Review: Forza Motorsport 3
Console-exclusive racing games have always been the subject of heated discussions and arguments ever since the days of SNES and MegaDrive. These arguments continue to this day: it just so happens that each of today's main platforms has some good racing exclusive, and it's no surprise that their latest installments, Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5, became objects of adoration for some and envy for others even before release.
FM 3 is a simulator unlike any other. Turn 10 managed the impossible — to attract casual players while at the same time keeping the "hardcore" fans. The game's difficulty system is so flexible that on the lowest settings the player will need, almost like in Underground, to just hold down the gas button and steer the car; you won't even need to brake — the artificial intelligence will do that for us. But true virtual racers definitely won't bother with such nonsense, and for them Forza 3 is the most realistic racing sim to date.
Turning off all the assists will give us a chance to literally fight just to drive steadily along the track. Press the gas pedal a little too hard during a turn — and the car will start doing "figure eights." Hit the brake pedal too late — and you'll crash into an opponent's car, badly damaging your own. Plus differences in handling: a decent-sized car roster will make you get used to almost every other car, because a heavy "American" is far from the same thing as a light "Japanese" one.
At the "simulation" damage level you can easily wreck a car, which will greatly affect its driving characteristics, but visually everything is done rather poorly: scratches and slight body deformation are all we'll get to see. Compared to DiRT 2 , the damage system lags a couple of generations behind, and yet Dirt 2 is an arcade game to its very core!
By the way, FM 3 has adopted a very useful feature from GRID and DiRT 2 — rewinding time. Back in the Codemasters games it saved the player a lot of time and nerves. And here it has allowed newcomers to test their skills at high difficulty without any particular problems. Didn't make it into a turn? No problem, rewind and correct the mistake. The dog distracted you from the game? All good. There's no limit on the number of uses of this feature, so you can practice entering a turn correctly as many times as you like.
The opponents' AI is done very well — they make mistakes, cut corners... in short, they behave just like real players. True, the usual tactic of racing games — once you get first place, blocking the path of other cars — works flawlessly; opponents immediately start braking, not really trying to overtake you.
Players will spend the large "offline" part of the game in the career, of course. Finishing it isn't so much hard as it is simply too long. We're offered to get through 220 events, each consisting of several races, among which there are both regular races and drift and drag, as well as endurance competitions. The most interesting thing is that in most modern racing games the career is built on the scheme "the further you've progressed, the cooler your car." In FM 3, however, all cars are available from the very start, but to drive them you need to accumulate a certain number of credits, which we earn by completing events. If you want, you can "make some cash" right at the start of the career and buy, for example, a Bugatti Veyron.
The game features around 400 cars, and each of them is distinguished by a very meticulous elaboration of the slightest details, both in appearance and in behavior on the road. Tuning is also done sensibly — you're free to set up and tweak absolutely anything that comes to mind, and for lazy folks there's an automatic setup. There's also a very powerful vinyl decal editor here — if you spend a couple of hours in it, you can create a truly unique-looking car.
In terms of graphics, "Forza" can without hesitation be counted among the most beautiful racing games to date. The only things that catch the eye are the not-so-crisp "jagged" shadows and the blurry stickers on the windshield. Otherwise the game looks simply superb — beautiful landscapes, shiny cars... gorgeous! The sound is no slouch either — the effects were close to ideal back in the second installment, and the upbeat drum'n'bass with cheerful rock will definitely keep you from getting bored during the sometimes very long races.
Taking pity on newcomers, Turn 10 has turned Forza Motorsport 3 into an almost "people's" game that will be interesting to spend time with for both seasoned and "green" racers. A countless number of cars, each elaborated down to the smallest detail; interesting modes, a powerful editor... If you have an Xbox 360 and you love beautiful cars — by no means skip this game.
Final score — 9,0
Source: ZoneOfGames.ru