There
are people who don’t care about cars and there are people who absolutely love
cars. Finding people in the middle is like finding a parking spot in San
Francisco, it ain’t gonna happen. Forza Motorsport, the new racing sim from
Microsoft Game Studios is bound to create one group – people who absolutely
friggin’ love cars. This game has so much promise, it’ll likely leave gamers
saying, “Gran Turwhat?”
Forza Motorsport, at first glance, reminded me of
the first time I saw a Victoria’s Secret catalog, it was so gorgeous I couldn’t
take my eyes away. And like the popular lingerie rag, Forza has all the right
curves and models to make this a contender for Best Graphics of E3. The
screenshots online don’t do the game justice, it really has to be seen in motion
and in high def.
Michael Johnson, product manager at Microsoft
demoed the real time damage modeling, which is incredible. Coasting along the
Laguna Seca racetrack, he steered the car into the wall, which was made of old
tires. After bouncing off of it a few times, he changed the camera angle to get
a good look at the side and front end of the car, and black marks marred the
paint job. Not only did the tires make appropriate black marks on the car, but a
peek at the wall revealed flecks of the car’s paint job on it – red and white
streaks at exactly the point of contact. What’s more, damage to your car, should
you choose to fix it, costs moolah.
Microsoft’s answer to Gran Turismo features
hundreds of cars from sixty real manufacturers such as BMW, Porsche, and
Chevrolet. Every car will be completely tunable to a gamer’s liking. Take that
stock Civic and turn it into a track beast with a few upgrades. They took the
realism seriously, cars in Forza Motorsport performed with one hundredth of a
second to their real life counterparts. Tons of real aftermarket parts and
millions of paint jobs take customization to the next level, and each square
foot of the tracks was individually crafted (no repeating textures) for ultimate
realism.
The game is sure to be a monster hit on Xbox
Live. Currently, the plans are for eight person multi-player modes of racing,
but the number isn’t finalized. There will be Ghost downloads similar to Project
Gotham Racing 2, as well as leaderboards and “an extra sense of community”.
Johnson was tight-lipped about the last quote, but from this writer’s point of
view, I see something very similar to Sega GT Online, where cars and car parts
could be bought and sold online between users. If that’s the case, Forza
Motorsport will be one of the biggest online events in history – a community of
players who are passionate about their cars, can help each other tune their cars
to max specs, and sell parts and cars like a real dealership. It’s going to be
hot – real hot.
I absolutely love racing games and Forza
Motorsport, a beautiful and technically-sound racing simulation, seems to be a
possible killer app – for racing fans and casual racers alike. Hey if you can
stand to tune your car, just throw it online and let a virtual grease monkey fix
it up for you. Of course, that’s only speculation *wink*…
Forza Motorsport hits the tracks this Winter –
plenty of time for you to get your subscription to Xbox Live.
