Forza 4 is an all around brilliant racing game. If you’re into arcade like racing, then Forza can do that for you. If you want a very simulator style racing game, Forza can do that too. If you want dozens of tracks from around the world, hundreds of cars with more on the way, and a robust set of online features, Forza has you covered. I’m not big on the racing game scene. I don’t go out and buy every new Need for Speed, Gran Turismo or Colin McRae game that’s on the market. It’s just not my scene. That having been said, Forza 4 has sucked me in, gotten me totally addicted and now I can’t wait to jump back on and play some more.
Instead of a campaign with a story or anything, Forza gives it to you straight. You start out in F rank cars in a simple small circuit and work your way up to pro-racing vehicles in R3 and beyond rank as you go. The game is broken up into segments testing your level of driver proficiency. Each segment has around ten or more races (some of the later segments border around 20 races, some with multiple heats) and it’s your job to take down as many of these races as possible with the best score possible. Forza doesn’t truly penalize you for not being great at it. Rather than say “Do this race over” it’ll let you continue but without all the XP or cash you could have earned. It also gives you the option of redoing a race.
The races are varied in type, letting you pick from a few different types before being locked in. Some are car or class based, others are fun distractions like a 1 on 1 downhill race in japan with slow moving traffic in the way. Others are slaloms through barrels, and there’s evil car bowling on the Top Gear test track. When you finish a race, the game judges your performance and gives you XP and CR. CR is the currency which you spend in the game to upgrade cars, buy new cars, or go into the online shop and buy custom rigs designed by players just like you (but with more talent).
If you start the game off on standard you will get a 25% boost in XP and CR from the game at the end of each race because of how your settings are. Raise the difficulty by removing the driving line hints, making it so damage has real effect or making your tires wear down or gas deplete and you’ll be rewarded with a bigger bonus. The game becomes far more challenging but the reward can be worth it. As you gain XP and level up the game will reward you with a new car at each rank, letting you pick from a few all in the same class.
The classes of cars are all over the board, varying from small two door smart cars from europe to Bugatti Veyrons, Deloreans, and even trucks which add an entirely different play style to the game. It’s nice to have so many different cars from so many manufacturers, letting the player find a kind of car he likes and sticking with it. The game actually rewards you with brand loyalty. The more you race with a particular brand the more CR you’ll get from that company and the cheaper their parts will be for upgrading your ride and continuing. I didn’t know I was a BMW fan until I played this game and found something I liked.
The AI in Forza 4′s campaign can be push overs at times, letting you slide right by them and it isn’t until you rank up to about level twenty five that they start to give you some real competition. Cars will start to really jockey for position, forcing you into other cars, slowing down to get you off their bumper, or taking corners a certain way just to ruin your driving line. The aggressive nature can make the competition almost feel personal, which is brilliant.
Online there are a ton of features including sixteen player races, car soccer and more. There’s a large network of hard core fans constantly making new liveries for cars so you can get a ride that truly represents your style. I recently saw a custom Incredible Hulk Bugatti that impressed me a lot. The livery editor itself can be challenging to use, taking a lot of time and patience. Simple paint swaps are easy, and some cars just do not look good with custom Fast and Furious style decals on them (although my Delorean does look pretty sweet).
The visuals are going to immediately pop out at you with Forza 4. It’s the feature that will stand out even if it’s your 100th time popping the disc in the system. The game’s lighting engine adds a new sense of reality to the game. Reflections and shadows move naturally across the hoods of cars. The car models themselves are spectacular with detailed interiors and exteriors, that show pretty good damage after a crash.
Forza’s biggest downside is it’s soundtrack. The music is just terrible. Luckily one of it’s biggest and best features is the sound design. I recommend turning the game’s music off, and turning the game sounds way up. The engine rumble is simply breathtaking… unless you’re driving an electric car… and yes they’re in there. I’ll be posting a blog of the albums I’ve been listening to while I play (yes the Drive soundtrack is in there).
One new feature that most people will not mess around with is the Kinect functionality. Kinect allows you to choose menus with voice or gesture controls, look around cars, and use their new feature to look deep into a cars engine and parts. This is all gimmicky stuff and you can do it all with a controller anyway. The real success for Kinect here is the head tracking. The driver view in Forza is the best way to drive if you have head tracking turned on. It truly does put you in the driver’s seat, allowing you to tilt your head from side to side to look out your rear view mirrors better, or check that blind spot. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I couldn’t go back after it. It’s not for casual players, as you have to sit straight up right and it has a weird distance you need to be from the actual device, but if you have it set up nice, it’s a prime way to play.
Forza is the complete package for a driving game. It’s ability to be changed from an arcade like racing game to a hard core racing sim make it one of the most versatile racing games of all time. I can’t praise it enough. If you’re even a little bit curious about this game you should pick it up.
