Forza 3 boasts over 400 unique cars and over a 100 tracks that offer a large amount of variety. Furthermore Turn 10 has successfully managed to remarkably improve the graphics by adding more polygons into car models and have also brought the tracks to life by adding significant details.

The added breadth and depth of the game means that it had to come in two discs, with the second disc requiring installation. The second disc contains all the unique long distant tracks that were some of my better experiences with the game. If you don’t already have a hard disk, you would be missing out on some parts of the game. But you really should have bough a hard disk by now.

An Easy Transition for Beginners:

If you are like me and were interested in exploring the racing simulation genre but were overwhelmed and intimidated by the steep difficulty curve and all the little nuances of the genre, then Forza 3 is the game for you.

The racing simulation gameplay focuses on precision and perfectionism; a far departure of game play from other racing games and games with car sequences. For these reasons Turn 10 have done a remarkable job by introducing numerous assists that allow individuals to tweak the settings that they feel most comfortable in.

Although I initially started with many assists on, as I practiced and became more comfortable with the game the only assists I required were ABS and automatic transmission. People playing without the assists are rewarded bonuses in terms of experience points and money. The assists transition really well in the multiplayer as it allows the veteran players to compete against their less skilful friends.

Forza 3 also introduces a rewind feature that can be used an unlimited number of times. This fits in great with the assists as it allows players to switch off a particular assist and practice the hard turns until they learn the best way to tackle them. Using rewind liberally can hamper the excitement as it may make races too easy but is sometimes necessary in a game that demands perfection. But it is ultimately up to the player as to how much they want to use it. It should go without saying that rewind does not work in multiplayer races.

A Game for Car Lovers:

In addition to the upgraded graphics, the cars in the game sound absolutely great and the sounds are unique to each of the cars. The cars also handle noticeable differently, each having its own flaws and benefits. You can really feel the weight and speed difference when driving cars of different levels and performance indexes.

Forza 3 offers car enthusiasts endless customization options both visually and in terms of car upgrades. The car upgrades are often accompanied by charts that offer greater insight into the car’s output. Car lovers will find themselves spending a lot of time tuning their cars for each track so as to maximize their performance. Fortunately Forza 3 also provides an automatic upgrade feature that does a decent job for maximizing the output of a car at a certain class level.

In terms of visual customizations, there seems to be no limit. The game also offers many standard vinyls. These can be customized in their size, rotated or even stretched. A quick search on Google will show the amazing feat many have been able to achieve. The creations are no easy task but rather one that requires talent and a lot of hard work.

To complement the great feats many have achieved with their custom designs, the game allows the creators to auction and sell them in the virtual market place in exchange for virtual money. Players can also sell off their cars and tune setups. It is easy to lose hours just exploring the various designs people have been able to come up with.

Season mode:

The main single player mode is called the season mode. It takes place over six seasons with each season being significantly longer than the one prior. The main season race takes place during weekend therefore allowing the players to choose the races they wish to take part in the week days.

Unfortunately, the season mode is lacklustre. After a race is completed, the game gives you three options: racing a different track, using the same vehicle or racing in a different vehicle. There are no sponsorships to manage, licenses to pursue or any other special challenges. It is a plain vanilla experience (with perhaps a dash of cinnamon now and then).

Ultimately the game is for perfectionists that want to seek the right tune set up and vehicle for each track and those that want to perfect their corners while driving. Unless you are a car enthusiast or become one as a result of the game (a real possibility), the constant tuning and upgrades can become tedious and the races a little repetitive. This is where an engaging single player career mode would have gone a long way. I ended up getting bored midway through season 3. But that was only after spending a respectable 20 hours with the game.

It also does not help that the game has a large gap between its medium and hard difficulty settings for the AI opponents. I found the medium difficulty setting to be a bit too easy and it felt as if the opponents forcefully did not drive as fast as they could. The hard difficulty on the other hand was at the other end of the extreme. The AI drivers drive in a perfect line. It was fine as long as I was ahead of them, but when they got ahead of me they would always smoke me and never gave me a chance of catching up. To make matters worse, the game had a bug that every now and then would reset the points tally on some tournaments. A minor issue that can easily be fixed through a patch.

Multiplayer:

The multiplayer segment is another great accomplishment for the game. There is a ranking system in place that attempts to match opponents of a similar skill level. There are various multiplayer groups that are separated by the types of races and the types of cars allowed. There is also a voting system for skipping a particular race track. All in all the multiplayer section is well designed as it offers easy navigation and allows the player to get to the race they want to play. In addition Forza 3 also offers private online matches along with splitscreen play.

The Final Word:

Despite this being the second instalment for the franchise in the same generation of consoles, Forza 3 is a worthy sequel that makes significant improvements both in its depth and breadth. Through its rewind and assists features, Forza 3 is a great game for people that had previously been intimidated by the genre. Despite a shallow single player experience, the numerous cars, tracks, features and endless customization options makes Forza 3 a must buy for car enthusiasts. 

Genre: Racing Simulation

Platform: Xbox 360 (Exclusive) 

Developed by: Turn 10

Published by: Microsoft