Forza Motorsport 4 Review

Within a year of the iconic racing series Gran Turismo 5 was released for the Playstation 3, it is now the Xbox 360's turn with the release of the highly anticipated Forza Motorsport 4. With many new features included in the latest installment, many have been looking forward to another racing sim to grab a hold of their petrol-heads and take them into a realistic racing experience after a letdown which was GT5. A week and a few days since the games retail release, I have been revving some engines, slamming some brakes and crashing my way through the 360's signature racing series.

One thing you will notice, even before you place the game in the tray for the first time is the "Top Gear" logo on the front of the cover. For anyone who has seen the build up to the game would know that this is one major part of the game and appeals to all type of motoring enthusiasts. Jeremy Clarkson's signature voice has been used in exploring each car in the new Autovista mode. This mode allows you to explore every ripple in the paintwork, every dial and knob in the interior and place into the car as it would be in real life. This mode is also Kinect enabled which adds an extra sense of realism when exploring the car. On top of giving you stats and figures about the cars BHP, engine size, Clarkson has written his own scripts for each car which brings his comical and attention grabbing descriptions straight to your 360. In order to unlock all the cars in Autovista mode however, you need to complete challenges in the car you wish to unlock. Cars such as the Bugatti Veyron, Gumpert Apollo and Pagani Zonda R to unlock, you won't be short on motivation to try these cars out.

With the car porn out of the way, it is now onto the track where the game has made its name with ingenious races and events to keep you occupied. The career mode has been expanded and several new race types have been made available. Of course there are your standard races in season mode, but new races include gate races where you have to have to race around a track, without touching a cone. One on ones where you and one other racer compete in a point to point race whilst having to avoid traffic. Overtaking competitions where the winner is determined by how many overtakes you complete within a certain number of laps. Multi class races, where another group of less powerful cars are on the track at the same time but are merely obstacles which you need to overtake and cannot finish above you in the race, even if you are dead last. Again, Top Gear have had an influence in providing two race types. Top Gear Bowling and TG Football feature, with the latter available in online mode only. Both are amazing fun and break the barrier of normal race types and of course, you can complete a Lap as the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" in the Kia Cee apostrophe D.

Online modes are as good as they ever were in an online racing experience. Each car that participates in a standard 10 car race is of similar statistics so it makes the race fairer. Also if someone spins out wildly on the track or is static for a prolonged period, then they are automatically invisible, so that racers do not suffer from idiotic driving. Unlike racers such as F1 2011, the race is not won or lost on the first corner where everyone crashes into each other. It is a fun battle and is the most fun I have experienced in an online racer. You can now also interact with your friends online by joining car clubs and exchanging vehicles, as well as sharing cars for the club to use which is a neat touch.

Kinect also finds its way onto Forza. After much fuss over the Kinect's purpose for Hardcore gamers, Forza now allows us to explore the cars in Autovista, as I have already mentioned, and also race via Kinect. I don't believe that it adds much to the gameplay, but the wireless controller you can buy, as well as the normal controller are sufficient enough.

Finally, the selection of cars. Every one of the worlds major car companies are featured in the game with all their flagship cars as well as classic models. The only thing which is missing are Porsches. This is only because of Need for Speed who own the rights to Porsche in video games didn't allow it to feature in Forza. However, RUF produce high-spec Porsches and these are featured in the game. Albeit 2 models but it is better than none. From the Toyota Aygo to the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, this game has it all.

Right to the Verdict...
From start to finish, this game is very impressive and is compelling yet fun at the same time. No matter what level of racing game enthusiast you are, you will love this game. It oozes charm and will make you want to play it again and again, lap after lap. I am willing to stick my neck out here and say it is the best modern day racer for many years, since Gran Turismo 4, maybe better than that! So I would rate it, as Jeremy Clarkson would say, the best racing game... ... ... ... ... ... ... In the World.

9/10