Forza Motorsport
 

I know the official release date is a week from today, but I'm hoping some stores will sneak some copies onto the shelves this weekend. I've been waiting for this one to come out for a long time, and I hope it doesn't disappoint.

I'm waiting for this one too. The European release date is around May 15, I think I'll pre-order it. With the ability to sell and buy cars online, maybe it's time to get the XBOX Live... Do you read the latest preview on IGN? It says great things.

This will probably be my next game purchase. I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm also looking forward to it after having read several good previews of it so far.

Gamespot gave it a great review of 9.2 out of 10. It's 4 pages and too long to post. However, a few high points:

- Dynamic tutor where a line appears showing you how to handle a course, when to accelerate, brake, etc. This is great for me, since I'm not particularly good at racing games although I enjoy them. Of course, this is a feature you can turn on or off.

- Multiple realistic aids including anti-lock-breaking among many others which will again help the novice such as myself.

- Realistic AI!!! The AI isn't just following a set course. According to the review, if you play cleanly they will race fairly cleanly but aggressively. However, if you bump them quite a bit, they will become downright nasty. Also, they will make mistakes. Sometimes spectacular mistakes!

- The programmable AI where you do some training courses and it creates an AI that races like you and you can use in the dynasty mode sounds great!

I'm hopeful that my wife got this for my anniversary (which we are celebrating tomorrow), but if not I'll be sure to get this on Thursday :)

I haven't grabbed a racing game in ages. I think Tokyo Extreme Racer for the Dreamcast was the last racing game that I picked up; and I played the GT series on my buddy's console for the past versions.

However, the more I read about this particular game -- especially the graphics thereof, plus the positive reviews so far...I'm tempted to pick this up for the sole purpose of exhibiting my horrid console driving skills online among others.

I'm a horrid console driver as well, so we should race if you get it :)

I meant to put a link to Gamespot's review in my previous post. It is a fairly long review at 4 pages, but a good read that makes me excited to pick this game up. :)

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/driving...rt/review.html

Am I correct that this game is available for general purchase as of today? I know some Gamestops and EBgames by my area usually hold it for folks who pre-ordered. I'll have to see about picking this up this week for sure.

So what exactly are the details about this game anyways? Any official game site by the developer? Number of cars? Etc..?

Well, the review at gamespot says there are over 230 cars and 60 tracks I believe (including some real tracks, some fictional tracks, some that are street tracks I think?) However, I'm interested in checking out the official site as well if someone knows the address. Of course, I might be able to find it with Google?

Dola -

Google is great. Here is a link to the official website which looks like it has some very cool features. My previous post was inaccurate, it is over 230 cars from over 60 manufacturers. They don't mention how many tracks there are. However, from the website it appears there are at least 32 tracks as you can click on their layouts.

http://www.xbox.com/assets/en-us/fla...te/default.htm

Damn...that GameSpot review (as well as the screenshots) have me itching to pick this up. I'll have to call into a few places, to see if they carry it yet.

In any case, I haven't used my Live in awhile -- I should still have my account, since I last recall that it was billed already for this year. Here's my gamertag for future reference: boocake

I get my anniversary gifts in a few minutes. I'm hoping this is one of them (even though I won't have time to play until tomorrow.

I've got the game. Played it very briefly in the game store. It seems great. I'm going to start playing it in about 3 minutes. We should get an FOFC car club going!

Caved in, bought my first racer since the Dreamcast. My uber-suckage skills at virtual driving will be unmatched. I'll try to get a few rounds in, but Smallville's on tonight so I'll probably wait until afterwards.

Thankfully, the Gamestop by my place had a few copies left in stock. I'll have to check to see if my Live account is still around; pretty sure it is, but I haven't used it since Halo 2 back in November. Oy!

Mrs. Eaglesfan says she tried the Babbage's at the lakeside mall and Best Buy and they both told her it won't be out until tomorrow. However, she "gave [me] permission" to go get it tomorrow ;)

I'd be game to get an FOFC Car Club going. This will be my first racer in several years.

Dola -

Hopefully, I'll be able to find a copy at my local EB Games tomorrow.

Man, that would be awesome! I gotta get XBOX Live...

