Forza Motorsport 3

Forza Motorsport 3 - (Xbox 360)
Developer: Microsoft
Format: Xbox 360
Genre: Driving


Pedal to the metal racing action in the best Forza yet



Fans of technical racers are spoilt for choice at the moment with the likes of Colin McRae DiRT 2, SuperCar Challenge and Need for Speed: Shift all vying for attention from petrol head gamers, not to mention the spectre of Gran Turismo 5 looming just around the hairpin bend.

Well now their collective cup really does runneth over. Forza Motorsport 3 has arrived and has stolen the thunder like a late winning goal at a Cup Final. Featuring more cars than you could shake a steering wheel at (in the region of 400), more tracks than you ever need to drive around (we understand there's about 100 of them), and possibly the smoothest frame rate of any console racer and you have yourself a clear favourite to take the chequered flag.

Forza dominates the competing racers on two key points - handling and presentation. The driving feels more realistic than ever before. Under steer and literally feel the tyres struggle to regain their grip; brake sharply and watch the car behave precisely as it should - the experience of booting a souped-up car around an exotic raceway is never short of breathtaking. In fact there are so many cars and so many tracks you'll need to install the second disc filled to the brim with content in order to get the most from the game.

At the heart of the Forza phenomenon is the Season Play career mode where you generally race several times during each calendar week before competing in major weekend events. Typically, upgrades are essential, with every car having a performance index that can be modified extensively between races. There's a wealth of user-generated content for you to plough through in the Marketplace feature or, time permitting, use one of the in-game tools to design your own custom paintjob. How much time you spend dictates how unique your vehicle will look.

Something that's a little less unique, but still incredibly handy, is the new rewind function that allows you to pause and turn back time in-game should you suffer an embarrassing spin-out, over shoot or fender bender. If it sounds like a familiar function it's because it is - the feature has been borrowed from the GRID driving games. But we don't care if features are borrowed - all we care is if they work, and fortunately the rewind function is slick and intuitive - actually making you a better driver as learning from mistakes comes naturally.

We could list improvements such as a vastly superior and cleverly structured Season mode, a new in-car view that rivals the NFS version and a visual polish that would have Mr. Sheen blushing until the metaphorical cows come home. All of the aforementioned points are valid but the real point is that Forza is just the best fun to drive - every car feels weighty and different, the AI is sharp enough to consider every overtake is a just reward and the difficulty curve and adjustable steering assists make the game accessible to both rookies and veterans alike. A classic driving game and by far the best in the Forza's series. Racing fans, we've got another game that really needs a look under the bonnet.

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