Post by Segaman on Jan 18, 2005 9:16:36 GMT -5
Preview from GameInformer:
"While the racing genre has been pretty diverse in the past couple of years, it’s become pretty apparent that no title has had the clout to dethrone Sony and Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo franchise. Ask any gamer out there what racing game they turn to for the most realistic racing experience on home consoles, and Gran Turismo is more than likely to be the answer. Microsoft has had enough of that talk, and they’re banking on Forza Motorsport as the racing game that will knock Gran Turismo off its perch. Today I got a chance to play through the most recent build of the game, and while I can’t say for certain that the game will accomplish that mighty task, I can say that so far all of the pieces seem to be coming together.
First off, our build didn’t have some key features implemented yet, most notably online racing. But, it did have a number of other game modes available for play. The simplest inclusion was Arcade Mode, which has you picking a track and then selecting a car from your current stable of vehicles. It’s short and straight to the point, and is essentially an Exhibition mode that you would probably find in another racing game. The Time Trial mode operates much in the same way, except instead of racing against opponents you race against the clock.
The real crux of the gameplay comes in the Career Mode, which begins by you selecting a car from a stable of rides. You only start off with so much money, but the game surprisingly has a respectable selection of first cars to choose from. After selecting a car as well as a home region (which dictates the order in which cars are made available to you) you start off on your career. When you start off the game you only have access to a select few race types. To help ease you into the racing experience, most of the initial races are pretty easy and mainly serve to help you get your racing legs. Races are broken down into car type, starting off at D, the lowest level. Races have five main modes: Amateur, Point-to-Point, Professional, Championship, and Endurance. Amateur and Professional races are pretty much identical, except for the fact that Professional events are far stricter in terms of requirements. Amateur races allow a wide array of different customized car setups, so taking a lower level car and souping it up to the point of being able to leave your competition in the dust isn’t taboo. The mode also includes a wide number of different events for you to take part in, some of which are open to certain car types (front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive) while others require you to reach a certain level of experience before you can participate.
Point-to-Point Races are pretty similar to both Amateur and Professional events, except instead of consisting of multi-laps races they’re instead shorter races that have you racing for a checkpoint. The first car to reach the checkpoint is then deemed the winner. Like the Amateur and Professional events, Point-to-Point races are also broken down into a number of different events, some of which have certain car or level requirements. "
"Championship and Endurance events are the places you really earn your respect, mainly because of the sheer difficulty you’ll experience. Championship events are broken down into series races, with a certain number of top finishers receiving a certain number of series points. At the conclusion of the entire event, the series points are added up and the racer with the most is declared the winner. Endurance races are a bit different in that they require you to take part in some incredibly lengthy events, while at the same time usually in the seat of some of the fastest and most advanced cars in the game.
As you race through the game’s many modes and events you’ll start to gain points depending on how well you race and finish. Coming in first is the easiest way to gain points, but you’ll need to do more than simply race fast and beat the competition. The game supports real-time damage for your cars, and as a penalty, you’ll lose points if you bang up your car too much. As you gain more and more points, you’ll gain levels that ultimately allow you to enter different race types and events. It’s a nice change of pace compared to the license tests which appeared in Gran Turismo that really gives you that feeling that you’re making some significant progress as you get better and better. "
"With these points in hand, you can also start to purchase new cars as well as upgrade the ones that you already own. Microsoft is really gunning to have a deep car customization element in Forza Motorsport, and so far it seems like they’re hitting the nail on the head. You’ll eventually gain access to 230 different cars spanning 45 different manufacturers, including such notable makers as Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari, and Mazda. Besides being able to upgrade each car with new engine parts, suspensions, tires, breaking, turbo kits, and other car kits, you can also alter the visual appearance of your car with new vinyl and after-market parts like rims and spoilers. Obviously, it appears that Microsoft is trying to gain credence with the tuner car aficionados out there, but so far the real draw of the entire experience seems to come in the actual upgrade of your car’s performance parts. To make the process a bit easier to manage, every upgrade in the game is accompanied by an on-screen window that shows your car’s current stats as well as what the resulting stats will be if you choose that particular upgrade. Choosing a major engine overhaul will give you tons of horsepower, but it will also leave your steering and handling less than ideal. Being able to see this discrepancy on-screen is a tremendous help, especially for those of you out there with little to no real knowledge of car performance.
