Forza Motorsport 3 Review

[Toastfarmer]

Forza Motorsport 3 Review by Toastfarmer

360 Review: Forza gamers that love their cars.

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[ObsoletE]

i want to plus that pun.
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My Play-Asia Affiliate Link.

[Toastfarmer]

Also, thanks to Al3x for the PALGNmobile picture on the front page.

[ace_mclean]

[Gaminglegend]

I really wasn't all that impressed with this one. The game just didn't feel very balanced to me - cars felt far too heavy and the graphics were just underpar. Guess that's just my opinion, though, seems its caught the hearts of many out there.

[Mr Waffle]

The graphics aren't amazing to look at, but when driving, the 60fps is absolutely fantastic. The game is so smooth and more importantly, CONSISTENT, so you never suffer because of slowdown, which would be a nightmare on some of the tougher courses in the top level cars.

I'm a huge fan of the auction house/storefront, it's easy to go on and find hundreds of interesting designs for cars I'm using. Wether you want a racing car design (real or imagined), something like a fast and the furious ricer, or even covered in all sorts of anime characters, it's all there waiting to be bought.

There are plenty of faults in the game- some of the menus are absurdly designed (it's like half a dozen clicks and 2 load screens to get to your favourite sellers list on the storefront!!!), you can easily reach the R3 world championship in career mode before you've actually been given an R3 car (protip: '08 Dodge Viper + AWD = you'll win!), they've purposefully locked cars to give them away later (RX7 Spirit R, WRX S204, Camero Z28 SS or something)... but on the whole, definitely the best all-encompassing racer I've ever played.

[barrett]

An 8 out of 10 game...AI problems,circuits seem tighter and track width narrower,some suspect car handling etc

Hopefully for Forza 4 they will come up with a bunch of new tracks as well - having "driven" around Suzuka,Laguna Seca etc for years now how about something new and fresh

[NismoR34]

^ How about not? What tracks, pray tell, would you use to replace some of the most popular and respected race tracks in the world with? Not having Suzuka, Laguna Seca, Silverstone and the like in the game is like not having Ferrari, Porsche and BMW in the game -- it's just not logical to take out such big names just because they've been in previous versions and may be getting 'old' for some people.

Now if Turn 10 added some new tracks (of which there are some notable omissions in Forza 3) alongside the old legendary ones, then that'd be a different and welcome story.

But then, they did add new tracks into the mix such as Catalunya, so really, I don't see anything to complain about. Especially not when similar games, like main rival Gran Turismo, have been using the same tracks for much longer than Forza has. The thing is though, that's not a problem -- it's a good thing. Keep familiarity in play while players get used to the newer inclusions. It's striking the balance that's key, not picking and choosing to satisfy a few.
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Raptured Reality

[jameseybuddy]

I agree with NismoR34 on this one.

Also I'm not sure anyone can really complain about the handling issues of the cars. Have you driven the same counterpart in reality with the same assists? I think not. How can you then complain the physics are wrong.

The track graphics aren't a great improvement on Forza 3 but the scenery is much better as is the menus. (Still too many menus but they look smooth and nice). the way the menu has an uncluttered almost Euro feel about it, adds to the prestige racing feel.
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[barrett]

Errrr...i can think of one straight away..........Bathurst and as video games are an art form how about Turn 10 (and Polophony) showing some creativity and come up with some cracking track designs instead of cut and pasting assets from one game to the next.
It can be done,look at the work done by Sega,Namco,Criterion,Bizarre Creations etc.

[Spanca]

^ What assets are cut and pasted? All of the visual work of the fictional tracks was redone. The same applies to the real tracks, and furthermore if any real tracks were taken out (Sebring excluded) I'd be pretty damn pissed off.

I'm not sure I understand your complaint about the circuits being too narrow or tight, as they are accurate reproductions of the real circuit. Perhaps it's just your perception of them and you could try changing the camera angle you're using.

As for suspect car handling, there's 2 possible reasons this is a complaint. The first possibility is you find it too unrealistic, in which case I suggest you turn the aids off. If that's not the case and you're driving with the aids off already, then I'm at a loss to understand how the handling could be 'suspect' compared to Forza 2 when the physics have been improved to become more realistic, and Forza 2's were some of the best around to begin with.


My thoughts
I still think there's a few niggling issues with Forza 3 but I found your (barrett's) complaints to be bizarre. Personally I find the AI to be the usual racing game affair; glued to the racing line and overly aggressive if you're on the line and they're just outside it. The AI seems to hit the brakes earlier than necessary but if I'm in front they'll fly into the back of me despite me braking later than where they normally would.

I find the off-track physics to be atrocious still. By that I mean the grass (not even gravel traps) to the side of the track. If you go slightly off the track you can find your car immediately pulled up even from 250km/h to around 30km/h. I understand why they've done it, but it seems incredibly artificial and unrealistic in a supposed sim. It annoys me to cut a curb (I'm thinking of a chicane outside the Sedona track here) and still have 2 wheels on tarmac but the other two hit dirt and the car immediately halts.

Then there's the shaking/revving of the car in the pre-race intro movie. That belongs in a NFS game, not Forza.

All minor complaints in what is the best racer out there, especially for motorsport enthusiasts. The addition of V8 Supercars was something I wasn't excited about before the game but now I've taken the #1 car and the Toll HSV car for a spin I love them. All of the proper racers (R2 and R3 class I've tried) are great fun and can be very difficult to drive if you take the aids away. I had a go in the 2008 Aston Le Mans car and was spinning out on the exit of 4th gear turns. The physics are top notch and really force you to be smooth on the accelerator, even at such high speeds.

I'm only in season 3 of the career mode but it's been great fun so far!

[Benc82]

I'd love Bathurst to be in this game as it's such a fun track, but it won't happen.

Infact, in an interview on the Major Nelson podcast the other week, Dan Greenwalt (Turn10) didn't sound too keen on the idea of DLC tracks. Apparently they werent that successful in Forza 2, probably because it doesn't intergrate them into the main career, so they were multiplayer or free play only.

He said it takes 3 months to make one track.

DLC cars on the other hand is definitely happening, starting with the Ferrari 458 Italia (yum).


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XBL/PSN/Steam: BenC82