Forza Motorsport 6

Forza Motorsport 6

The cover art, displaying the 2017 Ford GT
Developer(s) Turn 10 Studios
Publisher(s) Microsoft Studios
Producer(s)
  • Ryan Cooper
  • Phil Frazier
Designer(s)
  • Bill Giese
  • Dan Greenawalt
Series Forza Motorsport
Platform(s) Xbox One
Release date(s)
  • NA 15 September 2015
  • JP 17 September 2015
  • EU 18 September 2015
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
A race of Forza Motorsport 6, utilizing a racing wheel controller and three-screen display, at the EB Games Expo 2015.

Forza Motorsport 6 is a racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One. It is the sixth installment in the Forza Motorsport series, and was released worldwide on September 15, 2015. It is the third Forza video game released for the Xbox One, and the only Forza game released in the franchise's 10th anniversary.

Forza Motorsport 6 features new gameplay elements, such as weather driving, which brings gameplay effects to the game. In order to model realistic water effects, developers visited real-world tracks to see puddles formed during rain events. The game also features a story mode called "Stories of Motorsport", which offers approximately 70 hours of gameplay. Forza Motorsport 6 features more than 450 cars, more than twice the number of cars included in Forza Motorsport 5. In addition, Forza 6 features nine new tracks.

First revealed during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan on January 12, 2015, Turn 10 continued to partner with BBC automotive series Top Gear but the show's presenter Jeremy Clarkson was excluded from the game. Turn 10 also partnered with Ford Motor Company, which makes the 2017 Ford GT the cover car for the game. Upon release, the game received largely positive reviews, with critics praising the game's new additions, content and weather effects.

Gameplay

New to the Forza Motorsport series is wet-weather driving.[1] Instead of being merely cosmetic, the rain effects in the game can affect the race by causing cars to skid or even hydroplane if they encounter a puddle too fast.[2] Designers visited the real-world tracks to see where puddles formed during rain events in order to model them into the game.[1] The puddles will appear at the same locations and behave the same way whenever the given track is wet, giving players a chance to learn where the hazards are and how to deal with them.[2]

Turn 10 Studios confirmed that the partnership with BBC automotive series Top Gear would continue, but would not include presenter Jeremy Clarkson.[3] The Top Gear test track and The Stig's Digital Cousin return from Forza Motorsport 5, and commentary from presenters James May and Richard Hammond would be featured throughout the game.[3]

The game's single-player campaign mode, called "Stories of Motorsport", contains over 70 hours of gameplay content.[3] The mode also includes commentary from automotive and racing personalities to expand on the events in the game, such as the Showcase Events that will have players participating in races set in early racing eras.[3] "Drivatars", the computer drivers featured in Forza Motorsport 5, will return in the game's career mode. Players will be able to choose between the existing drivatar algorithm, which resulted in occasionally unpredictable behavior, or one that features more consistent drivers.[2] Some races contain up to 24 drivers at a time.[4]

Vehicles

Forza Motorsport 6 includes more than 450 cars, more than twice the number of cars available at launch than Forza Motorsport 5. While many cars carry-over from earlier Xbox 360 versions of Forza Motorsport, the models themselves have been rebuilt specifically for Xbox One and include working cockpits and gauges, interiors and exteriors, and support for the game’s Forzavista mode.[5] Further, all of the cars at launch would be available without the use of tokens, purchased through microtransactions, as was the case in Forza Motorsport 5.[1]

Vehicles are rendered using physically-based materials (PBM) system, which allow for the realistic simulation of light as it's reflected and refracted on different materials, such as a car's paint job which may include a diffuse base layer, a more transparent layer with metal flake and a separate clear coat.[6]

The game includes a wide variety of makes and manufacturers, including 2016 model year introductions, supercars, sports compact class cars, muscle cars and all eras of Grand Prix motor racing. Road cars from over 67 different makes have been confirmed so far.[7]

Forza Motorsport 6 also includes race cars from the world's top motorsport series including V8 Supercars, the British Touring Car Championship, FIA World Touring Car Championship, and the FIA World Endurance Championship with more to be announced.

Tracks

The game includes 26 tracks, as well as 9 that are new to the franchise.[4] Notable real-world track inclusions include the Nürburgring, Bathurst, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans.[8] Six new locations: Brands Hatch, Circuit of the Americas, Daytona, Lime Rock Park, Monza and Watkins Glen—make their debut, —Rio de Janeiro returns from the original Forza Motorsport with a new track and Indianapolis was recreated after a 2014 renovation of the track.[9] Two tracks return from Forza Motorsport 4: Hockenheimring and Sonoma.