Perhaps the coolest offering in the game is the unique Drivator system, which allows you to create an A.I. controlled driver that mimics and races according to how you train it. You start off the mode by giving your Drivatar a unique name and then jump into a series of solo races that serve to gain a better idea of how you drive. You’re awarded points for how well you turn and corner, as well as how well you adjust to different driving situations. These points ultimately determine what sort of driver your Drivatar becomes. After you run through the preliminary races you gain access to more demanding events that really put your driving skills, and how well your Drivatar learned from them, to the test.
So far the game’s visuals seem to be coming together quite well, although at this point they’re still a bit rough around the edges. Cars are modeled quite well and feature an enormous amount of detail, from the way tires move or compress on corners to the way they accurately reflect things like lighting and shadow. The level design is also impressive, and most feature quite a bit of 3D modeling, such as one of the more visually appealing race tracks that takes place in New York City. The build I played is still almost four months away from finalized, so there were some visual oddities every now and then, but from what I’ve seen so far Forza Motrosport is really aiming high in terms of graphics. Sound, on the other hand, is still a bit up in the air. Out of all the features in my build, sound was probably the least completed. Cars do have a nice amount of engine growl and tires screech with enough believability, but so far it’s a bit too early to really determine if the game will really blow our ears with top notch sound effects and music."
"While my build of the game was early, there certainly is enough to warrant another look at Forza Motorsport. The game’s expansive modes and hundreds of real cars are enough to make any autophile giddy with joy. While the game certainly has quite a bit of room for improvement, including some attention to some floaty controls, my time with it is has been promising. It’s pretty apparent that Microsoft is gunning for number one right out of the gate, and if they continue to play their cards right, they could have a shot at Gran Turismo. Perhaps the main ace in the hole for Microsoft is Forza’s online capabilities, which unfortunately, weren’t yet implemented in my build. Microsoft is promising up a completely online Career mode experience and the ability to create car clubs with up to 100 other gamers. If they manage to pull off all the promised Xbox Live features, Forza Motorsport may just have the gumption to leave Gran Turismo (and its non-online gameplay) in the dust."
For more screen shots: gameinformer.com/News/Story/200501/N05.0117.1608.38326.htm
"While the racing genre has been pretty diverse in the past couple of years, it’s become pretty apparent that no title has had the clout to dethrone Sony and Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo franchise. Ask any gamer out there what racing game they turn to for the most realistic racing experience on home consoles, and Gran Turismo is more than likely to be the answer. Microsoft has had enough of that talk, and they’re banking on Forza Motorsport as the racing game that will knock Gran Turismo off its perch. Today I got a chance to play through the most recent build of the game, and while I can’t say for certain that the game will accomplish that mighty task, I can say that so far all of the pieces seem to be coming together.
First off, our build didn’t have some key features implemented yet, most notably online racing. But, it did have a number of other game modes available for play. The simplest inclusion was Arcade Mode, which has you picking a track and then selecting a car from your current stable of vehicles. It’s short and straight to the point, and is essentially an Exhibition mode that you would probably find in another racing game. The Time Trial mode operates much in the same way, except instead of racing against opponents you race against the clock.
The real crux of the gameplay comes in the Career Mode, which begins by you selecting a car from a stable of rides. You only start off with so much money, but the game surprisingly has a respectable selection of first cars to choose from. After selecting a car as well as a home region (which dictates the order in which cars are made available to you) you start off on your career. When you start off the game you only have access to a select few race types. To help ease you into the racing experience, most of the initial races are pretty easy and mainly serve to help you get your racing legs. Races are broken down into car type, starting off at D, the lowest level. Races have five main modes: Amateur, Point-to-Point, Professional, Championship, and Endurance. Amateur and Professional races are pretty much identical, except for the fact that Professional events are far stricter in terms of requirements. Amateur races allow a wide array of different customized car setups, so taking a lower level car and souping it up to the point of being able to leave your competition in the dust isn’t taboo. The mode also includes a wide number of different events for you to take part in, some of which are open to certain car types (front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive) while others require you to reach a certain level of experience before you can participate.