I've been playing this game for about an hour and a half -- I don't think I'll attempt manual shifting anytime soon. My coordination is atrocious, and I've already smashed out the rear window and jacked up my entire driver side careening into the wall. I've got to brake a wee bit early in those turns.

I'm a bit confused about one aspect of the game, however -- and I've been going through to manual to see if I've missed it, but I can't seem to figure out how to repair my car. Is this done automatically, post-race? Maybe I've been that bad enough to consistently damage my car when I'm running a couple of events, but I can't seem to locate it in the menus anywhere.

Hell i might even get xbox live again for a car club :P

If nobody else has done it by tonight, I'll start up the car club (if I can figure out how). As for hukarez's question, I think the repairs are done automatically. They cost you some of your credits, though, so you don't want to go crazy out on the track during a race.

Sweet beans. It's a testament to my atrocious virtual driving skills.

In regards to the car club -- let me know, and send boocake an invitation. I've got a funny setup going on that I can't explain (for some reason, I have to directly connect my Xbox to my jack as opposed to my daisy chained hub). In essence, I've got to unplug my computer from my jack. So much for multi-tasking.

Any impressions on the single player mode for those of us who don't have Live?

The single player mode seems to be very good. It's a fun driving experience. I'm sure that if you're into modifying your car, you'll have even more fun. I haven't even touched the car setup yet, and I'm enjoying just racing around the track.

For the other folks, I should be home in an hour or two, and I'll try to get the FOFC car club going. I'll post details in this thread after it's done.

I picked up the game on the way home from work tonight. I have some work to do, but I'll be trying this game out in 2 or 3 hours. Please send me an invite to the car club once it comes together. Sounds like fun.

The Colossal Squids are set up. Eaglesfan27 and hukarez have gotten their invitations. Anyone else, let me know if you want in!

Excellent. I just finished my work and reading the manual. Any suggestions on what my home region should be (the manual mentions that perhaps friends should have different regions for gathering different cars?)

Take North America or Europe. I'm in Asia. :)

Sounds good :) I'll start up a profile in North America very soon :)

I've been trying to trick out my Toyota Altezza. It's up to class C2 now. I also gave the windows a nice yellow tint. My black car with a yellow tint almost looks like a friggin' bumblebee now. I love it!

Sweet! I picked a Lexus IS300 and I'm getting killed so far. I was finally about to win a race in the North American Open when a jerk in an Eagle Talon who I had bumped decided to bump me back allowing another guy to take over 1st place just before we all crossed the finish line.

Man, I'm getting worked online. Only played in 2 races -- silly mistakes on my part, but I didn't even finish both of them. Didn't realize there was a second or two timer before the race ends - which is kind of nice, since I can foresee some folks just flat out giving up.

Still, I wouldn't mind placing a prestigious 5th place!

I was getting killed in my first few races. I finally realized I would have to tolerate a few 3rd place finishes to earn some money and get some upgrades. As a result, my car is now a D1 car and I got my first win on the American Open - New York Track! My wife was rolling her eyes as I was raising my arm in victory ;)

However, she likes racing games and she wants to play tomorrow :)

I wish I could place 3rd in my races. Clearly, the car I started out with (Acura RSX-S) isn't helping me much. Plus, some of the tracks that I played against other folks are ones I'm not familiar with -- then again, I've only been playing for 2 days!

Hopefully I'll actually be able to finish a race rather than the consecutive DNFs that I ended up with.

Got the invite! Added you to my friend's list too. I'm tempted to start over a new profile, and go for Europe, but I ended up North America in my trial run. No other way to change it, I'm guessing?

You can't change your region once you start. However, this game is so good I'm sure we'll get some new members in the near future and they might start in Europe.

Mrs. Eaglesfan played the game this morning while I was at work. She likes it so much that she wants me to spend some cash on getting a "good" racing wheel with pedals.

Edited to add: As for me, I can't wait to get home from work this afternoon and play some more (with the new wheel I'm about to pick up on my way home from work.)

I'm hopeful that I can finish first in the North American Open to win a 2nd car (which I might sell for money towards a better car.)

Which wheel/pedal package are you planning on going with? I'll see about adding your gamertag to my list too. I'll just practice a bit more, hopefully 'placing' in an optimatch in the near future!

