- Developer: Turn 10
- Publisher: Microsoft
- Genre: Racing
- Release Date: 15th September 2015
- Platfroms: Xbox One
- Game Supplied by: Xbox
Ten years on, Xbox’s racing juggernaut is back and has a big point to prove to the racing community since it was first launched back in 2005. Up to Forza 4 in 2011 and the last release on the Xbox 360 many upgrades and additions were included and racing had started to take on another level in communities and leagues that were created.
The release of Forza 5 for the Xbox One had drivers drooling at the mouth, Next gen graphics and more additions added with the power of Xbox One and cloud integration.
This is where for the first time Turn 10 really hurt the franchise.
Lacking multiplayer features and a marketplace/auction house among many other features that drivers had assumed would come straight out of the box having been in previous releases the community was in a fury of emotions.
Personally I put it down to the early release of the console and the Game being a launch title, so it might not have been as finished as it should have been and so 2 years on we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Forza motorsport 6.
Plenty of time to build and develop on the amazing visuals they had delivered and stunned everyone with the power of the Xbox One, showing early on just what some of the potential of the console has.
“downshifting in some cars is quite possibly the best sound ive heard”
Well its arrived and many of you have been hammering the demo like me enjoying the visual masterpiece Turn 10 have delivered.
There is no doubt the cars look even better and not just the paint effects, the small details are sharper especially in car view, whilst many of you might find it easier to drive outside of the real world view, I implore you to try it, even if just in your career. All the dials and dashboards are clearly improved from the last Forza.
Lighting seems sharper too but then the game moves so fast can you really tell?
The game is easy on the ear as well, rev those V8’s and the V12’s and whoa your ears are going to be treated to an orchestra of engine sounds. Downshifting in some cars is quite possibly the best sound i’ve heard in a racing game in years. The only niggling part of the game (as I turn music off during racing) is the screeching tyres, and this is not limited to Forza. No racing game has ever quite nailed it for me and I’m sorry to say Forza is not really any different.
The two big changes you can really take note too are the environments and the environmental effects.
Tracks are simply stunning with pre race screens looking so good you could easily be fooled that this is a photo and not a game image and for the most part each track looks equally as divine when you’re tearing around the tracks. All the way round the tracks, close up details like crews and hoardings really give the effect that you’re in the cars and travelling at high speed, something I did not feel in the last Forza. The detail in the tracks appears much deeper and offers a more immersive feel, in the distance that again adds to the experience and aura of the game.
“ it’s simply stunning to race in”
Each track was just a real pleasure to drive around and this then brings me onto the environmental effects. Bring on the rain! Past games and other series have always done okay with rain effects but for the most part its more about how your car grips to the track rather than how the rain reacts as it falls. In Forza 6 a whole new level is delivered and delivered in outstanding style of realism.
Start on the grid in car view and watch the rainfall hit the screen and just slide down the windscreen, but then accelerate and watch it stream up the windscreen, as it gets pushed out of the way by the wipers and continue going up from there, rinse and repeat. Slow down and see the water stop or slow then accelerate again and yeah you guessed it, raindrops stream up the windscreen again. Truly breathtaking!
This is just what’s happening in the car, we haven’t even got outside yet.
Come out of the car to see it all in its glory and you will notice sizeable puddles within sections of track, on the racing lines and off, and even across the whole track and filling up the grass sides with water and boggy grass.c
Now this not only looks better than anything in any other game I have played but it affects your race, yeah you read it right it affects your race. Hit a puddle at speed and only have 2 wheels on tarmac and the aquaplaning will begin as you spin off into no man’s land, this makes it difficult to get back under control, but over time you will learn how to ride the puddle or avoid it, as going part through it causes constant mayhem.
For me this is the single biggest and best improvement in the game, it’s simply stunning to race in, although very difficult to master but it just adds such a dimension to the game.
Online multiplayer lobbies filled with 24 people can be totally chaotic due to the rain depending on the track and you can add this on top of what we already know is fantastic online gameplay and racing.
Lobbies are great and all the usual customisation is in there but, and you knew it was coming didn’t you, there just aren’t really improvements that people have been talking about.
Where is the marketplace? Gifting? Where are the online leagues and tournaments we can create ourselves in communities? Forza TV, cool but its not watching others it’s your own replays. Tuning in the multiplayer lobby, Multiplayer settings such as grip etc, Qualifying to name but a few and there is no real difference where it seems to matter in the communities i speak to.
Yes its a beautiful game and as you can see from the features tab the game has plenty to be doing and you will have hundreds of hours of gameplay and that does not even include the multiplayer time you might spend on it.
I honestly loved playing the game and can see myself putting a lot of nights into creating paints, tuning cars and enjoying some great multiplayer racing for some this is what it’s about and it will deliver extremely high standards of everything it does, my only fear is that it does not deliver enough new things for the hardcore series racers.
Career spans a suggested 70 hours plus and with all the showcase events and 15 Stories of Motorsport series to get through, let alone the 6 different ways you can race each series (Classic cars, street, super cars etc) there is enough replay value to keep you going for months.
Forza Horizon 2 had some nice elements in it with the perks and spins and we can see the transition to Forza 6 here, you earn spins as you level up and the offers of a supercar or a mere 10k in credits will have you grinding your teeth till the spin stops and you won….
The mods are also a nice touch, again offering additional incentives as you progress, unlocking modpacks brings varied rewards and also in some cases dares, (read more on the features tab)
These additions do spice up what is essentially just a normal career where level ups bring credit rewards to spend on your cars, for Forza vets this is nothing new and although the new tracks and special races in the rain and at night will have your jaw permanently dropped.
Some of the showcase races also bring in a different element, again not much we haven’t seen before in previous releases of Forza but if you need a small break from the grind there are 10 showcases themes to choose from and up to 13 events in those themes, again offering a massive variety of career to immerse yourself in.
Game editions
Summary
No series goes on without a few blips on the way and Forza 5 was a blip for many as it only delivered on a graphical level. Forza 6 does not just improve on this but knocks it out of the park time and time again, unfortunately my fear is that there is not enough additional/new features on the game to satisfy the series addicts and hardcore racers. If this was a graphical exercise i’d score it 10/10 but as it’s not just that it scores……..
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!