| Forza Motorsport | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Turn 10 Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Series | Forza Motorsport |
| Engine | Proprietary |
| Platform(s) | Xbox |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | DVD Xbox |
Forza Motorsport is a racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft for the Xbox gaming system. It was shipped to stores on May 3, 2005. The word Forza is Italian for force or strength. The game is the first installment in the Forza Motorsport series, followed by the Xbox 360 games, Forza Motorsport 2, Forza Motorsport 3 and Forza Motorsport 4 was developed and will be compatible with Kinect and the regular controller.
The cover art features a Nissan 350Z pursuing an Acura NSX.
Contents |
There are 231 cars in Forza Motorsport ranging from a Honda Civic to supercars such as the Enzo Ferrari and Le Mans race prototypes such as the Audi R8. The cars are separated into 9 classes named F, D, C, B, A, S, R3, R2, and R1.
Each class, except class R, has 4 subclasses with 1 being higher and 4 being lower rated. Upgrading by tuning or buying new parts can move cars between classes except class R (no car can enter or leave class R). There are 3 subcategories of class R:
Each car can be upgraded and tuned with a large number of extras and parts. Upgrades are separated into 3 categories: engine/power, appearance/aerodynamics and chassis/drivetrain. There is a wide range of tuning available including tire pressure (which changes during races due to temperature), downforce, gear ratios and limited slip differential.
Forza Motorsport is also notable for its ability to realistically model damage to cars, from both a cosmetic and a performance standpoint, which was (and still is) a very impressive feat in terms of acquiring the licenses for the 200+ cars. This changes the way the game is played, in contrast to the Gran Turismo series, as collisions with barriers and other cars will alter the car's handling, top speed and acceleration. More noticeably, spoilers can be knocked off cars, paint can be scraped off and windows can be smashed completely (the front window however can only be shattered). Bumpers can't be knocked off. However, Microsoft did not get permission from car manufacturers to depict cars rolling completely over; they can only be rolled onto their sides.
One feature is the ability to change the look of your car, from changing the color to applying decals. The tool set is somewhat difficult to use for novices, but when used properly it is possible to create some very striking designs.
Though Microsoft may not have intended it, the community surrounding the game has allowed the decal feature to take on another level of complexity. Through the use of various open-source tools written and made available on the Internet, a user can edit the DECALS.BIN file that ships with the game, and insert their own custom decal and vinyls, allowing almost infinite customization. However, this requires the user to own an Xbox that has either been mod-chipped or soft-modded, along with the game being copied onto another media, preferably the Xbox's own internal hard drive. Some people are artistic enough to make their own artistic decals with the customization features in the Apply Decals section.
The game contains a mix of licensed, street, point to point and original circuits. Real world tracks Road Atlanta, Silverstone, Laguna Seca, Tsukuba, Road America, and Nürburgring Nordschleife were licensed and included. Furthermore, the game's Blue Mountains Raceway circuit is heavily influenced in track layout, characteristics and backgrounds by Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst. In addition to these, Forza Motorsport also contains a wide variety of autocross, oval, and dragstrip courses.
The longest track included is the Nürburgring Nordschleife at 12.93 miles (20.81 km). The longest multiplayer race allowed is 75 laps, which makes the longest race allowed a total of 970 miles (1,561 km).
One of the game's most-lauded features is its physics engine. Like any racing simulator, Forza Motorsport calculates a car's performance in real time using physical data (for example, the weight of a car's engine, its drag coefficient, etc.). The result is a driving game that many believe matches closely with real life. In 2005, Popular Science magazine tested this effect by inviting professional race car driver Gunnar Jeannette and an amateur car enthusiast to drive identical cars on an identical track in both Forza Motorsport and the real world. Aside from several cars which were either in poor physical condition or not in the same trim level, Jeannette's track times matched closely from his performance on the real track and in virtual reality. The amateur's real world times in all of the cars were roughly identical despite a 16 second spread between fastest and slowest in Forza, which he attributed to his fear of the consequences of driving too hard causing him to drive more slowly in the faster cars.[1]
One can also analyze data of the car's telemetry real time while racing. The telemetry option shows various technical and mechanical viewpoints in which a driver can correct his driving.
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 92.96% |
| Metacritic | 92% |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| 1UP.com | 10/10 |
| Eurogamer | 9/10 |
| GamePro | 5/5 |
| GameSpot | 9.2/10 |
| GameSpy | 4.5/5 |
| IGN | 9.5/10 |
| TeamXbox | 9.8/10 |
Forza Motorsport's received rave reviews from such media outlets as 1UP.com, IGN, Eurogamer and more.
The game was also featured in the June 2004 issue of Popular Science.
|
||||||||