1. Matty2012

   9

   What do you get when you take a bunch of Brits who worked on such game series like Project Gotham Racing,Colin Mcrae, DIRT, GRID, BLUR and others? You get a new British developer named Play Ground Games and a great game named Forza Horizon is what! I enjoyed previous Forza games but there was a lot that i didn't like about them...1.Driving round the same track for more than 3 laps bores me. 2.The backround graphics looked terrible,buildings and trees etc just looked poo! 3.The music in them was terrible. Forza Horizon ditches race tracks for a big open world set in Colorado US...now let me tell you...this game looks incredible, the backround graphics are much much better than previous Forzas and the whole game is not only one of the best graphical racing games, it's also one of the best graphical games out there on console.The closest thing to compare it to graphicaly is Criterion Games Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2010 which also looks amazing.The locations are very varied and similar too,from deserts to forests to cities to small towns.The new day/night lighting cycle is very impressive,suns sets and rises with bursts of light from behind snowy mountains and through trees,as flocks of birds take to the skys and Autumn leaves gently fall from the trees,while the Horizon festival lights up the sky with lots of lights lasers and fireworks,it all looks impressive. There are around 140 cars on offer with many more to download, graphically the cars are all great but a mixed bunch, what i mean by this is some of the cars (The main big boys like the Ferrari 458 Italia etc) look just like in Forza 4, while others are around 85-95% as good looking as Forza 4's. Think of the cars in Need For Speed The Run and Forza 4...well their inbetween the 2, better looking than The Runs but not quite as good as Forza 4's...so the cars look great and the change doesnt stick out like a sore thumb at all,the whole thing blends real well.The traffic on the road looks very good just like it did in Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2010,lots of real world traffic cars,vans and lorrys driving around the open world.Selecting cars in the show room look 90 to 95% as good as Forza 4, but the new lighting system looks better with light reflecting off the cars and even the lighting rigs on the shoowroom roof reflecting in the windscreen etc. Theres an overwhelming ammount to do in Forza Horizon, lots of varied events and things to do from racing on and off road,racing planes,hot air balloons,sprint races,track races,street races and more.Also every now and again 'Barn finds' will be announced over one of the radio stations, basically you have to find a barns that have old run down cars in them so an old guy can fix them up for you to keep or sell.Handling is very much like Forza 4 with just a dashing of Race Driver GRID in there + you get to select different modes like Simulator,assisted or customize your own just like in Forza 4, its all there the same as simulator upgrades takn straight from Forza 4, add turbos,suspension,body kits,decals,change the paint,wheels,everything from Forza 4 is in here to keep the simulator fans happy. There are many different road surfaces on and off road and all of them feel different and a pleaure to drive on. The music is much better than previous Forza games, this time the famous British Electro duo Chase & Status have put together over 60 different artists across 3 stations. Lots of house,dance,electro,dub step,drum and base which all the Europeans will love, It also has a diverse selection of Rock and lots of remixes of of indie festival favorites. The radio is alos alive with different radio DJ's talking about random funny stuff and giving you updates on all kinds of things from barn finds,to latest racing news,whos cool and whos not,whos challenging and inviting who to events and talk about random celebrities at the Horizon festival, so the radio stations feel alive the whole time and never get boring.For fans of the cheesie stories and high end custcenes in the Need For Speed Undergound and Most Wanted 2005 series, you will love Horizon as it has all these and a story to it,hot girls,other racers challenging you an smack talkin,weird an wonderfull celebrities,old wise men who fix up your cars while offering you advice and educating you a bit on the classic barn find cars, theres plenty of all that in Horizon and its all done well and looks great. Neat little touches where men and hot girls stand in the middle of the road with flares to start some street races or neon flares shooting up in the sky to start a race before landing in the middle of the road and fizzling out,and fireworks and conffetti as you cross the finish line. I think its the best Forza in the series as i love open world racers (and no im not a kid! Ive noticed simulator fans saying that Horizon is for kids,im 30),add that to its amazing graphics,great music and overwhelming content and you have one of the best racing games ever made.… Expand

   • Helpful? 6 of 6 users said Yes.
2. frast

   8

   Such distances from the original series are often not good, in this case, however, lived up to the task, and Microsoft has done a really nice racer. Interesting festival atmosphere, very pleasant driving model, interesting races, open road, and most importantly, the view from the inside, so that the game is really fun. The game, however, has its drawbacks, we feel terrible constraints on the choice of cars, not used for racing at night, do not admire artwork and designer to the power of imposing additional races. My Rating - 8/10… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 2 users said Yes.
3. Tqwen

   7

   As a huge fan of open world sandbox and racing simulations, I couldn't believe my eyes when I read what this game was. The realistic physics and simulation of Forza with the open world freedom I so dearly love? No way.
   The odd thing is, it isn't quite either. The world is about as immersive as a kiddie pool, and the physics seem far too forgiving when you screw up, even with all the assists off. While the latter is kind of nice during important races, I can't help but feel that it wouldn't be a problem in the first place if you were allowed to tune your cars. Yeah, they got rid of that. Couldn't tell you why, as that was half the fun of the game for serious players, but it's gone. The garage is also severely limited; many of your favorites from FM4 are dead and gone. Remember how many Dodges and Audis there were? All but 3 or 4 are gone, respectively. Yes, there will be DLC in the future but even with that, the variety will never stand up to the past. One last removal gripe is that there is seemingly no way to perform a drivetrain conversion. Any car you buy is stuck with its stock configuration, which is especially odd seeing as how you can still perform engine swaps and aspiration conversions.
   All of that said, Horizon is a lot of fun. I came expecting a realistic simulation in a rich open world, and got a watered down experience in a watered down world. Alone, this would be a disappointment, but for whatever reason this game just works. The story is just coherent enough to work, and you don't much care about it anyway as you keep winning races. Your garage is still very full of unique cars, and the paint setups are as open as ever. Despite some shortcomings, Horizon is a very fun game to play. Just don't take it too seriously.… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 2 users said Yes.
4. Sinan454

   3

   You did the good thing. Ask GT to make another Review of Forza Horizon and they would give it 7,5 or 8. It's definitely not an Open World Game. It feels like 15 maps combined with glue so it looks like an Open World. And you can't discover anything? What Can you discover? You can't get away from the road because there are these metals things following the road anywhere you drive. You HAVE to follow the road. It's VERY linear.… Collapse

   • Helpful? 2 of 11 users said Yes.

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