Approaching motorsport with all the flair and professionalism that EA brings to football, will this latest Xbox exclusive continue to impress?
“Do you come from a land down under? Where women glow and men plunder?
Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder? You better run, you better take cover.”
Forza Horizon 3 is simply a snapshot of what life might be like working in the motor festivals industry, complete with setting up pyrotechnics, signing music labels and engineering the most visually engaging motor feats. Set in Australia, the world and its people feel larger than life and not without a steady trickle of humour. For example, the encouragement to gain double stunt points in a muscle car while listening to ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’, is a subtle moment of comedy genius.
The game continues to tread a perfect balance throughout, offering a colossal amount of content and options so you are never expected to do the same thing repeatedly. A factor almost any non-racer will throw in your face every time you mention racing a car in circles for hours on end. The latter point, in particular, has been brought home to me recently, by friends who have had no interest in motorsport, gleefully yelling as they overtake me in a wildly modded classic car. This game certainly breaks down the boundaries around getting into motorsport, however as a petrol-head, I do not feel babied, all the technical aspects are there and translate realistically. I can tweak my car and attack the leaderboards with all the care and precision as before.
This game also received the Trusted Reviews Editor’s Choice award, of which they said: “Forza Horizon 3 is the complete package.”
It is hard to choose a single aspect of the game that stands out, purely because every aspect of the game is so well put together. The graphics on console have been proven to match a PC running high graphics settings. This, without any tearing or lag, is something within a huge and dense open world that is relatively unheard of. The sound quality for music or effects is exceptional, the attention to detail is stunning as it even modulates your streamed music; driving into a festival site, for example, you will realise it’s being played to the crowd, and when behind glass in cockpit mode the music is muffled. This realistic interaction with the world grips you tightly into the experience, the rain buffets your windscreen and the night is as scary at 100mph driving on a forest track as it should be!
Looking at the core racing experience and the options available, it is not surprising every motor related fetish is covered. If you want to drag race, stunt jump or paint this game is perfect for you. The game adapts to your playstyle through perk selections and regardless of your gaming style, you are rewarded appropriately, even photography is a viable avenue to pursue if that’s your jam. The racing is competitive, challenging or fun and relaxed, defined purely by your mood.
As a game with no flaws, that can appeal to any gamer open to something new. It offers everything and anything you want, whenever you want and to all levels of skill. This is a masterpiece of modern gaming.
Author: Joe, Bath store