Just 40 minutes more to go before I'm free for the weekend!

We ended up splurging on the Speedster 3, but I don't like it that much :(

I use to power lift when I was younger and I have big thighs. As a result, it doesn't fit on my lap well at all. Our current set-up in the living room doesn't give a great spot to mount it for comfortable play either. After an hour of using it, I just went back to the regular controller. However, Mrs. Eaglesfan should love the wheel as her thighs are much smaller ;)

Dola -

On the good news front, I just finished winning a gold medal for the North American Open and I got a new Italian car as a prize! I now can compete in the European Open with that car :)

Speedster 3? Is that Mad Catz, by any chance? I'm hearing different things on a variety of steering wheel/pedal setups that are coming out -- and I'm trying not to mix the PS2's GT series and the XBox's Forza between the two peripherals. I'll have to do more research on the matter, however -- I'm a bit more comfortable with the controller at this stage, but I'm curious about using a 3rd party peripheral for this game in particular..

Speedster 3 is by Fanatec which is a German company that has a reputation for building very good but very pricey gaming accessories. It is a very nice wheel, and I find myself trying to think of what I might need to buy to mount it on. I might try a TV tray like my grandmom used to have if I can find one that is the right height at a store :)

However, I'm becoming good with my regular controller and now have 5 cars in my garage and am at level 7 :) I love my speciality car which is now grade B1 :)

Please invite me to the car club... I bought the game today and started in North America as well... I have a black widow car right now (RSX) red with a black widow on the hood and flames down the side... I also won the italian car from finishing first in all the NA races... I will be on for awhile now...

Dola I am BigDPW on XBL also...

I think Pumpy has to add you, but Hukarez may have been given recruiting powers as well. I know that I haven't. Sounds like you have a nice ride there :)

I don't think I have any recruiting powers. I gave the club thing a gander when I first logged in earlier today, and took part in a couple of races.

I jumped up a few levels from placing in 3rd in an online match (woohoo!) and got 21k CR worth of stuff. A couple of sponsorships, and some Toyota car added to my collection.

I'm in the A3 class with my RSX right now -- more than likely going to get worked, but I'll probably try out that other car in the B class series for awhile. I seriously need to re-think my applications for the e-brake!

Going out for lunch right now. Will add to the car club when I get back in a couple of hours. I now have three cars myself, but only my Altezza has had any upgrades. We'll need to race together sometime, just so the Colossal Squids can evaluate each other!

I'm up to 5 cars with 3 of them upgraded. I'm really enjoying this game :)

I'm saving up to try to buy a nice car, although I LOVE the car that I was given at Level 5 I think.

My Drivatar drives just like me. It's pretty cool. :) I'm letting him do a couple of races just for kicks. I'm going to post pictures of my cars in a couple of minutes, just so you all can see what we have available in the car club.

My first car, the Altezza:


My Pontiac GTO:


A shot of the GTO from the top (showing our club logo):


I just earned this Integra:


My Drivatar just earned me this Mistubishi Lancer:


That's it for now!

I'll join, I'm Davis00...

Nice group of cars Pumpy. I need to add our club logo to some of my cars :)

Invitation sent!

Possible spoiler.....



















I'm curious, for those who started in North America like I did, are we all getting the same cars at Level 5 and 10 when you get a new car?

At Level 5, I was given a 2002 Toyota Tom's Z382 Soarer and it has a high rarity value. I've tricked it out and turned it into a B1 car, but I was just curious if everyone gets that at level 5. In any case, it is my absolute favorite car and I'm just dominating the amateur races that it is eligible for. Even when I just wiped out, I had time to recover. This car (when tricked out) is the perfect balance of excellent top speed and acceleration with good cornering and braking to boot. I haven't changed it's cosmetics at all except to add our club logo on it's roof :)

Oh yeah, do we all get the same car at level 10? I just was given a Honda 2002 Mugen Integra Type-R which starts out at B4 level. I don't like it's look as much as I liked the look of the Toyota right away. However, I'll probably trick it out at some point and use it as well.

I'll pick this up tomorrow.

