Forza 4 - Review

Have you ever driven home and decided to take the longer route just for the fun of it? Do you sometimes go for a drive to clear your head? Maybe you like to tinker with an engine at the weekend? For some the auto-mobile is simply a tool, a way to get from A to B in as little time as possible. For the people at Turn 10 and Top Gear however, cars are so much more than that.

Forza 4 represents their passion for the internal combustion engine in all its many forms, be it a tiny four cylinder super mini or a fire breathing V12 Aston Martin DBS, every car in the game is painstakingly modelled to be the best that it can be, and it shows.

Booting up the game, you're immediately greeted by the gruff tones of Jeremy Clarkson, one of the immediate examples of the partnership that's been forged between Top Gear and FM4. He explains that car enthusiasts are being marginalised, that we're no longer accepted in a world that values mpg over mph. Then he let's us all in on a secret, there's a safe haven for us all, and it's right here in our own living rooms.

After a quick blast around the Bernese Alps (one of the new Tracks in Forza 4) in a Ferrari, you're introduced to the main menu and given the option to load your save data from Forza 3 for a bonus gift in return. Being a Forza veteran, i was interested to see what bonuses i would get for having a Forza 3 save on my system. I was pleased to see that not only did I get some money in my pocket but I was also rewrded for my dedication to Turn 10's racing series with a few extra cars in my garage. This meant that if I really didn't want to start out in the slow as all hell Ford Ka, or equivilent small car, I could quickly jump into an Aston Martin DBS racing car and not miss a beat.

The world tour "career" mode in Forza 4 is a fairly linear affair, at least in terms of where you'll be racing. Each year of your career is broken into several race days, with later years becoming longer more drawn out affairs than your earlier ones. You'll visit tracks from all around the world in a set order and take part in special events like track days and Car Bowling. However, despite the lack of choice as to where you'll be racing, Forza 4 never makes you feel like you have no input into what you're doing.

Every race day has three seperate events to choose from and these change depending on the car you're currently in. If you're currently driving a Ferrari Italia 458 you might get some S class events and a specific Ferrari challenge, but if you get into your Fiesta the options will be altered to suit that cars class and body style. It's a fantastic way to let the player progress at their own pace in cars that they're comfortable with. As mentioned earlier, Forza 3 players are given extra Money and bonus cars in their garage, so experts in the field can race S class and above from the get go.

It isn't just career mode that's been tweaked in this years game though, the levelling system in Forza 4 has had something of an overhaul too. In the last game Driver Exp was rewarded with a new car at each level, and while that has remained the case in this game, the mantra of "choice" has once again been applied.

Wait, i get to choose?!

Anyone that's ever bought a car to compete with and then ended up being given the same car soon after will know how annoying that can be. Turn 10 seemed to realise this and so they've decided that every time your Driver level increases in Forza 4 you should be able to choose your next reward car. Each level is associated with a type of car, be it Super Minis at level 1 or Boutique Supercars at level 35, each level has at least 3 cars to choose from, ensuring that every time you level up, you get something new.

Similarly, the Car Exp of the previous game has been almost completely scrapped in favour of a new system called "Affinity". Essentially you earn affinity points based on the brand of car you drive rather than the model, so if you drive a Ka, then a Fiesta and then move onto a Focus RS, all the Exp you have earned will count towards your Ford affinity. This gives you more reason to keep using a car, instead of dumping it after reaching level 5 because you get no further bonuses.

The only criticism I have of this system is that after level 4 you have a 100% discount on all parts for the brand in question, which does rather gimp the game slightly. It would have been better, in my opinion, to give discounts at 10% increments and then financial rewards after that. We'll see how it affects the game, although in fairness i haven't had to upgrade a single car yet as the ones you win when you level up on Driver Exp are all very competitive in their individual classes.

The car Models themselves are what this game is really all about though, and with the new lighting system that Turn 10 developed for this game the cars have never looked better. It's an astonishing achievement that so many cars from so many manufacturers have been crammed onto 2 discs and yet the visual quality off all of them remains impeccably high. Where GT5 only allowed interior cabin views in a selected number of premium cars Forza have said "Sod that, they're all premium cars in our game!" It's a testament to their hard work and dedication that a Fiat Punto looks as stunningly realistic as an Audi R8 does.

