Forza Motorsport 4 sure knows how to start our engines. Although you’ll have to listen to Jeremy Clarkson prattle on for a bit, you’re otherwise straight into a fast sports car with an engine that roars like a nest of angry hornets. As first impressions go it’s a masterstroke, showing off the velocity and lush visuals of Microsoft’s racing extravaganza in just a few choreographed moments.
So it’s a tad anticlimactic when this segues into a career mode that starts by offering an underwhelming choice of cars. Practical and kind on the wallet as these are, chugging around race tracks in a plum purple Ford Ka is hardly the stuff gasoline dreams are made of.
Don’t be put off, though. Forza is a generous game and it only takes a few races to build a virtual garage with enough motors to make Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay green with envy. And they keep coming; there’s a second DVD to install if you want to access them all.
So does Forza 4 have the quality to back up its quantity? Yep –Forza also manages to walk the tricky tightrope between entertaining those wanting pedal-to-the-metal action and appealing to those who fancy tinkering under the bonnet.
The Forza series has always had a rare knack for gameplay, and this fourth installment keeps its foot firmly on the gas. In doing so, it delivers an even greater sense of open-throttled action and dare-you-to-blink speed.
Each car feels different – American saloons are lumpen and spongy while European sports cars are efficiently unforgiving. And these aren’t broad strokes lazily sketched out in code – they’re precise judgements etched into every single car in the game. No wonder they had to include that second DVD.
The game also has some Kinect-powered tricks up its sleeve. It can track your head movement so you can look left or right with a glance and you can drive using Kinect by sticking your arms out to grip an invisible steering wheel. It works better than you’d think, but still not well enough to keep us from reverting to our trusty controller.
Kinect can also be used to navigate around Autovista, the game’s virtual showroom where you can poke around and lust after expensive cars while listening to Clarkson’s verdict. It works okay but only if you don’t mind looking like a lollipop lady waving kids across a zebra crossing. And, of course, you have to put up with Clarkson’s banter.
Back in the real game (thankfully bereft of Top Gear personalities) Forza offers races with up to 16 players and spilt-screen racing plus some more inventive ideas. The Car Club mode lets you and your mates join forces to climb up the leaderboards and share the cars you win in career mode. Rivals mode lets players race each other in various events even when they are not online by storing people’s performance online and then letting others race their virtual ghost at any time.
It might not quite match Gran Turismo 5 on the simulation side (although there’s barely a Rizla paper between them), but for anyone not seeking the ultimate in console car simulation, Forza 4 should take pole position.
Latest Apps and Games reviews
-
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
A glorious, ass-kickingly unashamed celebration of 80s action movie tropes – and a pretty brilliant game to boot
-
Dead Island: Riptide
-
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Holy smoke, Batman! DC Comics and Mortal Kombat have had a baby and called it Injustice: Gods Among Us
-
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 ups its game – but is it an eagle or a bogey?
-
Bioshock Infinite
The brainiest shooter series around goes beyond the sea and heads for heavens with Bioshock Infinite.
-
Gears of War: Judgment
Gears of War: Judgment is out to forge a future for the legendary shooter but is there life after Fenix?
Apps and Games news
-
Nintendo reveals upcoming games ahead of E3
With no big press conference at this year’s E3, Nintendo announces a collection of new titles via video
-
Inside the real Google I/O
Think Google I/O is all about swanky hardware launches? Think again. Swiftkey's Joe Braidwood takes a look at the event from the developer's point of view
-
Best Android apps this week
There’s plenty of nostalgia to be had in this week’s pick of the best Android apps, as Sonic, Carmageddon and Karateka join the ranks of Google Play
-
Angry Birds animated 3D film will land on July 1, 2016
Swine beware, the furious fowl are coming for you and there’s nowhere to hide – not even the cinema
-
Gran Turismo 6 announced for PS3
A new edition of Sony’s racing simulator is coming with new engine under the bonnet
-
BBC iPlayer launches on Windows Phone 8
Auntie's video-on-demand catch-up service finally lands on Windows Phone devices
Comments
doibi
1 year ago
This is one of the good articles you can find in the net explaining everything in detail regarding the topic. I thank you for taking your time sharing your thoughts and ideas to a lot of readers out there. video to Flash converter / hulu to ipad / ipad 3 converter
janecamron
1 year ago
The cars of today are so chunky, in the earlier times say the 50's and 60's you had cars that spelt elegance. One such car is the mercedes 190sl which also happens to be my personal favorite.
l.hauri
1 year ago
seems to be almost real. I am really impressed. They made a perfect job in my opinion. yacht charter greece
its_me
1 year ago
With a charismatic design like that it is bound to be entertaining; in reality we all wish to drive a dream sports car someday at top speed. But no matter what kind of car you drive you need to maintain a safe speed limit. When you drive rashly you jeopardize not only your safety, but also the safety of other people. Learn about road safety from partsgeek blog.
leo_21
1 year ago
Customer satisfaction is our top priority and our pride as well, buys your desired car within few clicks, there are four to five simple steps. Just choose your car, place your order, and get shipment confirmation, get your car through fastest shipment around the globe and enjoy the drive by purchasing cars from company one of the leading used cars exporters in the world.company assures maximum customer satisfaction, the low cost and high quality auctioned cars are continuously sold and models are changing weekly. The cars purchased through company are the well-maintained used cars and it is only company of its kind which is providing cheap used cars.Are you looking for well-maintained auctioned cars? Visit company website today and get a quote instantly, talk to customer support representative and buy car 24/7. Buy affordable and high quality auctioned cars today. company is maintaining largest stock of auctioned cars online and dealing with the well-reputed brands like Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Subaru, Suzuki etc.
SBT Japan | SBT Japan
Aramel
1 year ago
I just can't help my self when I see this car, it looks great.I think I saw a car like this at used car Philadelphia unfortunately I didn't asked at what price they were selling it.
Aramel
1 year ago
Nice sports cars mate.I wonder if you heard about Winnebago RV.I would love to see a motor home tuned up.Can you imagine going to a street race with your motorhome?:)
misterloftcraft
1 year ago
You have some nice sports cars here my friend. I wonder how much it would cost to have car insurance for such cars. I think that every person who buys such a car should take driving lessons. Such a car could provide to be dangerous if the person behind the wheel doesn't have basic skills of handling a car at high speed.
lukestuffmag123
1 year ago
I keep seeing the advert for this game and each time i see it, i want it more and more. The graphics look epic and I think this could be the best racing game this year