Remember when the creators of Gran Turismo decided to make a spin-off of sorts, under the name Tourist Trophy? It was basically Gran Turismo with motorcycles. It was also a spin-off that wasn’t exactly what we wanted from Polyphony Digital. Maybe they should take note with what Microsoft, Turn 10 and Playground Games did with the Forza Motorsport franchise, and notice what a proper spin-off of a racing franchise should be.
Forza Horizon is not really a sequel to Microsoft’s racing franchise, but a more causal take on motorsport racing that’s a lot closer to what a game like Test Drive Unlimited 2 should have been like. Horizon is less about serious simulation racing, trying to take an arcade-like approach to the genre while still fueling auto enthusiast love for cars. It’s a game that works well, even if it has a slightly douchey presentation.
The game takes place in a festival located in Colorado. While that would sound like a bland setting, it actually works out pretty well, as there’s enough environmental diversity to keep things varied. The festival races are a nice change of pace from Forza Motorsport’s rather strict track structure, which have races take place on city streets, mountain roads, and for the first time, off road. Also for the first time in Forza history, races take place at variable times during the day. The inclusion of these ideas sounds like the franchise is ready to step into new territory that fans have been finally waiting for.
While the take on racing does have more of an arcade feel, it’s still much a Forza game through and through. The racing is approachable for anyone to jump in and enjoy, but you can tweak the difficulty settings and shut off driving aids if you feel like things get too easy. Unlike the simulation Forza games, there is a lack of fine tuning options for your car. The gameplay is much more akin to a Codemasters racer than anything (and incidentally, some of the developers did work on previous Codemasters games).
The open world driving is a lot of fun thanks to things like speed traps, challenging NPC racers and hunting down cars. The game took a page form TDU2’s FRIM system (which you can earn cash for doing certain maneuvers while driving in the open world), and awards points for doing a series of maneuvers that can be chained together to multiply the score. The said points go to increasing your rank, starting you off at the bottom, and making you claw your way to #1. It’s kind of a side quest that really doesn’t feel like one. The online portion of the game has a separate ranking system, and with each level you rank up, you can earn a car or cash.
The game looks great and runs smoothly (which was something that NFS Most Wanted has a big problem with at times), and looks very much like a Forza game. The cars are modeled nicely, and once again feature full interior views. On the downside, there seems to be fewer cars available on disc, and there are too many cars that we’ve seen in FM4. It would have been nice to see a bit of variety.
Forza Horizon is the closest we’ll get to seeing another game that’s similar to the Project Gotham Racing series (yeah, remember those?). It’s a spin-off that feels free to experiment on ideas that Turn 10 had, but never really executed. Hopefully with the inclusion of off-road racing here will make Turn 10 inclined to include a rally mode in Forza 5, which would finally make the franchise a much more complete experience. That said, Forza Horizon is a great racer that is worth any racing fans time.
RATING: A-
While it's not the same kind of racing sim Forza veterans are used to seeing, this is a very welcom sub-franchise for the racing series.
Only On Xbox 360
Developed by Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios, Published by Microsoft
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