Forza Motorsport Preview

There are people who don’t care about cars and there are people who absolutely love cars. Finding people in the middle is like finding a parking spot in San Francisco, it ain’t gonna happen. Forza Motorsport, the new racing sim from Microsoft Game Studios is bound to create one group – people who absolutely friggin’ love cars. This game has so much promise, it’ll likely leave gamers saying, “Gran Turwhat?”

Forza Motorsport, at first glance, reminded me of the first time I saw a Victoria’s Secret catalog, it was so gorgeous I couldn’t take my eyes away. And like the popular lingerie rag, Forza has all the right curves and models to make this a contender for Best Graphics of E3. The screenshots online don’t do the game justice, it really has to be seen in motion and in high def.

Michael Johnson, product manager at Microsoft demoed the real time damage modeling, which is incredible. Coasting along the Laguna Seca racetrack, he steered the car into the wall, which was made of old tires. After bouncing off of it a few times, he changed the camera angle to get a good look at the side and front end of the car, and black marks marred the paint job. Not only did the tires make appropriate black marks on the car, but a peek at the wall revealed flecks of the car’s paint job on it – red and white streaks at exactly the point of contact. What’s more, damage to your car, should you choose to fix it, costs moolah.

Microsoft’s answer to Gran Turismo features hundreds of cars from sixty real manufacturers such as BMW, Porsche, and Chevrolet. Every car will be completely tunable to a gamer’s liking. Take that stock Civic and turn it into a track beast with a few upgrades. They took the realism seriously, cars in Forza Motorsport performed with one hundredth of a second to their real life counterparts. Tons of real aftermarket parts and millions of paint jobs take customization to the next level, and each square foot of the tracks was individually crafted (no repeating textures) for ultimate realism.

The game is sure to be a monster hit on Xbox Live. Currently, the plans are for eight person multi-player modes of racing, but the number isn’t finalized. There will be Ghost downloads similar to Project Gotham Racing 2, as well as leaderboards and “an extra sense of community”. Johnson was tight-lipped about the last quote, but from this writer’s point of view, I see something very similar to Sega GT Online, where cars and car parts could be bought and sold online between users. If that’s the case, Forza Motorsport will be one of the biggest online events in history – a community of players who are passionate about their cars, can help each other tune their cars to max specs, and sell parts and cars like a real dealership. It’s going to be hot – real hot.

I absolutely love racing games and Forza Motorsport, a beautiful and technically-sound racing simulation, seems to be a possible killer app – for racing fans and casual racers alike. Hey if you can stand to tune your car, just throw it online and let a virtual grease monkey fix it up for you. Of course, that’s only speculation *wink*…

Forza Motorsport hits the tracks this Winter – plenty of time for you to get your subscription to Xbox Live.

For All E3 2004 Previews