Review: Forza Motorsport 4 (Xbox 360)

Forza 4 represents Microsoft Studios’ latest attempt to achieve total dominance in the racing game sector – the quality of each successive game since Forza 2 has just improved with every iteration. On top of that, they are actually released on time... This is something Sony has real trouble with when it comes to Gran Turismo.

The game opens pretty well – with a stirring voice over by Jeremy Clarkson explaining how car enthusiasts are a dying breed – how we are now the odd ones out in a world obsessed by fuel economy and average emissions. A montage of some of the amazing machinery from the game is also shown, particularly focusing on the Ferrari 458 Italia (good choice). And then it’s straight into your first race – immediately after the opening cinematic you are dropped in at the deep end for a taste of the action. Only... hang on, not only are the traction control, stability control etc all turned on – so is the auto braking! All you have to do for that first race is steer and hold the throttle down. So as soon as that was completed, these driving aids were swiftly turned off and I was able to explore what the game really had to offer.

A lot. A hell of a lot – of course there is a substantial career mode, which is well structured and well explained. You begin with a paltry handful of credits – barely enough to afford a Ford Ka or Toyota Aygo. Win a few races and it’s quickly possible to buy something more useful. I quickly purchased a Honda S2000 – my friend has a tuned one and I chose it in the same Grand Prix White as his (faithfully recreated). After a few more races I was able to buy the exact same front bumper from Top Secret Tuning of Japan and the same bonnet from Mugen. Then I was able to buy the exact same wheels – in the same colour - and the game’s graphics editor let me paint the exact same graphics as he has on his car...

After a few races with this – making swift headway through the career mode – I stopped to take some photos of the car. Forza lets you choose one of many backdrops – I chose the Top Gear studio. It looked photo realistic and so did the car. I sent a photo to my Honda-owning friend and his immediate reply was “When did you visit there?”. Really – the graphics are stunning. This has been a year where the graphics capability of the Xbox has been pushed and pushed by games such as El Shaddai, then Rage and now this. Forza 3’s graphics were arguably better than GT5 – this puts Forza's superiority way beyond doubt.

Along with the Photo Mode, the other mode that really shows this off is Autovista Mode. In this, a selection of significant cars are arranged for display – you can virtually walk around the car, pop the bonnet, open the doors, climb inside and start the engine etc. It works with Kinect too – so you can use Kinect to open doors with your hand and get into the cars – impressive stuff. The cars just look photo-realistic in this mode – it is just indistinguishable from reality. I immediately got into a Ferrari 599 GTO (a car that I fortunately am familiar with) – I started the car. The starter motor sounded correct, the idle noise sounded correct, the engine note when revved sounded correct. The on board dash computer showed the correct sequence of graphics and when I turned the car off – the immobiliser beeped three times – just like the real thing. Wow. Of course every single detail of the interior was correct too – down to the correct matte-finish for most of the carbon trim, etc etc etc...

I spent a good couple of hours on my first day with the game just poking and prodding virtual cars – and looking around them. So many details must have taken so much effort to program – for details that would only be recognised by a few ultra-enthusiasts – but they were included anyway. Microsoft’s commitment to realism shines through in this mode – but this is also reflected in the physics and in the racing.

The car handling is better than ever, I’m glad to report. The team built an entirely new physics engine from scratch for this game and it shines. Front wheel drive, rear wheel drive and four wheel drive cars all feel radically different. You can feel the limit of grip approaching and play with the knife edge of lost grip. Every track is faithfully recreated – I used Forza 2 to practice driving the Nurburgring before visiting and driving it – now, having driven it – I can say it looks utterly faithful to reality in Forza 4. So many Brits visit the ‘ring every year – this game will save lives if people use it to train up! Also other tracks that I have driven such as Silverstone are faithfully represented – it feels as wide open and exposed as the real thing. All the layouts are included too – most mortals, myself included, will have only driven the National layout at Silverstone – that’s one of the options you can choose.

There is a great feature in the replay menus that Forza 2 and 3 also had – it is possible to bring up all sorts of real time physics data during a replay – just press down on the d-pad. You can cycle through instant power output, damper positions, tyre friction, temperatures across the tread width and so on. It gives a peek at the complicated maths going on under the hood – that most people will never see.

Also the community aspect of the game is well served – and is one of the central pillars of the game. You can join, or create a car club of your own – sharing vehicles, organising club races online etc. The online aspect of the game is still fantastic – along with the graphics it is the area that Forza is most better than GT5. There is a really varied choice of race modes, from circuit racing, to drag racing, to attacking mountain stages in Japan, to playing Cat and Mouse (a team game, originally thought up by players of PGR 2). The standard of racing is very high online – people either tend to be super-quick or super dirty. The trick is to avoid the carnage at the start of each race as a few people inevitably ram each other off and then try to catch the really quick racers.

Then there’s the legion of artists and designers who spend thousands of hours designing incredible paint jobs and liveries for every type of car. The game’s marketplace has a thriving scene were talented designers can trade and sell their works. The game’s website allows you to upload your photos and movie clips of your exploits – to email to friends, share on your Facebook wall. If you have Kinect – you can use the head tracking mode to look around the cabin interior view while driving – and there is a multiplayer party mode, where you and some friends can take turns to steer with your hands in thin air. There’s even a guest appearance with the Warthog from the Halo games – but there is a secret way of unlocking it...

So there’s lots and lots to do. It’s polished, addictive, deadly accurate and massively impressive. It is absolutely the best racing game on the market and I have to say – Microsoft hit their target. It overshadows Gran Turismo 5. That’s not the easiest thing for me to say – I used to love the Gran Turismo games. But they aren’t the best any more. This is – by a racing mile.

9/10 Forza Motorsport 4 is out now for Xbox 360