars then do yourself a favor and get it.
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