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Review
Forza Motorsport 4

When Turn 10 announced that Forza Motorsport 4 was in development, you could hear the rumble of the engine that is fanboyism. With Gran Turismo 5‘s exceedingly long development cycle, it was easy to poke fun at one of Sony Playstation’s most popular titles. I am stating right now that this review is not going to be a comparison between FM4 and GT5; truth be told, I love both titles – a lot. No, this review is going to be solely about FM4, which is an excellent game beyond any comparison, thank you very much.

From the get-go, it is very obvious that FM4 is about accessibility; everything has been designed to make the interface comfortable for both newbies and seasoned pros of driving games. Everything is very slick: menus are streamlined; a helpful announcer disseminates useful information; even the transitions between different aspects of the game display some sort of useful information – all of these factors (and more) contribute to an unparalleled user experience. To make things even simpler, the Kinect interface is great (both voice and motion capture)!

The single player career mode, dubbed “World Tour” is daunting, but fun. Every level presents you with a number of pre-set locations all around the world, each with a set of races and challenges to participate in; these challenges are somewhat dependent on the car that you are have currently selected (and you can change your car, thus changing some of the challenges). Doing well in the races increases your experience points which go towards your current level. Gaining levels leads to perks (like free cars), so it would be best to not only place, but win each race (leading to a high experience rating and an additional bonus). On top of the normal experience points, you are also awarded points that contribute to your level of loyalty with a particular manufacturer. The higher your loyalty level, the more perks you get from that manufacturer. I started off using a Citroen hatchback; my level got high enough to earn amazing cash bonuses as well as free upgrades for any of my Citroen vehicles. It’s a neat system that will really make you plan your vehicle choices carefully. Also, since damage to your car will dock you money, it is best to drive with skill.

You will be hypnotized by Autovista mode.

For those that are finding the dynamic AI (it adjusts to your skill level) a bit tough, you can step away from the World Tour and pick individual events from a very large list. What’s nice about this is that you can also use whatever cars you have at your disposal, rather than being shoe-horned into a specific model. It’s a great way to build up credits and experience to upgrade your car (or buy a new one that suits your goals).

It is pretty obvious that the physics engine has been updated from the third iteration of the franchise. As our own Ricky Lima reported earlier this month, the cars really have a sense of weight – this is very true. Far from an arcade driving game, technique is very important – you can have a relatively inferior car in a race and still beat out your competition by minding (and taking advantage of) the laws of reality. The damage rendering is also good, as your car will respond (or choose not to respond) according to the amount of damage sustained (and the parts of your vehicle that are broken).

As incredible as the physics engine is, there are still some weird anomalies. For instance, one of the first things I do in a racing simulator is to check out what happens in a full head-on collision*: I picked an S-class vehicle and a simple track, spun the car around at the start of the race, and drove into the pack. The first weird thing? All of the paint on our vehicles shattered upon impact. The rest of the collision looked like it was a fairly accurate representation of reality, until my flipped-over car came to rest on its roof – and started sliding…uphill. Things like that are not really that important (more amusing than anything) since the goal of a technical racer is to win without damaging your car (instead of trying to kill yourself); but I figured it was worth mentioning, if only to be thorough. That being said, things could be a little bit better; sometimes there is a disproportionate amount of damage done after a minor scrape – but it is easy to let something like that slide given the overall effect.

Muscle cars not only look like muscle cars; they sound like muscle cars.

Upgrading your vehicles is an easy -yet thorough- affair. You can use the Quick Upgrade function, which offers a very rapid and automatic way of adding parts to your car: you can select your desired performance level and the game will choose the best parts to use to max out your performance based on your choice and the amount of money in your wallet. For those who want to get their hands dirty, the option to upgrade at the individual part level can be chosen. There are a lot of different options and both Quick and normal upgrade selections display a handy comparison chart to show you the effect of your choices.

