Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

[steelereign]

Let me just say that I've played just about every racing game from the days of Pole Position on Atari, to GT, and every installment of Forza. This is easily the most complete racing game to date.

There is a lot of talk of visuals and gameplay, and while they are excellent, the best part of this game is the sheer number of gameplay options. Career mode is much improved, and the requisite Hot Laps and on-line races are still in place, but Rivals mode is where it's at. I get that nervous-giddy feeling everytime I boot up (like opening a Christmas present when I was a kid) because I can't wait to see whether my friends were able to best any of my Rivals times. They usually have, which sends me right back to the track to reclaim my dominance.

I can see that I will likely never tire of this game because there are just sooooo many things to do and explore. Very well could be the most complete game of any genre I play. Makes me wonder, if Turn10 can get this game so right, why can't EA fix Madden?!

[jyoung]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

Here's the full car list, for the guy who wondered where the "500+" number comes from:

http://www.onlineracedriver.com/2011/07/20/forza-motorsport-4-full-official-car-list/

[Skyboxer]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

What wheels are you guys using? I use the Logitech G27 for GT5 and want something similar (with better stick shift) for Forza 4.

Wireless MS Racing wheel. Glad I didn't sell it a while back like I was planning to.

[CX1329]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

There's a total of 290 events in the game, and I'm not even counting the Rivals challenges. Unbelievable. Even after I beat the World Tour mode, I'm gonna have all those events waiting for me.

[SECElit3]

For those worried about the difficulty of the AI.. Don't... They really start to race you around level 32

[Flamehead]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

Finally got a chance to install this and play a bit. Generally speaking, I've usually preferred and played GT over Forza throughout the years, but that's changed for me now. IMHO, this has now become the GT killer.

Graphics are stunning, physics are the best yet on a console, maybe rivaled only by Race Pro. Fully modeled cockpit for EVERY car. Sound is incredible. Menus are arranged in a very logical, useful manner.

There are no "wasted" cars here. The selection is great. Turn 10 really thought this game through.

I could barely get into Forza 3. With Forza 4, though, hours pass by and barely even notice it.

Leaderboards are addictive.

[Goblowsoup]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

Pretty Solid. Still missing the full on sim feeling but one of the best arcade sims on the market. I call it an arcade sim, but a lot of you would call it a sim, but after running iRacing it's just not quite at the same level.

A lot of fun though and having the ALMS license was a huge bonus this time around (one I kept hoping they'd grab). Cars feel strong, the tire model is vastly improved from FM3, and weight transfer is somewhat more noticeable than in years past. It's still light on car weight and the g-forces you feel in the corners (although that's tough to sim on your body, it's been done through car physics in games like NFS Shift).

FM4 is really easy with a controller. I had an xbox wheel I just sold in order to get a new Fanatec, but so far I'm enjoying a controller just as much as a wheel. I've been able to run on Sim settings without aids and be competitive. It should be pretty easy for new racers to pick up and compete at lower levels as well.

I don't have a Kinect, so I can't comment on that, I have however tried the new MS Wireless Wheel. I will say that it is extremely responsive and easy to use. Although you look ridiculous, as long as you're having fun who cares. If any one is looking for an affordable wheel solution for driving games, check this option out. I know a few places are giving nice deals if you buy both FM4 and the Wirless Wheel.

Oh, and if you haven't tried it yet, give the Soccer mode a twirl. It's only online, but you can do private matches and such if you'd prefer. It's a lot of fun, and made me laugh pretty hard throughout the game.

[LSX]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

Like everyone else, I am very impressed with the game. AWD cars performed significantly better than RWD cars in Forza 3, but it feels like they have made the "muscle" cars drive a lot more realistic, and less like the "tanks without traction" that many of them felt like in Forza 3. I took a 2010 Camaro SS and did nothing but add sport shocks/springs and wider tires, and I thought the car drove really well.

The car selection is great, even with the absence of Porsche. I wish the game had more mid level performance cars from the 80's and 90's, but I'm not complaining. I was pumped to see that there was a GMC Syclone, and the DeLorean as well.

One of my first races, I was in 3rd watching the two cars ahead of me fight for the lead. The NSX in front of me tried to overtake the leader but he over drove the car, and lost control going into a turn. It was really cool to see him get out of shape, attempt to correct, then lose it and slide off track. DEFINITELY adds a sense of realism to the game, so it feels like you're not just racing robots.

[jyoung]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

How do you split players into teams in soccer mode?

I tried to go 1 vs. 1 with a friend, but it put us on the same team (red).

I checked the options to see if there was some setting I could change, but I never found one.

