By Ravi Sinha
Turn 10 Studios and Microsoft, more the former than the latter, have commented before the release of Forza Motorsport 3 that it was a game that was “hard to replicate” and that “no game competes with us”. Obviously aimed as a rib at the Gran Turismo crowd (especially when GT is a Playstation-exclusive franchise), these aren’t comments you spout without a competent digital property to back them up, or at the very least, cushion your arrogant arse when they fall apart.
Personally, my brand of racing will always fall some where in the Enthusia and NFS: Porsche Unleashed stable, with a sizable slab of rally racing but I’ve never really warmed up to the Forza series. The newest addition to the franchise assaults you with sheer numbers and figures: 400 cars from over 50 manufacturers, 100 track variations arrayed from locations around the world, infinite customization. Funny how in all those numbers they neglected to mention you can only race 7 AI opponents at once – which given the limited radius of graphics to be rendered (helpfully discovered through the game’s video editor mode) is understandable. Nonetheless, despite not really pushing the 360 to it’s limits, Forza 3 looks very, very nice. It’s one of those 360 games that justifies having a high-def screen.
The accessibility is somewhat hampered by the choice of colour palette for the menu, of all things. It may seem like an issue, but sorry, Turn 10. Having light grey text set over extremely bright white backgrounds is not very kind to our corneas, especially when it over-rides our default Xbox Live palettes on playing online. The music is there, neither jarring nor memorable, but at least the sound effects and car engines sound believable. I find it odd how a game with good physics could have such awkward damage modelling but you get used to it.
Once you get into the game itself and work around the tracks, you’ll either be awed, addicted, enticed or all of the above. Like the latest lean machine to roll off a Ferrari or Lamborghini factory line, Forza 3 is committed to streamlining and smoothening the overall racing experience. You can choose from several different play settings, which usually consist of whether or not you want to enable auto-braking, assists, automatic gear change, etc. Forza 3 also automatically gauges your skill level, enabling and disabling options depending on just how amazing you really are. You can still go back and disable whatever changes the game made if you truly want to get by without assists. And given that the more hardcore you are, the more experience points and money you rack up, there’s plenty of incentive to get better. The various racing modes also ensure you won’t get bored of the same race. Championships are there to be unlocked, but my favourite was the Le Mans race, which like the classic Test Drive: Le Mans 24 Hours for the Sega Dreamcast lets you race for a full 24 hours one track. There’s plenty to attract both amateurs and vets, and plenty more to keep them playing for a long while.
When your favourite past racing titles are dictated by how you do more than just race around a bunch of tracks – the History and Factory modes of Porsche Unleashed, along with Enthusia’s unforgiving yet fun Career mode for instance – Forza 3 can feel, well, dull at times. I wish it could have played as more than just a highly polished version of Forza 2. And with it’s changes in tune-up options, the Rewind assist, which moves you back in time in a race to correct any mistakes and has limitless use, and the sheer volume of content, it exists as more than just that. However, no matter how many lean machine analogies I make, there’s no denying that Forza 3 plays like just about any other racing sim. If you haven’t been attracted to this kind of thing in the past, you won’t be won over here either – it may be the most accessible game of it’s kind on the market but unless you improve as a racer, a majority of the game stays unlocked. It’s also apt to mention Forza 3 comes on two discs with a mandatory install. It’s not much of an issue, unless you possess a 360 Arcade unit, but it’ll take up a lot of space, whether you want it too or not.
Is Forza Motorsport 3 worthier of purchase than many other racing games? Definitely. Is it worth a purchase over many other Xbox 360 games? Once again, if highly realistic track racing is your thing, then yes. Otherwise, try it out for a few hours till it either fits your fancy or doesn’t. You’ll have an easier time around it then most other racers. Hopefully, Gran Turismo 5 will attempt something new with the genre when it releases next year.
Rating: 8.5/10
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