On top of parts, there are a few more ways to customize your car. You can tune your car (gear ratios, down-force, wheel alignment, etc.) to give you a bit of an edge in your races. You can also paint and apply decals to your car, adding your own personality to the four-wheeled horses in your stable. The interesting thing about these customizable aspects is that you can save them and sell them on your personal storefront online. This is a great feature, especially for those who are much more interested in customizing the cars instead of racing them. Everyone can participate!

There are many tracks in this game – and they are lovingly rendered.

Autovista is a neat feature that really beings the idea of accessibility to the fore; car lovers will very much enjoy this part of the game. At the beginning, four cars are available for pretty much full exploration. You can open doors, check under the hood, get in the car and look at everything. Key areas will display information and some of those will also be narrated by Jeremy Clarkson. Even if you don’t like cars all that much (which, if true, would make buying this game an odd choice), you should definitely try this mode out.

I play with the Xbox 360 controller, rather than the wheel, so I was very happy to see that the control scheme was somewhat customizable. There are thirteen different base configurations for the controller, along with the option to go a little deeper by re-assigning some of the buttons. Controls are responsive and don’t feel sticky (when I played FM3, the controls felt a little sluggish, especially in comparison).

Kinect integration is well-implemented, but more of a frill than anything else. The navigation of menus by voice command is a useful feature. Deciding to use Kinect to steer your car is interesting: all you can really do is steer your car (the game takes care of your acceleration and braking). While this method of control would seem to be a great way to become immersed in the game, the inability to control your speed nullifies the joy of steering your car. Autovista also allows you to take control using your body. I found it to be interesting but clumsy, so I haven’t spent a lot of time with it.

Forza Motorsport 4 looks better than real life!

Graphically, the game is a masterpiece. Cars are rendered in loving detail right down to any exposed internal parts. Modifications to the car are also displayed (those include negative effects – like damage), adding to the realism. If there was a flaw with FM4, it’s that the cars may look too realistic (honestly, I have never seen that many cars with such reflective finishes), creating a definite contrast with some elements of the landscape (most noticeably, the crowds and some buildings). Rendering in the rear-view mirror is a little bit choppy, but I’m just nit-picking now; there is a lot going on, so it may just be a hardware limitation. Also, there are no weather effects or night racing which is a little bit of a bummer – but that just means that there is more horsepower available for everything else.

When I chatted with Brian Ekberg at X’11, he commented on the audio being much better than the last title in the series; he wasn’t kidding. Sound is full and puts you right in the driver’s seat. If you have a decent home-theater system, or good headphones, you will definitely be smiling as the thorough and brilliant soundscape washes over you. Music is appropriate, and the game offers you the ability to attenuate every aural aspect of your driving experience. Like tire screeches better than engine noise? There’s a setting for that! Overall, this is one of those games that might have you turning the volume up to crazy levels, just to feel like you’re in the action!

Much hullabaloo has been made about the partnership with Top Gear in the creation of this game. What that amounts to is some cool tracks, challenges, and a television-show-like presentation. Jeremy Clarkson does do a great job on the stirring introduction, framing car enthusiasts as an endangered species – nice touch. However, his presence in Autovista is limited to the vivid description of far fewer cars than I would have expected.

I took this photo with the in-game photo mode.

Online functionality is pretty slick. Besides the normal multi-player racing, a Rivals Mode exists in which you can challenge your friends in various events. Beating a rival results in a pile of credits being deposited into your wallet. Not only that, but once you beat them they will get a note telling them to get off their butts and beat your score. It’s a great way to play: racing people that you know on your own time. Topping off the great feature-set is the Car Clubs section: invite like-minded friends together to share cars from your personal garages!

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I really like this game. This is going to be one of those titles that I will make time to return to time and time again. Single-player and multi-player (both online and offline) experiences are top-notch. Graphics and sound are to die for and the flaws in the game hide in the shadows created by the brilliance of everything else. If you like cars, or you really want to learn how, go out and get this.

* – Sue me. I never did have a Criss-Cross-Crash set when I was a kid.

Posted in Kinect, Reviews, Xbox 360 |