[Rule of Two]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

Forza 4 is fantastic. All of the car models have been revamped, the new lighting system is phenomenal, and the cars drive beautifully. I haven't had one complaint with this game so far and I've spent well over 6 hours in actual races. This does not include menu navigation or time spent in Autovista Mode. And speaking of Autovista mode when you unlock all of the cars you'll be rewarded with a nice little suprise from one of Xbox's big name franchises. I really want to tell everyone what it is but it's not worth spoiling the suprise.

Every car is this game handles in its own unique way and you're actually rewarded for taking your turns properly and not trying to cut corners or ramming into people as a buffer.

[bluengold34_OS]

Patch/title update is out for Forza 4.....have no idea what it's for though.

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

[JayMizzle]

Demo is nice. I love the attention to details. Forza is killin' the car genre. Now if only I could learn to drift.

[fistofrage]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

What is the maximum number of cars that can be in an offline race? And if you play 2 player is there any AI cars racing against you.

Thanks.

[lnin0]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

Some random thoughts.

Lighting model and in-car view are much improved. Might even say AMAZING.

Free look mode when selecting a car is back and beautiful.

Home screen background can be changed and even has a Top Gear set to pick from!

Tire physics are fantastic and love that you can hear them so much better.

Frustrating volume controls. There is only a master volume control now and then sfx and music have three settings off/low/high. I like to race loud with no music but like very faint menu music. If my master volume is maxed the 'low' setting on menu music is still way to loud for my liking. What was the point of getting rid of sliders for each selection - seemed to work great.

Did they take away the driver difficulty setting in career? I don't see the option under my profile preferences and nothing for setting AI difficulty in career. I was doing some quick races and know I had it set to hard but when I start up my career I am walking away from everyone which should not be case with hard. I have everything else set to sim except don't use clutch.

Auto-Revving starts. WTF is up with this arcade crap. Even with a clutch the camera is bouncing around and you get maybe one extra second to rev before the race starts. LAME LAME LAME and even more LAME considering it was huge complaint in F3.

Career is essentially the same unengaging grind although they did speed up the grind part. Same attrocious arcade ladder like progression only they spiced up the look with a satalite graphic and voice over intro to each area.

Appriciate they let you level up a manufacturer much quicker now. Lets you play with car upgrades without blowing your piggy bank. Now your money can go into new cars!

Car clubs...what is the point? Am I missing something? It is essentially just a clan tag and one extra way to sort global leaderboards. I do not see where you can setup your own private hot lap/leaderboard events, club races or online seasons. I don't even see where you can do club messages / message boards So, you get a clan tag and a common garage that allows you to drive someone else's car. Call me sour but so unimpressed by this feature. Hey - but feel free to join my clan - FIA

Aside from expanded and muticlass fields there is really nothing new to see online. No dedicated qualifying. No ability to force a manditory pit stop. No abilit to join in progress or setup a practice free run session. Oh, custom public rooms are back which is nice but no reason they should have been gutted from F3 in the first place.

Love the way the stock cars (two this year - down from three) handle and the view inside is fantastic.

I know most are impressed by the car count but frankly it feels a little anemic to me. Yes, there are more cars than I will ever drive in this game but a majority of the manufacturers seem lacking in comparison to F3. There are a few that seem to have grown - Ferrari & BMW and Ford for sure. Way more muscle cars than ever too - even without dlc. I didn't think the lack of Porsche would be a big deal but the 2 RUFS in the game hardly make up for the loss. Also seems to be less overall race cars than in F3. It definantly feels like this was a 'hold bac'k feature help with DLC.

Tracks look great as always. Can see a few refinements in the existing line up and the new tracks look great.

No night racing. No weather. Many of the new tracks offer a dusk or overcast option but no night racing. I think one old track got an added sunset option as well.

Ai does not seem improved to me. In fact, so far in career I am finding the slow AI to be annoying. They stick blindly to their line and come down on you even when you are right next to them. They did not seem as dumb in the hard free races I have done but still seem a little less aware of you. I have seen several make huge unforced mistakes.

Car damage and pit stops are mostly the same. Damage might be bumped up a hair over F3 on sim but you won't see a DNF because of it. Also cannot figure out how to make damage indicator appear or stay on screen. In F3 you could tap D pad right and little car indicator with red/yellow/green would appear on right side of screen. It was also good for checking tire wear quickly but now it seems to only appear momentarily when you take damage.

Bumps. Turn 10 specifically talked about how tracks are getting bumps added yet everything feels as smooth as glass to me. Even the front stretch on Seabring feels smooth now.

Best new feature - Rivals.
Worthelss new feature - Car Clubs
Overall Impression - New set of tires for the same great car we've been driving for years
Uninitiated Score 9.8/10
Initiated Score 7/10

[SinisterAlex]

Re: Forza Motorsport 4 Impressions From the OS Community

The A.I difficulty adapts to how well you do in Career mode. The first few seasons are rather easy, but it quickly ramps with after that.