XBL - Kingfc22

Tom's Toyota was the first car that I earned -- though I can't recall if it was Level 4 or 5 when I earned it. I didn't get around to using it much, been taking full advantage of my RSX's A3 rating. Of course, I got a couple of Optimatches that were setup to start off with that Test Field track. Ugh, one of these days, I'll actually place in that.

I'm off to an arena football game (Go VooDoo!). When I get back, I'll add you to the car club.

Whoops. Fell asleep after I got home from the game. I'll get the invitation sent to ya, kingfc22.

You guys are making me cry... I want this game!!! It looks great from what you're saying.

One thing (a little OT): since I don't have XBOX Live, it's worth in your opinion to subscribe only to play this game? I'm asking this because for games like Madden and NCAA I have the US version, which I can't play on Live because of the mod thing.

It's a tough call. It really depends on how much Live would cost you. I think the MP definitely adds to this game greatly, but I would have a hard time justifying Live just for one game. That being said, if Live wasn't too expensive (I have no idea how much it costs in Europe), I would likely buy it just for Forza Motorsport. At least in the USA, the game comes with a card for 2 free months of live, so that should give you a chance to see if it is worth it.

Yeah it should be the same in Europe too. Well, I'll probably try it out; then I'll decide. Thanks!

But tell me more about the game: how the club works? What can you do exactly in the club?

Mod thing? I'm assuming you're using one of those Xbox Evolution operating system things on your console? In any case -- I don't think it's much of a problem. My friend who has a setup such as that has an option to boot normally, or via the mod -- in which case, I think they have their own kind of community link-up or something.

In my opinion, it seems to be a hassle -- since he forgot to switch back one day, and ended up getting banned due to a tampering of his configuration. I forgot what it was that he did, exactly...but you'd have to be careful not to try to login to Live while running your mod software.

That's exactly my situation. The problem is: in Europe, football games (Madden, NCAA which is the reason I buy an XBOX, ESPN) are released months later.
I don't want to wait months, so I buy games online from the US. Obviously, I have the PAL Euro system, and the games from the US are for NTSC systems. So I got the XBOX modded. As you said, using the mod I can't play on Live, otherwise I'll get banned.
Fortunately, with Forza there is no problem because I'll get the PAL Euro version that is coming out this week. And I can play Live cause I don't have to use the mod, I can use the original Microsoft bios.

Just to clarify...

Ahhh, Europe. That's all you had to say!

Completely slipped my mind!

I'm loving this game... I thought it was extremly hard when I first picked it up, since I'm new to racing sims, but I think I have the hang of it now. In the Pro Series, I just finished the New York Short Circuit in the Low Power Open... and I placed 249 out of like 9,000 people on XBox Live.

I was surprised to see this in blockbuster the other day so I have it as a rental right now. I'll buy it once I return this copy.

I'd like to join the car club so drop an invite to Bearcat729 if you could.

Dola

I think I have found a exploit on XBox live that is being used to move rank up quickly.

This game is making me disappointed that I sold my Xbox (more like gave it away).

I hope I get over it before I waste some money.

If one of the other recruiters (EaglesFan27 and hukarez) haven't sent you an invitation, Bearcat729, I'll do it when I get home from work tonight.

I didn't realize I was a recruiter :)

I'll send you one when I'm home from work if Pumpy hasn't already.

Neither did I! Is that logo supposed to be displayed before one's name? Some kind of shield of sorts?

Whoops. I guess I should've told you boys. :) Yeah, that logo means that you're a recruiter.

This is what I got a level 5 in the NA region.

Anyone else think the walls in this game are excessively 'sticky'? I've played F1 sims going back to Geoff Crammond's World Circuit and the NASCAR series by Papyrus and this is the first racing game I've played where the walls are sticky like flypaper. Even if you're heading into the wall and turning away from it, the majority of the time the wall will grab the car and spin it so that the rear of the car will be facing the wrong direction. This kind of grabbing would rarely occur in the F1 or Nascar games I've played in the past. It might be a game design decision, but I think it's a bit excessive.

Other than that I think this is a solid game. Wish I had Live so I could join you guys online.

I started in Asia and at level 5 my reward was a GTO.

WOuld you guys mind having me as part of your club?

