Forza Motorsport 3

9.0

Format Xbox 360

Developer Unknown

Publisher Microsoft

Genre Racing / Driving

10 Comments

You know the drill - Forza teases you with a quick blast in a supercar and then promptly dumps you with the kind of modest hatchback that's as sexy as sock suspenders.

Cue several hours of attempting to wring some kind of personality and excitement out of a car with under 100 horsepower, right? Well in Forza 3's case, you couldn't be more wrong.

When you do settle into the seat of that Ford Fiesta (or equivalent), having tasted the giddy performance of an Audi R8, you realise that somehow Turn 10 has made booting front-wheel drive runarounds into corners as much fun as blasting around in a supercar.
It's testament to the liquid-smooth visuals and enormous sensation of speed, that every race in Forza Motorsport 3, no matter what the car, feels exciting.

Advertisement:

It's one of the few racers where 100mph feels just as quick as you'd expect it to. The addition of tighter, twistier circuits, such as the Montserrat and Amalfi courses, which are a much more suitable playground for the full range of vehicles than classic tracks like Silverstone or the Nurburgring makes even the earliest career races utterly thrilling.

Of course, once you get to the point when you're desperately hanging onto a prototype racer at Le Mans, it's like being fired out of a cannon.

The other traditional blight on this sub-genre of racing games is that victory's not just down to driver skill. You usually have to spend ages fiddling with your car's tuning and upgrades, just to ensure you aren't left coughing in a cloud of tyre-smoke off the line.

Forza tidies this up with a single option in its slick, clean interface. Prior to every race you can just hit the Quick Upgrade button and the game will offer up the optimum upgrades that will ensure your car is as fast as possible while still eligible for the event. Another button press and you've bought the lot and it's all been automatically fitted. If only Kwik Fit was that efficient...

And efficiency is what Forza's all about. While the career mode runs on a calendar system, it's usually kept hidden away in favour of three brilliant options. One is a short series of races that your current car is eligible for, another is an opportunity to try out another car in your garage, and the final one allows you to race on at least one circuit you haven't driven before.

It's just enough freedom to keep things interesting without overwhelming you with options, and gives your journey through FM3 a satisfying momentum. Combine that with a neat sense of reward - you'll get a new, increasingly powerful ride every few races as you climb the driver levels - and you've got a system that provides structure to the racing without getting in the way of it.

While it can be tempting to just stick with your favourite car because they're all a riot to drive, it's definitely worth exploring the 400 or so that are on offer.

Every one is unique, and not just aesthetically. Turn 10 has a notoriously clever simulation engine at work, and you can feel the difference in character between vehicles more than any other game we've played - pick a racing car that is covered in downforce-producing wings and flick ups, for example, and you'll actually feel the chassis being pressed into the ground through high speed corners. It really is that good.

You'll be getting more intimate with oversteer as well when you hit the cobbled streets of Italy's Amalfi coast. For the first time in the series, Forza 3 has rally-inspired events, where it's just you and one other competitor over a point-to-point race (though the circuits can also be used for traditional eight-car races too). Okay, Turn 10 hasn't ventured as far as including off-road racing physics, but the surface is markedly less grippy than the tarmac tracks, which usually results in lurid slides, and the undulating hills and drops mean you're guaranteed to get some air. Unless, you know, you're not trying hard enough.

Try too hard, though, and this time around you can end up rolling the car. It doesn't happen often in the course of normal racing, but when you do manage to send your vehicle end over end it's a pleasing reminder that the simulation hasn't been compromised to please touchy manufacturers - you can even park a Ferrari Enzo upside down, if you wish.

In fact, the rewind button, an idea nabbed from Race Driver: GRID to ease the frustration of massive accidents, is so convenient, you'll find yourself using it more and more often for those embarrassing moments where you gently slither wide and get passed on the inside by the guy in second place.

Of course, this wouldn't be a Forza game if there weren't plenty of ways to distract yourself off the track. FM3 is without doubt the most comprehensive racing experience around - especially if you're plugged into Live.

The car painting system has returned and is now even more flexible, allowing you to arrange vinyl shapes in groups that can then be sold on for in-game cash (or given away) as a complete decal. We're already seeing impressive recreations of popular logos, meaning beginners can create their own concoctions using the work of other Forza players.

It's not just car painting this time around either - players can also sell their tuning setups or fully modified cars and share photos and replay clips too.

It's easier to shop your work around as well - every Live connected player now has a personal "storefront" that allows them to advertise their wares. If you see a particularly stunning piece of work, you can visit that player's page and check out what else they've been up to.

Just like Forza 2, it's this kind of depth that ensures you'll be playing FM3 for months, if not years, to come.

Once again Turn 10 has produced the biggest and deepest racer on the Xbox 360. More than that, though, the racing itself has been refined, and those who found Forza 2's on-track jousting faintly sterile will find that the much-improved AI, tighter tracks and more lively handling all make a huge difference. The flaws from the previous game have been buffed out, making Forza Motorsport 3 the complete racing game package.

Mike Channell