Forza Motorsport Preview

Ever since it was first announced, racing fans with an Xbox have been following the development of Microsoft’s much vaunted title Forza Motorsport with bated breath.  Now, the game is finally approaching its release date, and we at GameZone recently had an opportunity to sit down with the game and see just what all the fuss is about.  The results are shaping up to be a great racing game with realistic physics, amazing graphics and destruction effects, and a ton of gameplay features and options.  For Xbox gamers, Forza will be the killer racing app to look out for this year.

Forza Motorsport is set to give gamers over 200 different licensed cars to race, as well as tons of customizations that players can make to them.  There will also be several different game modes, as well as all kinds of different tracks from around the world to race.  Oh yeah, and there will be Xbox Live support, something that all but trumps Sony’s upcoming GT4 non-existent online strategy.

The amount of customization that you can do to your vehicle is pretty insane.  You can change nearly every aspect of your car, from the tires, suspension and superchargers to tire pressure and ignition timing.  You can even completely remove your engine and put in a brand new one out of a completely different car.  This may sound a bit overwhelming, but the game’s interface makes this a relatively painless process.

In order to upgrade your car (or purchase a new one for that matter) in the career mode, you have to win races within your region of choice.  The career mode starts you out by having you choose one of three different continents - North America, Europe and Asia.  The main difference between the different areas is the fact that you have easier access to cars native to your continent, having to pay less than you would for an import to your region. You then work your way up in your racing class until you gain enough money and prestige to race all around the world and not be limited to your region.

Another nice touch to the game’s formula is the impressive physics engine, which responds to the slightest change in tuning or upgrades, making each car handle differently and feel unique.  Cars will also take on realistic damage, and pieces of your ride will actually fall off on the track after a few nasty hits.  The AI is also very well implemented and dynamic, acting realistically and responding to your driving strategies in a realistic fashion.  You can even edit how the AI to reacts to your driving style courtesy of the new “Drivatar” system, adding a unique element to the gameplay.
 

While it wasn’t playable in this build of the game, the Xbox Live support for the game is shaping up to be extremely deep and involving.  You can race up to eight players in single races online, or even take the career mode Live, as you play against other human racers for extra cash.

Graphically, Forza is going to look amazing.  The car models are detailed down to the slightest intricacies, complete with realistic damage effects.  The environments are also extremely diverse and very well detailed, sporting an almost photo realistic look to them.  The game also has some phenomenal lighting effects, like bloom effects, lens flaring and heat shimmers.  While the framerate needs a little bit more tweaking, it ran at a pretty solid 30 FPS even in this preview build.

With a bevy of gameplay features, deep online play and gorgeous graphics, Forza is going to be a force to be reckoned when it hits the Xbox this spring.