Of course not. This is open to all FOFC'ers. If one of the other guys don't do it sooner, I'll send you an invite later tonight.

Invitation sent.

Am I a recruiter also???

I don't think so. I think I only gave recruiter status to the first two people I invited.

Picked this up yesterday on my way back from the airport. I've been playing it pretty much non-stop since this morning. It is a blast.

my Xbox live name is MoneyG.

dola,

Emiliano, I hope this isn't the case, but there might be issues trying to play us over Xbox live. I know that with Project Gotham Racing 2, I wasn't able to play some friends in Germany, because there was a difference between the PAL and NTSC versions of the game, and two versions couldn't play each other.

I would hope this isn't the case? I did notice that there are options for 'language' settings or what not, so I'm assuming there's some kind of connectivity between the NTSC and PAL versions? Of course, that's just speculation on my part - based upon the Buying/Selling of cars, and some 'Quick Match' settings. Though, I'm not entirely sure why choosing the 'Language' would matter much if PAL and NTSC couldn't play against each other...

Unfortunately, now that I wanted to join XBox Live I just discovered that my internet provider doesn't support it. :mad: :mad: :mad:
I'll have to play Forza only in single player.
Too bad.

Let me guess, you have FastWeb?

Exactly. How do you know?

I had FastWeb when I lived in Milano. It was VERY fast, but only worked well for web browsing and downloading. I had all sorts of problems using things like a VPN client to connect to my company's network, or try to play online games like Battlefield 1942 or Unreal Tournament.

However, I was able to use Xbox Live. I did a Google search, and there were some settings someone had posted to get Xbox Live to connect. Hopefully FastWeb hasn't changed things too much. You might get lucky and be able to make it work.

Really? So you speak a little of Italian uh??? Bravo bravo... :)


You're right. I did a Google search too, and I discovered, apparently, that I can make it work. I didn't search anything before because when I read on the official Microsoft XBOX Live site that "at the moment, we can't provide service for the Fastweb users" I thought "ok, forget XBOX Live". But there's always a way. ;)

Anyway, as soon as I buy Forza, I'll try the 2 (or 3, don't remember) months trial thing. We'll see.

I've got it now, can't wait to tear it open.
XBL Raiderfan71

Finally!!! I've picked up the game this afternoon (with a very good deal too...). Guys, this is great. Really amazing. I completed like 2,5% of the career mode. Once I get the long cable to connect the console with my router, I'll be in.

Wow. Until football games come out, this is THE game for me (with a bit of Fight Night Round 2). Got me an Audi TT as a first car, I won like 5-6 races and 5 cars: Toyota APR Celica, Nissan 240SX, Toyota AE86 (which sucks), Toyota Border MR2 and Acura NSX. What a game!!! I've always been a fan of the Gran Turismo series for the Playstation, but this is on another planet. I'll post more as I continue with my career.

Up to level 10. I'm eating this game!!! Just won a 50s Porsche with my full-tricked Toyota Border MR2 in the Roadster Championship.

This evening I went to Emiliano's home and I finally tried this game. It's amazing. I like it too much and i think i'm going to buy it soon. The driving style is so realistic....!!!

Update on my little dynasty: I'm up to level 17, I got 4 full-modified cars: Mazda MX-7, Acura NSX, Toyota MR2 and APR Celica. Can't wait to try the online thing. I hope I can pick up this cable soon.

Picked up the cable this morning, I finally connect the console with my router. All seemed to work, but when I put the subscription code I get an "Invalide code" message. I called Microsoft, and they say: "Yeah, the codes were valid, until yesterday". I missed the 2 month subscription for 1 day!!! Damn. I also called the videogames store guy, but he said he couldn't provide me with a valid one until tomorrow.

So, anyone who has purchased an Xbox Live game recently, and obiously already has Live, could provide me with a valid one? If anyone has it, please PM to me. Thanks in advance.

Guys, I just got a valid 2 month free code and I finally subscribed. My tag is: ESB81. If anyone could send me an invite to the club... Or you're all into the "NCAA 2006 Hunting" mode???

I'll send an invite later today, after work!

Hey thanks man!

Car club invites sent to:

ESB81
Raiderfan71

Got it.

We are FOFC. :D