Automotive beauty that puts you before anything else
Format: Xbox 360 Dev: Turn 10 Pub: Microsoft Out: 23/10/09 Players: 1-2, 2-8 online
Forza 3 isn’t afraid to show you its digits. More than 400 customisable cars by 53 manufactures, over 100 tracks, hundreds of race events and all crammed across two DVDs. Of course, big figures are commonplace with racing games these days. But what makes Turn 10’s latest model the most fully rounded simulator to date is the sheer effort that has been put in to make every facet of it accessible and appealing for as many people as possible.
From the moment you’re eased into the driver’s seat by an oh-so-English-it-hurts announcer you get the sense that this will be one blissful automotive cruise. To begin with, driving assists are automatically selected when you choose your difficulty at the start menu.
Car handling in Forza 3 feels meticulously balanced. Cars move with an elegance and responsiveness that makes manoeuvres continually gratifying. All of the options for affecting the driving experience are level-headed and easy to change – whether you’re looking for a white-knuckle hot lap through the challenging Nürburgring or simply wish to race round Silverstone like the next Jenson Button. Assists, such as the suggested race line and automatic braking, can all be toggled individually too.
Missed a crucial overtake? Scratched the paint on that once spotless Jag? No problem. Turn 10 has wisely pinched the rewind system from Race Driver: GRID and given users total control over when, and how much, they use it. Though it could be seen as artificially altering the ‘real’ driving experience, you don’t have to use it – so, all you sim purists can turn off the alert message.
With so many good-looking motors on offer you’ll almost certainly want to ogle them at the car dealers’ once you’ve earned some credit and there’s a helpful option to display just the affordable cars, which eliminates a lot of window hopping entirely. Car bodies, interiors and tracks have been modelled to a fetish level of quality – even the undercarriages have been digitised. It’s any wonder how long it took them. The results are supremely good nonetheless. Engine revs and squeals have been mixed with restraint and keep you in the moment. An ambient score of up tempo percussion and electronic patterns, by Lance Hayes, completes the presentation with class.
Career mode in Forza 3 is broken into events which usually contain three or more races. You select the events that you wish to take part in then enter the specified races on your season calendar. For instance, if you enter the Super Mini Road Test you’ll have to compete in three races over two weeks. Or you can select events as you unlock them in the event list.
Unlike Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which tells you your current car doesn’t qualify for a certain event and leaves you staring vacantly at the screen, Forza 3 notifies and gives you the option of instantly jumping to your garage where it will select an appropriate ride. When preparing for race events, the game may advise you to upgrade your car and will auto tune the vehicle with the best parts you can afford.
While some racers like to hide their most prized cars behind achingly challenging time trials or force you to accumulate thousands of credits, Forza 3 gives you the chance to play with some stunners right from the off. Through free play, you can test drive a wide selection of cars, from consumer models to supers and everything in between, on a vast selection of track layouts. You and your buddies will need patience and skill to replicate your favourite car chases, but once you manage something to your liking the replay editor can produce strong results.
Online multiplayer is by all accounts as smooth as the offline modes. You can join up to seven players for races with a streamlined matchmaking and lobby system. Two-player split-screen has also been included, so rivalries can still be concluded in frantic face-offs if you lack a gold subscription or have other technical difficulties preventing you from logging on to Xbox Live.
Building on the leaps they made with community options in Forza 2, Turn 10 has taken the Bungie approach and introduced a full hub in the form of the in-game storefront and forzamotorsport.net. You can upload photos, videos, track you and your friends’ stats and view leaderboards. Forza 2 was also celebrated for its livery editor, which brought new creative appeal to the series.
Artistic gearheads and master forgers alike will be happy to hear that Forza 3’s paint suite is as deep as a BMW is wide. Personalising decals and editing your own body designs has never been so painless. Via the Xbox Live storefront, you can share your liveries and vinyl setups with the community and even sell your full dream car designs in a virtual auction house for credits.
By now you must surely realise that this racing game is an absolute tour de force. From its online community features to the unadulterated sense of control in its gameplay – Forza 3 is magnificent. It brings simulation racing to the masses with more customisable options than an Aston Martin Vanquish. No question about it, this racer has all the elements of a landmark creation.
Aaron Lee
