Originally posted by Monk
How about a review, bouncing it off GT4?
I give a quick run down then, busy playing right now.. was erhm.. "sick" today and couldn't work.
Graphics: I would say the graphics in normal racing are much better than GT4. Everything is rendered on the fly and is very smooth. Photo mode in GT4 blows it away, but it is also pre-rendered backgrounds. It's kind of a wash because Forza let's you customize your cars exteriors fully with paint and 600 layers of decal's. Some body kits aren't available for some cars, some have tons. (i.e. Ferrari's have none that I've found, Civic's have 5 million) One problem is it runs at 30fps where GT4 is 60fps. I don't mind too much, but it can be noticeable, especially at 480p.
Tuning: Tuning is a lot more indepth in forza. Think GT4 and then add a lot more options. It seems a little shallow on the surface until you understand the Class System. There are D, C, B, A, S, and R classes. There are 4 grades D4,D3 and so on for everything but R classes. A lot of the beginner races you can just tune your car to the max and kill the A.I. (another paragraph) and then you get into limited races. That's when tuning your car makes all the difference. Camber/Toe-in/Caster/Dampening/Ratio's/Limited Slip/Tire Pressure and more can be adjusted then benchmarked and tested for every car. Oh and the Engine swaps. Not every car has engine swaps available, but some have 4 or 5 engines. Like the R32 GTI engine, but the Corrado body cause it's lighter? Throw the engine in there.
Physics: Far and away makes GT4 look like Pole Position. Every car feels different and it has the most accurate brakes of any sim on the console I've ever seen. I don't drive with assists on so I'm not sure how it plays without them though. Real rubber is laid down on the tracks every lap, and it affects the way your car handles if you take the same line. Depending on the placement or setup it can either help or hurt you.
A.I.: Kills GT4 in one fell swoop. No more mindless drones following along the racing line not caring. These guys learn.. and they are vicious. I play on the hardest A.I. mode, and I accidentally hit the guy in front of me knocking his taillights out (did I mention it has damage?). I spun him out, but he was fast and caught back up 3 laps later... next thing I know I'm in the dirt. He held a grudge. They learn from you, you drive clean they do too, but they will jockey for position amongst themselves and with you. Don't take a corner too wide, they will cut the apex to get you.. even going in the grass if you are going to slow.
Damage: I go with full damage. You can't roll the cars (liscensing) and you can't make them not move (some say you can) but you can make them creep along at 40 or so. I smashed a Carrera GT into the wall at about 170 or so on Road Atlanta. The clutch kept slipping and I couldn't get past 50 or so MPH.. Body panels will ding up and you can lose bumpers/mirrors/spoilers and they will stay as debris on the track.. as will cones. You have to pay to fix your damage out of your winnings.
Drivatar: Like B-Spec mode, but better. You train a personalized A.I. driver to do races for you. He takes a large chunk of your money, but it's great for those races you don't want to do. Train him right and he's able to duke it out with very closely matched cars in races, unlike B-Spec mode where I had to upgrade my car 200hp+ over the others to garuntee a win. He's not interactive though so you can't tell him how to race, but you can train more than one. I spent about 2 hours yesterday training mine.. and now I can't beat him
Cars and Tracks: Okay here is where GT4 wins. 700 cars and a lot more tracks. Forza has 231 cars that are known... there may be some easter egg cars, but I haven't heard about them. It does have a smaller selection of tracks as well. It is a freshman offering so I didn't expect as many as GT4, but the ones that are in are awesome. Point-2-Point races are like mini-tarmac only rally's. Autocross tracks are killer. There are 3 Test tracks; 1/4 mile, 5 mile oval like GT4, and a super twisty track that is impossible to describe. The 'ring is in, as is Laguna Seca (looks 4x as good as GT4) and Road Atlanta along with some other real tracks. There are some ficitional as well. Plus some that are almost real, but tweaked a little because of liscensing issues. Also Ferrari and Porches oh my!
Online: Yes online with up to 8 others over Live! is possible. You can do your entire career online without ever racing a single A.I. if you wanted too. 1400 Scoreboards and the ability to d/l top replays and car settings from the leaders to try and knock them off. It's amazing, I've been online all day. Perfectly smooth gameplay and generally clean racing if you make sure and race with like minded people.
Wow that got long, but what can I say.. I haven't been this excited about a game since I flew AW4W when I was 12. Any other questions?
