|
From The Entertainment Depot - http://www.entdepot.com Microsoft
Forza definitely feels like the first in a series. With numerous driving aids, the game comes across as one that is introducing people to this type of title, as if the Xbox is their first console and this is their first experience with such a title. That isn’t a bad thing. For people who aren’t overly interested in cars and all the intricacies involved therein, a game like Gran Turismo can be a bit daunting, what with its number charts and graphs and terminology. Given, the GT series does well to get people acclimated with its system by way of forcing them to perform various tasks to earn their licenses, but jumping into a series the fourth entry in can be a bit overwhelming nevertheless. Forza, while taking a similar approach in gameplay, takes a different approach in terms of menu layout and explanation.
Newcomers to the genre will have a wealth of information at their fingertips. While my car aficionado friend scoffed at the game for giving the performance details on a scale of one to ten, I appreciated it. For each upgrade being purchased to every part being tweaked, there is a minimum of two rows of information given; upgrades are given even more via scrolling text. For the graph- and number-crunching lovers out there, those elements are present as well. There are even tidbits that aren’t vital for gameplay but are just fun to have, such as how many owners a car has had, how many in-game miles you have raced, and so on. Even though there are numerous training courses to aid in navigation and braking, those courses are put in with the other courses, just as the beginning of a set of courses that go from easier to more difficult as you go down the line. This is a little offsetting because while it would seem to make sense to put them with the other courses, it’s also a bit unorthodox due to it being fairly standard to put tutorials and training portions off to the side for easier differentiation, something Gran Turimso does effectively.
For those of you out there who may feel that the game is a little too easy, fear not. While there are aids to assist in driving, those aids can also be turned off. Turning off assistance also has the added bonus of adding credits to your reward for winning a race. It is this credit system that really ties the game together, and offers the easiest way to explain everything about it. After winning a top spot in each race, you earn money for position, and then damage sustained is subtracted, while additional bonus credits are given for difficulty, increased by having less driving aids turned on, and the rarity of your car.
One of the more noticeable minor features of Forza is car damage. Car damage also fits into how many credits are given as a difficulty bonus. Damage can either be cosmetic, with impacts only affecting the look of the car, but with winnings having a percentage subtracted off; normal, with impacts doing half damage and no penalty; and simulation, with full-on damage being compensated with a higher percentage of credits after successfully completing a race. Using any option over cosmetic will cause cars to either become useless upon direct impact or hamper them in such a way that the car will constantly veer a certain way, though never will a race end due to a collision. The biggest aid is the suggested line, a colored path that sets out the optimal area on the course to be on. When green is indicated, it’s alright to go full speed; if yellow, you’re meant to slow then to ease up, and red is when you are going too fast. What is nice about the line is that it isn’t meant to be followed as you are on it, but that it changes color based on approach. So instead of waiting for the line to get to red to brake, you brake when it gets yellow, and the line changes from yellow to green depending on whether or not you are braking correctly. If you drive as the line suggests, the red or yellow portion will fade to green as you approach it. There are also the standard wear and tear lines on the courses that all racers have, so the game doesn’t leave you completely out to dry whenever you opt to turn it off. Other ways to increase the amount received for difficulty is by adjusting fuel and tire wear, braking (ABS on or off), shifting, traction, and stability. The end of each race has a general overview of the amount won or not, and also a break down of the difficulty (what you have turned off and on and the percentage each adds or decreases to the overall credit count) and a damage section that gives percentage damage to each afflicted area.
Making a care rare comes through customizing it, a crucial aspect of Forza’s online component. Some things are free to change at any time, such as the paint job and applying decals, which is cool, while other items like rims and window tinting will cost money. Customization is done in the garage and the parts are purchased with earned credits. With the ability to sell your cars through in-game car dealerships and online means that those who take care in creating particular cars might actually see their creations race against them someday. The garage is also where functional upgrades are purchased, with the three categories being Engine and Power, Appearance and Aero, and Chassis and Drivetrain. Each upgrade has a description of what the part does, with more significant upgrades, like Engine Tuning, having a colored graph to easily show if the part helps or hinders performance. There are also basic characteristics listed at the top - Speed, Accel, Brake, Corner, and Rarity - that add upon the blue bar (current performance) with green addition to show improvements and red subtractions to show decreases in performance. This top bar can also display Power, Torque, Weight, Weight Front, and Origin (of part). The ability to buy and sell parts is important not just for rarity purposes, but also because some races have specific requirements on what kind of cars can participate. These parts can then be further tweaked and saved as a particular setup to be loaded at any time in the garage as well.