Lookit! It's gorgeous out there!

The improved visuals don't just stop at the cars though, oh no. The tracks have all been given a lick of paint with the digital brush and now look even more gorgeous than they already did. New tracks like the Bernes Alps, and the sure to be fan favourite Top Gear Test Track are welcome additions to what has become a robust, if slightly too American, roster of raceways. It would be nice to see some more European and Asian tracks included, especially the Singapore Grand Prix circuit or one of the many Australian tracks used for Touring Car racing there, but perhaps there's scope for that in the DLC to come.

Every car in Forza 4 handles uniquely on the track, which once again is testament to Turn 10's hard work in getting all the details right. While lumbering giants like the Range Rover Sport are positively barge like in their response in the corners, nimble roadsters like the Lotus Elise are tail happy to the point of being nigh on uncontrollable. The difference between FWD, RWD and 4WD is easily noticeable from the off, but thanks to the raft of driver aids available in the difficulty menu even a rank amateur should be able to handle the most exotic grand tourers on offer.

Feedback through the controller is often ignored as inconsequential in most games, but in Forza 4 it's an essential extension of your relationship with the car. That Turn 10 have managed to make each rumble feel so intuitive to me is praise worthy. On several occasions I've rescued myself from a spin out thanks to the feedback the controller has given me on track.

With the tyre deformation technology introduced in the last game as well as the extra research that Turn 10 have been given access to thanks to an alliance with Pirelli, Forza 4 is the closest to driving the real thing that we've seen so far this generation, and i imagine it will continue to be for some time yet.

The rewind function that so divided the fan base last time round has made its return here, and honestly it's for the best. Players who dislike it can ignore it's existence while those who don't want to have to repeat the longer races because of a lack of concentration on the penultimate corner of the race can rewind till they're blue in the face.

Unfortunately the complete lack of night time racing and the absence once again of rain/wet track races is distractingly noticeable. It was maybe forgiveable when FM3 was released that they left these options out, after all they had put together an exhaustive new set of online features and managed to create a very solid racer around it, but with GT5 having both these features, it seems strange that Turn 10 haven't done the same.

Autovista is a function that got a lot of attention when Turn 10 announced it, especially since it allows you to explore a car using Kinect technology. Getting around the cars is simplicity itself, with just a few presses of your pad you can "explode" the car (that would be where all the doors, boot lids and engine bays open up) and when you highlight any of the marked points of interest you can have the Game narrator explain some of the technical specs for the car. Even better is the option to have Jeremy Clarkson tell you what he thinks of the car, and he doesn't hold back with some of them that's for sure. This makes for a refreshing approach to what can be rather boring facts and figures, giving you another example of how Cars can affect us on an emotional level when we look at them as much as when we drive them.There's an example of Jezza's musings below, it's a doozie.



On the Audio front, Forza 4 is an impressive beast. The number of different samples of engine noises that must be in this game is immense, every time i get in a new car it sounds completely different from the last. Exhaust notes vary from high pitch small block engines to the rich and deafening roar of the supercars and again when you graduate to the fire spitting, raw power of the race spec cars. Music has become an important part of the Racing game genre, and while the track listing in Forza 4 is probably weaker than both GT5 and Forza 3 in terms of big names, it's still highly listenable. Although why you really need music anywhere except the menu screens escapes me to be honest, especially with such wonderfully captured engine acoustics running through your gameplay experience.

Conclusion

With Forza 4, Turn 10 have created a game with the most stunning visuals, realistic gameplay and the most diverse selection of Cars seen this generation. Racing sim fans are guaranteed one of the finest examples of the genre ever to hit the Xbox 360 and most likely any current console, while newcomers to the series/genre will find it instantly accessible. While they've left out features such as changeable weather and night time racing, they've created a compelling racer that gives the player ultimate control of where they go and what they do. The Online community is central to Turn 10's efforts and can once again boast the most creatively enabling edit modes of any game in any genre. GT5 had better move over, because there's a new guy sitting on Pole position.