Point-to-Point Races are pretty similar to both Amateur and Professional events, except instead of consisting of multi-laps races they’re instead shorter races that have you racing for a checkpoint. The first car to reach the checkpoint is then deemed the winner. Like the Amateur and Professional events, Point-to-Point races are also broken down into a number of different events, some of which have certain car or level requirements. "
Clashing with cars comes with spark-tacular results...and damage
"Championship and Endurance events are the places you really earn your respect, mainly because of the sheer difficulty you’ll experience. Championship events are broken down into series races, with a certain number of top finishers receiving a certain number of series points. At the conclusion of the entire event, the series points are added up and the racer with the most is declared the winner. Endurance races are a bit different in that they require you to take part in some incredibly lengthy events, while at the same time usually in the seat of some of the fastest and most advanced cars in the game.
As you race through the game’s many modes and events you’ll start to gain points depending on how well you race and finish. Coming in first is the easiest way to gain points, but you’ll need to do more than simply race fast and beat the competition. The game supports real-time damage for your cars, and as a penalty, you’ll lose points if you bang up your car too much. As you gain more and more points, you’ll gain levels that ultimately allow you to enter different race types and events. It’s a nice change of pace compared to the license tests which appeared in Gran Turismo that really gives you that feeling that you’re making some significant progress as you get better and better. "
Environments are filled with lush visuals
"With these points in hand, you can also start to purchase new cars as well as upgrade the ones that you already own. Microsoft is really gunning to have a deep car customization element in Forza Motorsport, and so far it seems like they’re hitting the nail on the head. You’ll eventually gain access to 230 different cars spanning 45 different manufacturers, including such notable makers as Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari, and Mazda. Besides being able to upgrade each car with new engine parts, suspensions, tires, breaking, turbo kits, and other car kits, you can also alter the visual appearance of your car with new vinyl and after-market parts like rims and spoilers. Obviously, it appears that Microsoft is trying to gain credence with the tuner car aficionados out there, but so far the real draw of the entire experience seems to come in the actual upgrade of your car’s performance parts. To make the process a bit easier to manage, every upgrade in the game is accompanied by an on-screen window that shows your car’s current stats as well as what the resulting stats will be if you choose that particular upgrade. Choosing a major engine overhaul will give you tons of horsepower, but it will also leave your steering and handling less than ideal. Being able to see this discrepancy on-screen is a tremendous help, especially for those of you out there with little to no real knowledge of car performance.
Perhaps the coolest offering in the game is the unique Drivator system, which allows you to create an A.I. controlled driver that mimics and races according to how you train it. You start off the mode by giving your Drivatar a unique name and then jump into a series of solo races that serve to gain a better idea of how you drive. You’re awarded points for how well you turn and corner, as well as how well you adjust to different driving situations. These points ultimately determine what sort of driver your Drivatar becomes. After you run through the preliminary races you gain access to more demanding events that really put your driving skills, and how well your Drivatar learned from them, to the test.
So far the game’s visuals seem to be coming together quite well, although at this point they’re still a bit rough around the edges. Cars are modeled quite well and feature an enormous amount of detail, from the way tires move or compress on corners to the way they accurately reflect things like lighting and shadow. The level design is also impressive, and most feature quite a bit of 3D modeling, such as one of the more visually appealing race tracks that takes place in New York City. The build I played is still almost four months away from finalized, so there were some visual oddities every now and then, but from what I’ve seen so far Forza Motrosport is really aiming high in terms of graphics. Sound, on the other hand, is still a bit up in the air. Out of all the features in my build, sound was probably the least completed. Cars do have a nice amount of engine growl and tires screech with enough believability, but so far it’s a bit too early to really determine if the game will really blow our ears with top notch sound effects and music."
Cars exhibit a nice degree of lighting and shadowing
"While my build of the game was early, there certainly is enough to warrant another look at Forza Motorsport. The game’s expansive modes and hundreds of real cars are enough to make any autophile giddy with joy. While the game certainly has quite a bit of room for improvement, including some attention to some floaty controls, my time with it is has been promising. It’s pretty apparent that Microsoft is gunning for number one right out of the gate, and if they continue to play their cards right, they could have a shot at Gran Turismo. Perhaps the main ace in the hole for Microsoft is Forza’s online capabilities, which unfortunately, weren’t yet implemented in my build. Microsoft is promising up a completely online Career mode experience and the ability to create car clubs with up to 100 other gamers. If they manage to pull off all the promised Xbox Live features, Forza Motorsport may just have the gumption to leave Gran Turismo (and its non-online gameplay) in the dust."
For more screen shots: gameinformer.com/News/Story/200501/N05.0117.1608.38326.htm
