FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 ****
When it comes to racing games, it depends what you're into. Compared to Electronic Arts's latest frantic, arcade racer, Need For Speed: Shift, Forza 3 is a much more laid back and refined driving experience. Pristine white menus, slick logos and an announcer who sounds like Patrick Stewart create a feeling of sophisticated opulence: you actually feel rich playing.
The graphics are insane and the choice of cars and tracks so overwhelming, it comes with a separate Content Install Disc.
First of all: the graphics. Damn, racing games have come a long way since Atari's 1974 black-and-white classic Gran Trak 10. From the mountaintops of Iberia to the streets of New York, racing's never looked this beautiful. According to developers Turn 10 Studios, every car has been built with "more than 10 times the amount of polygons" as Forza 2. And it shows.
Then there's the content: over 400 fully customisable dream cars from 50 manufacturers and more than 100 real world tracks from around the globe. Just to give you an idea, after two solid sessions, unbelievably, I was only 1.8% of the way through Career mode. For all the road-hogging petrol guzzlers out there, Forza 3 also includes SUVs and trucks (a series first).
Other improvements include a tantalising new, 200 plus event, single-player Career mode that's nothing short of addictive. "Just one more race, then I'll get up and turn the stove off," you'll find yourself saying, as the house burns down around you. The hook is the way Career mode makes you feel: like a racing god. Because Forza 3 dishes out unlocks, XP Points and Achievements like a feeder whips up pancakes.
It's just such a smooth, pain free ride, from the optional new lifesaving Rewind feature, that lets you go back in time and nail that perfect section or undo the moment of impact (much like Race Driver: Grid's Flashback feature), to its smooth handling and impressive sense of weight and traction. And the different skill modes and choice of driving assists ensures that all racers are catered for: from amateur to full-blown, extreme level petrolhead.
Forza 3's updated physics engine now even includes such analytical bouts of realism as "tyre deformation" and the ability to flip your car, edging the game even further into the "racing simulator" realm of driving games (as long as you turn off all the assists and boycott Rewind).
Online gaming modes have been tweaked as well, from being able to create in-game videos and upload them on the Forza Motorsport website to even more desirable scorecards, showcasing the best (and most obsessive) online racers, tuners and painters.
Naturally, the first downloadable content pack has already been announced, due out just in time for Christmas and featuring the brand new Ferrari 458 Italia.
On the downside, the sheer scope of the game can get quite overwhelming. There's also an impersonal, character free feel to Forza 3: the clinical showroom touch. Sure, the sterile nature enhances its sense of luxuriousness, sleek elegance and racing simulator status, but deep into season six, you'll be begging for Brooke Burke, Josie Maran or even Patrick Stewart to make an appearance.
Forza 3 is a car lover's dream where just about everything is customisable (as usual, you can even sell your creations online for extra credits). And the clever blend of realism and casual gamer friendly assists (from auto-brake to auto-tune) makes it both accessible and elitist, at the same time (the choice is yours). PS3 owners will pin their hopes on Gran Turismo 5 (set to feature "over 950 cars" and due out in March next year), but in the meantime, Xbox 360 racing junkies have got a whole lot of driving to do.
Competition
Sunday Times Magazine in conjunction with Xbox 360 is giving away a hamper to the value of R7 000 to one lucky reader. The hamper includes Xbox 360 console, a Forza Motorsport 3 game as well as an Advanced Driving Course. To stand a chance of winning this great prize please answer the following question: What kind of cars are available for all the road-hogging patrol guzzlers out there? Send your answer to 41823 by November 08th, 2009. All SMSes are charged at R2.00 and the editor's decision is final.
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