Development

Forza Motorsport 6 was first revealed to the public as part of the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan on January 12, 2015.[10] The announcement was made on the same day that Ford Motor Company unveiled its newest iteration of the Ford GT supercar, along with a broader line of high-performance vehicles.[10] Ford and Microsoft have entered into an exclusive agreement that will make the 2017 Ford GT the cover car for the game, and the GT and other newly revealed cars, such as the newest version of the Ford F-150 Raptor and the Ford Mustang GT350, available cars in the game.[10] According to Henry Ford III, the executive in charge of the GT's development, the arrangement is part of Ford's view that video games are "a new avenue for us to reach our customers".[11] Similarly, the deal gave Turn 10 Studios, the development team responsible for the Forza Motorsport franchise, direct access to Ford's design teams as the new GT was in development.[12] Staffers with Turn 10 were some of the few people outside of Ford itself that even knew of the car's existence.[11] According to Turn 10's John Wendl, "this is the first time we've been able to launch a car and a game at the same time".[12] Certain design and performance aspects of the Ford GT were first revealed through the game including the car’s active rear wing which automatically changes its angle in different conditions, such as under braking.[13]

Dan Greenawalt, creative director of Turn 10 Studios, stated that additional details, including in-game footage, would be released during E3 2015.[10] While a release date was not announced at the initial reveal, Microsoft later stated that the game would launch in time for the 2015 holiday season.[10][14] 2015 also represents the 10th anniversary year for the Forza Motorsport franchise.[2] At E3 2015, Forza Motorsport 6 was featured heavily during Microsoft's pre-show press conference, and included an appearance by a pre-production version of the Ford GT. At the press conference, Microsoft announced that Forza Motorsport 6 would launch in North America on September 15, 2015, in Japan on September 17 and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on September 18.[4] On August 27, 2015, Turn 10 announced that the game had been declared gold, indicating it was being prepared for duplication and release. A demo of the game was released on September 1, 2015.[15]

Hardware

On June 23, 2015, Microsoft announced the Forza Motorsport 6 Limited Edition Xbox One Console at the Further with Ford Conference in San Francisco. The console is the first custom console from Xbox with a racing theme and features a custom blue color, racing stripe motif, automotive sound effects, and a digital copy of the game.[16]

Xbox produced a series of three one-off Xbox One controllers to commemorate Ford’s legendary victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1960s. Each controller matches the color and livery of historic Ford-powered cars including the 1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe, the 1966 GT40 Mk. II, and the 1967 GT40 Mk IV.[17] The controllers were unveiled Friday, June 12, 2015 by Ford Motor Company during the 24 Hours of Le Mans weekend.[18]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings88.60%[19]
Metacritic87/100[20]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid9.5/10[21]
EGM9.5/10[22]
Game Informer7.75/10[23]
Game Revolution[24]
GameSpot8/10[25]
GamesRadar[26]
IGN9/10[27]
OXM[28]

Forza Motorsport 6 received positive reviews. It has an aggregated score of 88.60% on GameRankings based on 53 reviews[19] and 87/100 on Metacritic based on 84 reviews.[20]

Chris Carter from Destructoid wrote that Forza Motorsport 6 made him like the franchise again after Forza Motorsport 5, which he thought was "rushed". He praised the game's rewind feature, visual upgrade and graphical details. He also praised the Drivatar artificial intelligence system, due to the unstable behaviors performed by them. He thought that racing against these AI bots is as fun as racing against other players in the comepetitive multiplayer mode. He also described the content delivered by Forza Motorsport 6 as "more than a full game", due to the increased number of both cars and tracks.[21]

Ray Carsillo from Electronic Gaming Monthly also shared similar enthusiasm about the game. He stated that night racing and weather effects have effectively introduced more variety to the game. He commended the new online features implemented, and he thought that these features effectively extend the game's longetivity. He also praised the game's physics and visuals, but disliked the tracks featured, which he found repetitive. He considered it as the best entry in the entire series, and recommended racing game lovers to try the game out.[22]

Luke Reilly from IGN gave the game a 9/10, applauding its weather system, as he thought it was both visually and physically impressive, and the night driving sections and races. He liked its core mechanics and car handling, as well as the varied cars featured. He considered it as a leap forward and an upgrade from Forza Motorsport 5, and called it one of the best racing game for consoles.[27] Miguel Concepcion from GameSpot praised the Drivatar system and the Driving Mods, as he thought that they have added more variety to races. He applauded the multiplayer modes featured in the game, which he thought suit the style of all kind of players, both new and old.[25]