Credits do more than just allow you to purchase new cars and upgrades; they also work in a RPG-like level system, whereby you gain an extra level by accumulating a set amount of credits upon completing a race, though the overall count isn’t affected by what is spent in the garage. Starting out at Level 0, you have access to playing on Xbox Live, participating in point-to-point races (A to B, no multiple laps), and the Amateur circuit. As you gain experience, you will gain access to the higher circuits, Professional, Championship Series, and Endurance. Each circuit has various sets in which to race, which go by country, class, and car brand. In Asia, you will race courses in Asia; in Eclipse versus Integra, you can only drive one of those brands of cars; and in American Muscle, only American-made cars built before 1975 are allowed. There are a wide variety of race sets, far beyond what I just mentioned. The higher up in the circuit, the better the cars are; from a simple SAAB hatchback to a Ferrari, the progression is slow and steady. However, I would liked to have been able to flag certain cars if I had them in mind for particular races. Although you can take upgrades off and view upgrade stats, it would have been preferred that a warning come up indicating I was about to make the car too powerful or bring it up a class if I did a particular action.
Aside from the career mode, there is also an arcade mode, free trial, and time trial. While the latter two are self-explanatory, the arcade mode offers a bit more. Like career mode, it can also be used to not only unlock cars, but to also build relationships with part manufacturers. If you are low on credits in career, it is entirely possible to race in arcade, earn a discount for a particular tire company, then purchase the much-needed upgrade at a discount. While this is useful, it is also somewhat superficial because it doesn’t go beyond a race winning you some esteem - you won’t lose any of the discounts if you consistently perform poorly. The upside to arcade mode is that you get access to all car classes once you unlock a race, which allows you to try out some of the more exotic cars that might take you a while to accumulate in your career.
The tracks are varied and, for the most part, thoroughly enjoyable to race on. I’m not a particularly big fan of tight courses, and Forza has some that are unforgiving in that regard. The gameplay is also very much in the vein of getting one chance to get first, and blowing it means losing, no matter how far you are ahead - though you can fudge this a bit by upgrading a car to the point of it outclassing your opponents by a large degree - and there will definitely be hair-pulling moments of that first place victory in a particularly grueling race turning to nothing because of braking too late and sliding into the grass. The other cars will also do their best to tap the back of your car to cause a spin-out or force you off the road, which is something that beginners might not enjoy, and it is something that occurs even on the easiest difficulty level. What’s more, AI drivers rarely make mistakes. The aggressive AI in the earlier stages really serves as in incentive to practice and do better so that you can upgrade your vehicle and put them back in their place. With over 200 cars and dozens of courses, as well as other items like cone challenges, there is an incredible amount of areas in which to participate.
If things get too challenging for you, or if you are tired of racing a particular course, you can take advantage of the Drivatar. This is a simulated version of yourself. You can train the computer to drive the way you do, so that you can forego racing a particular course, at the cost of credits, to save you time and/or frustration. This is an interesting, if largely experimental, feature.
One of the game’s biggest draws is, of course, the multiplayer. Much in the same way Live was integrated into Project Gotham Racing 2, it is also integrated into Forza. For instance, when preparing to race a particular course, you will not only see the best times locally (your system) but also on Live as well. There is also an online career function to partake in. The same races and events that are in single player are also available through Live, as well as the aforementioned ability to purchase cars. Similar to the clans in Halo 2 and MechAssault 2, Forza has driver clubs. The clan aspect of Live is something that is really overlooked, as it seems to have taken the service by storm. This also means that those of us not in a car club and who just want a quick race are often at the mercy of the clubs out there reserving spots for members. There are the standard ways to find races (quick, opti, etc.), but there will still be plenty of ten-minute lobby sessions only to be kicked out when they finish a race and realize a friend wants in. For those really into customization and showing off their rides, though, this is a great feature.
Solid framerates and responsive controls are really the Forza experience in a nutshell. The game isn’t a graphical beast (check out the crowds), but it is also far from ugly. The music carries over the menus well, but that particular brand of rock might not appeal to all, which makes the custom soundtrack a handy feature. This isn’t the game to show your friends to blow them away, but the workmanlike approach works extremely well.
Despite not being particularly enamored with cars, I had a blast with Forza. The multiple driving aids allowed me to slowly wean myself off the built-in safety net and tackle the roads on my own. Customization is second to none, and there are so many cars and tracks that racing fans will have a full plate. The clean menu layout makes the game easy to navigate, though I do wish that the easier trials were marked to let beginners know just where to begin. The only thing the game is really missing is something like the rally mode included in Gran Turismo. It isn’t a huge loss, considering what is unique here, but more variety can never hurt. Xbox racing fans should be more than pleased with Forza: Motorsport, as it provides a hearty experience that is both fun and rewarding. © Copyright 1999-2005 by EntDepot.com |
Going by the television ads for Forza Motorsport, Microsoft’s new racing sim, Sony missed out by opting to not take Gran Turismo online.