WOW!!
Forza (pronounced Fort-sa)
Shots and videos... http://xbox.ign.com/articles/513/513410p1.html
Preview at with more shots and videos...
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/sports/forzamotorsport/preview_6096813.html
Microsoft officially announced Forza Motorsport for the Xbox today. However,
we were able to get a look at the game prior to today's official
announcement to get a better idea of what it will have to offer. While the
Xbox is already home to an impressive assortment of racers such as the
RalliSport Challenge and Project Gotham games, its software library has
lacked a proper racing simulation. Forza Motorsport is being groomed to fill
that hole in a big way with an ambitious feature set and Xbox Live support.
Forza Motorsport has quietly been in development for the past two years by a
team at Microsoft Game Studios, whose experience includes the Gotham games
and the original RalliSport. In addition, the game's development is
receiving input from Microsoft's research crew over in Cambridge-land of
books and smart people--who are pitching in to help give elements such as
the game's artificial intelligence an extra bit of kick. The game's focus is
to give players the chance to own, customize, and race their favorite cars
in a realistic driving simulation. Now if all this sounds rather Gran
Turismo-esque, well, it is to a degree. Forza definitely falls into the same
sim category as Gran Turismo, however, the team is focused on offering as
many options as possible by including vehicles from over 60 top
manufacturers, like Mazda, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Chevrolet, Ferrari,
Porsche, BMW, and Dodge. Once you have your car you will be able to tweak it
in various ways by using your earnings from hundreds of races to buy
upgrades and aftermarket parts so you can transform real production cars
into high-performance racecars. You'll be able to trick out sport compacts
with real-world body kits, rims, spoilers, decals, side skirts, fender
flares and hood scoops, or add motorsport decals and team paint schemes to
supercars, GT racers, and exotics. However, your tweaking isn't going to be
just superficial paint and decal job stuff. You'll also be able to take your
car to the garage and install alternative engines, suspension kits, bolt-on
superchargers, brakes, rims, racing slicks, fine-tuned gear ratios,
fuel-mapping, forced induction pressure, tire temperature and pressure, and
ignition timing. Thanks to the game's Xbox Live support, you won't be doing
all this tweaking for fun. You'll be able to take your handcrafted baby into
the wilds of the Internet and take on all challengers.
The game mechanics will rely heavily on a custom physics engine that
simulates authentic car performance. Cars incur damage and wear, which then
impacts car performance. Advanced tire and suspension models respond to heat
and pressure changes as well as weight transfer and aerodynamic load. The
input from Microsoft's Cambridge posse helps power the unique AI system.
While the catchy name used for it--Drivatar--sounds as though it's some sort
of prehistoric creature or lost Transformer, the concept behind it is a cool
one. You can train your personal AI minions in the fundamentals of racing or
specifically show them how to race the way you do. At the same time, your
opponents make use of the same tech for their behavior on the track and
offer a tough challenge that will keep you sharp or it will consistently
hurt your feelings.
As far as game modes go, Forza Motorsport will feature a single-player
career mode as well as various multiplayer options that include split
screen, system link, and Xbox Live. You'll find over 16 track environments
that mix real-life locales, such as Germany's Nurburgring Nordschleife and
the streets of Rio de Janeiro, with original tracks that are more fanciful
in their layout.
The graphics in the game are looking very good, and the polygon count for
the cars is high. One of the best showcases we saw was the new model for the
Enzo Ferrari, first seen in Project Gotham 2, which has a more detailed look
than its PGR 2 debut. The game will feature a broad offering of graphical
effects to bring its virtual world to life, including real-time reflections,
specular highlighting, light blooming, lens flare, heat shimmer, and various
filters and camera angles to help give the game a TV-style presentation.
Fine details such as unique road textures, surface irregularities,
persistent oil and skid marks, and scraped walls help the game create a very
immersive experience. The cherry on top of the whole package is, of course,
a very impressive sense of speed.
Forza Motorsport looks to be a promising addition to the Xbox's already
impressive selection of racing games. The impressive graphics and deep
gameplay coupled with Xbox Live support should make it one to watch when it
ships this holiday season. Until then, look for more on the game from the E3
show floor and in the coming months.
