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Product Features

Genre
Racing
Publisher
Microsoft
Release Date
October 23, 2009
Available Platforms
XBox 360

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Forza Motorsport 3

Calling all petrol-heads! Forza Motorsport 3 is an ultra-realistic driving simulator for the Xbox 360 that will blow you away with its stunning visuals, 100 detailed real-world tracks and 400 super-charged cars.

This game has a plethora of settings to choose from, including turn tracking and auto-break, so that novices can enjoy the game as much as professional racers. More impressively, it also has a "rewind" option, where if you have a crash you can turn-back time to when you were on the track - very useful for improving your performance!

  • Ben Meecham November 21, 2009 360
    ****

    Career Mode:

    Forza 2, one of my favourite Xbox 360 titles ever, had a career mode which incorporated realism, a huge number of cars, unrivalled upgrade and customising options, a selection of very enjoyable real and fictional tracks, and a very well flowing event sequence, which kept me hooked into the game, and very engaged as to how my levels were progressing. The way the game rewards you for races gives you a real sense of success every time you complete a championship or gain a new driver or car level. Some events were incredibly difficult, most prominently the Stock Car championships and Endurance races.

    Its sequel is all of this but better. The story mode is played through slightly differently, with the races you play being charted on a calendar, and events being able to be returned to when the player has an appropriate car for that race, or needs some extra credits for a new car/upgrade. You start with an E class car (cars are divided into classes according to their performance) and you work your way up from there. It took me a while to get used to the way the new system works, but I've decided I like it. To be honest, it's the actual gameplay that interests me, and since this is EXCELLENT, I have no qualms about the way that the menu system handles.

    In career mode, you have the chance to Upgrade your car using credits you earn on the track or through the Storefront (an online lobby where players can sell/auction their creations for credits), and like Forza 2, there is an extensive Painting section of the game where cars can be doused in shiny new paint and draped with vinyl shapes, of the player's design. I really like this feature, and adds yet another dimension to the game, and opening it up for another set of potential players. The new game has taken the features of Forza 2's painting shop and made it more expansive, and also easy to use, so I am a fan, and congratulate Turn10 for this feature.

    Multiplayer:

    Forza 3 allows split screen play, and of course the ability to create and join online lobbies to race against other players worldwide. Turn10 have brilliantly now included the credit earning system in their multiplayer, which gives an extra incentive for people to be more competitive and not drive like douche-bags online (which may have been a tiny problem with the last game). Overall the system works well, and the host has the ability to control a huge number of restrictions on the race to make the game exactly as they want.

    Gameplay:

    I have heard from people who have perhaps come from other racing games (such as Codemasters' GRID or the famous Gran Turismo series) that the steering in Forza is mulch and bad. Personally I don't think this is the case, I simply think that different games do it differently, and I like the way Forza does it. The graphics are VASTLY improved since its predecessor, and graphics weren't a huge problem with that game, so I am very happy with this. And the sensitivity of the trigger buttons for the gas/brake pedals are excellent. Assists are more widely ranging, and one fault I do have is that perhaps Turn10, in trying to make this game easier to pick up and play, have just made it easier. There is an assist called AutoBrake, which brakes the car at every corner for you, and I think this is totally unnecessary since everyone who wants to play a racing game knows that in order to go around corners, slowing down is necessary. However, the other assists are an excellent way to adjust the difficulty of the game, and since they affect the amount of credits you get for winning the race, there is a great deal of playback value there. There is a new feature called "rewind" which does exactly what it says on the tin, and though some say it is a cowardly feature, making racing in career mode too easy and incredibly unrealistic, I say that it makes the game less soul-destroying, and if you want complete and utter realism, there is the option to NOT USE the rewind feature. However, it's my bet you'll use it. And you'll use it a lot.

    I would rate this game 9/10, and any car/racing enthusiasts can NOT miss this title. I mean, it's got great graphics, the ability to make a Land Rover faster than a Ferrari, and includes the Lamborghini Reventon. What more do you want???