However, Matthew Kato from Game Informer felt that the weather system feels exaggerated, and added that they may take away the fun of some matches and races, and the overhauled career mode, which he described as "somewhere between those in Forza 5 and Forza 4" is not engaging enough for most players. However, he praised the number of cars and tracks featured, as well as its high replay value.[23] Justin Towell from GamesRadar criticized the game's slow-paced career mode, as he was under the impression that it has failed to deliver an intense experience, as well as strange handling, and the Drivatar system, which was "inconsistent". However, he praised the rich content featured, and added that by comparison, Forza 6 makes Forza 5 to look like a game demo instead of a full game.[26]

By the end of 2015, the game had sold over 1 million copies.[29]

Awards

List of awards and nominations
Award Category Result Ref.
The Game Awards 2015 Best Sports/Racing Game Nominated [30]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Justin Towell (June 17, 2015). "Forza Motorsport 6 ditches microtransactions, gets real puddles instead". gamesradar.com. Future plc. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Zorine Te (January 12, 2015). "Forza Motorsport 6 Announced Exclusively for Xbox One". gamespot.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Luke Reilly (June 18, 2015). "E3 2015: Jeremy Clarkson Not Returning For Forza Motorsport 6". ign.com. Ziff Davis LLC. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Forza Motorsport 6 Races Onto Xbox One on September 15". news.xbox.com. Microsoft Corporation. June 15, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  5. ↑ "E3 2015: Forza Motorsport 6 Rains on Exactly Zero Parades". IGN.com. IGN. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Forza Motorsport 6: Getting dark and wet in a world-first hands-on". Ars Technica. June 15, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Forza Garage Week 5". forzamotorsport.net. Microsoft Corporation. July 28, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  8. ↑ "The Tracks of Forza Motorsport 6". forzamotorsport.net. Microsoft Corporation. August 2, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  9. ↑ "The Tracks of Forza Motorsport 6". forzamotorsport.net. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Seth G. Macy (January 12, 2015). "Forza Motorsport 6 Announced for Xbox One". ign.com. Ziff Davis. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Aaron M. Kessler (February 12, 2015). "Ford and Forza Create a Supercar for the Virtual World and the Real One". nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  12. 1 2 Colin Campbell (January 12, 2015). "Forza Motorsport 6 announced with Ford GT deal". polygon.com. Vox Media Inc. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  13. ↑ Jonathon Ramsey (August 18, 2015). "Forza Motorsport 6 shows off the Ford GT's active rear spoiler". Autoblog. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  14. ↑ Eddie Makuch (February 23, 2015). "Forza 6 Release Date Confirmed for "Holiday 2015"". gamespot.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  15. ↑ Phipps, Brett (August 27, 2015). "Forza Motorsport 6 has gone gold". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Celebrate 10 Years of Racing with the Xbox One Forza Motorsport 6 Limited Edition Console". news.xbox.com. Microsoft Corporation. June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  17. ↑ "One-off Xbox One Controllers Celebrate Ford Le Mans Victories". Motor Trend. June 17, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Xbox Creates One-of-a-Kind Controllers to Celebrate Ford’s Historic Victories at Le Mans". news.xbox.com. Microsoft Corporation. June 23, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  19. 1 2 "Forza Motorsport 6 for Xbox One". GameRankings. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Forza Motorsport 6 for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  21. 1 2 Carter, Chris (September 8, 2015). "Review: Forza Motorsport 6". Destructoid. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  22. 1 2 Carsillo, Ray (September 8, 2015). "Forza Motorspot 6 review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  23. 1 2 Kato, Matthew (September 8, 2015). "New Additions & Familiar Problems - Forza Motorspot 6 - Xbox One". Game Informer. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  24. ↑ Leack, Jonathan (September 8, 2015). "Forza Motorspot 6 Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  25. 1 2 Concepcion, Miguel (September 8, 2015). "Forza Motorspot 6 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  26. 1 2 Towell, Justin (September 8, 2015). "Forza Motorspot 6 review". GamesRadar. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  27. 1 2 Reilly, Luke (September 8, 2015). "Forza Motorspot 6 Review". IGN. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  28. ↑ Taylor, Paul (September 8, 2015). "Forza Motorsport 6 review". Official Xbox Magazine. GamesRadar. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  29. ↑ Scammell, David (January 4, 2016). "Rise of the Tomb Raider, Halo 5, Forza 6 & Gears of War: UE have all sold over 1 million units". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Nominees | The Game Awards 2015". The Game Awards. Ola Balola. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.

External links

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