Forza Motorsport 3 Review

October 22nd, 2009

Over the years gaming has evolved so much so that playing the games have become almost too realistic. This was most noticeable in the latest title in the Need For Speed series, however once I was able to play Forza Motorsport 3 that all changed.

Forza Motorsport 3 is the most realistic racing game to date and probably will be for a while. Everyone has a dream car that they’ve always wanted and in Forza 3 you get the opportunity to step foot in that dream car of yours. Whether you’re a novice driver or an experienced driver Forza 3 allows you to drive any of the over 400 cars available on more than 100 of the world’s most famous race tracks.

Read the rest of the Forza 3 review after the jump.

With a whole new graphics engine everything in Forza 3 is detailed to a T including all parts on the cars, the racetrack and the natural environment surrounding the track. Not only are the in game graphics better but even the menu is sleek, crisp and sexy! In addition to the new graphics engine, the AI in the game is super improved to the point where if you pressure the driver in front of you, they will make a mistake and you can easily capitalize (of course that depends on how your difficulty settings are set).

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Speaking of difficulty, the minute you start the game you compete in a 2 lap race in an Audi R8 and depending on how you perform in that race Forza 3 will recommend a difficulty setting that is just right for you. You can always customize the settings later if you find that it’s becoming too easy to compete in races.

Once you select your difficulty setting you are thrown right into the season mode and are given the choice of choosing a small hatchback to start your season with. The new season mode is far more superior than the previous career mode in Forza 2 and gives you the ability to race in different events around the world. The cool thing about the single player season mode is that it actually feels more like a career than in previous versions. You have a calendar which displays when your next race is and when upcoming events are scheduled. During the season you race in events on weekdays which are specific to a certain class of cars and on weekends you compete in an event which you collect points over the course of 3 races that are scheduled across the month.

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During the season as you finish each race you are awarded XP points that are accumulated by the position you finished the race in and the difficulty setting and XP points are deducted for the amount of damage done to your car. Theses XP points are then added to you driver and car levels. Once you reach a certain level as a driver you are awarded a new car from a manufacture which tends to be a car that you need in your garage in order to race in certain events (and it saves you from buying a car). The car level is similar to the driver levels but instead of being awarded a car you are awarded discounts from manufactures to upgrades for your car.

Microsoft & Turn 10 have clearly put in a lot of work to create the most realistic racing game ever and it did not disappoint one bit. Actually I am impressed with how well the game is. Everything from the handling of the cars in game to the graphics to the simple and easy to navigate menu, this game has it all. If you’re a racing fan this is a must have and if you’re a causal racer it is definitely a good pickup just so you can drive around in that Ferrari, BMW or Audi you’ve always wanted to.

Release Date: October 27, 2009
Platforms: Xbox 360
Developer: Turn 10 Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Racing Simulation
Rating: E
Official Site: Forza Motorsport 3