Take the solid racing mechanics from the Forza Motorsport series and add an open world based on the state of Colorado, and you have the core of Forza Horizon. Can this traditional sim racer smoothly transition to the open world, or will this one spin out at the turn?
| Release Date | October 23, 2012 |
| Genre | Racing |
| ESRB Rating | Teen |
| Platforms | X360 |
| Players | 1-8 |
| Developer | Playground Games |
| Price | $59.99 US |
Until this year, I hadn’t experienced many racing games on the Xbox 360. The only racing game I have played on a Microsoft console was the original Project Gotham for Xbox. When I did have the chance to play Forza Horizon, I wasn’t all that excited. The game looked pretty nice, and the physics seemed pretty realistic. However, I never liked the similar Gran Turismo series on PlayStation consoles, so I wondered how this would differ. I was pleasantly surprised by just how well-made this game was.
Presentation
I’ve been a fan of many racing games, from Super Mario Kart to Need for Speed: Most Wanted, so trying Forza was a natural progression. The first thing I noticed about Horizon was the great vibe I got from driving around for just a few minutes. The sunny skies and diverse terrains created some incredible sights, especially at night, with fireworks illuminating the skies and the lights of the Horizon loop in the distance. The Colorado setting for this game was a great choice, making the open world even better. I didn’t understand why the world itself was so restrictive. There are so many places in Horizon that you can’t drive to or through, which takes away from the freedom that the game conveys. The audio is fantastic. One minor issue I have with the otherwise excellent and diverse soundtrack is that it becomes repetitive quickly, so custom soundtracks are almost a must.
Gameplay
Despite the annoyance of being closed out of certain areas, the racing mechanics in Forza Horizon are definitely where this game shines. The game is built upon a modified version of the Forza Motorsport 4 engine, and you’ll notice the similarities right away with the look and feel of the game, as I did when I recently tried Forza 4. The driving leans more to the arcade side than simulation. There are features that you can turn on and off, as well as a driving line if you prefer it. The handling is tight and responsive. It’s probably my favorite racing game in terms of handling. It’s just purely fun to play.
Horizon Festival
Forza Horizon centers around the Horizon Festival and focuses on becoming the champion. In the Horizon Festival, you’ll encounter an increasing number of races through a rainbow of colored wristbands, each representing a more formidable challenge with a rival driver to beat. Each wristband requires more points to complete and thus needs more races to be completed at each tier. The other big task you’ll be trying to complete is to get to the top of the popularity chart. This varies from doing burnouts to drifting to getting airborne, among many other things. Each category has challenges that give you more credits to buy new cars and upgrades. For example, if you drift a bunch, you’ll notice a challenge complete notifier with a credit bonus, which will go up depending on the level of challenge completed. It’s a great way to earn credits by completing basic driving.
Event Types
Horizon offers a lot more than just those main tasks, though. If you need more credits, you can complete a series of street races for a good deal of credits. They don’t contribute to your festival progress, but are a great way to get that extra car if you’re low on credits. There are also showcase events, pitting your vehicle against hot air balloons, airplanes, and helicopters. If you win, you keep the car, which is an excellent incentive. Horizon Outposts allow you to complete a series of challenges to fast travel to any outpost for a discount or for free. There are three types of challenges at each outpost. Speed Challenges require you to hit a speed trap at a certain speed, Photo Challenges require you to snap a photo of your car in a specific spot, and Stunt Challenges require you to get a particular score by driving dangerously with drifts and other things like near misses. You can also challenge CPU drivers you see driving around, and you’ll be able to see how hard the race will be beforehand, depending on the car you’re driving.
Barn Finds
While driving around the map, you’ll notice that barn finds will appear on your map as you get further along in the game. Rare and unique cars that require restoration will be found inside each barn. This was somewhat of a neglected feature in the game that could have been utilized much better. For one thing, the cars are pretty easy to find, and they’re not cars that you haven’t driven or seen before in other Forza games. It wasn’t a necessary implementation, but it’s okay to do on the side.
Multiplayer
There are online modes, and you will be asked after each race you complete if you want to race your rival for that race, which is a familiar race against another player’s ghost. Playgrounds Games looks to match Forza 4’s Cat & Mouse and Virus Modes, though. You’ll surely have a lot of fun with the challenges you’ll face online. During my time playing, I always felt like I had a chance, thanks to the various classes. Even though online races only support eight players, you’ll want to beef up your garage before stepping foot online.
Upgrades
As far as upgrades go, they are carried over from Forza 4. Visual customization is also very similar to Forza 4. Vinyl groups can even be imported from that game. Tuning has been removed for this one, which may turn off some die-hard racers. Mechanical damage is also not present in this one, which may have been caused by all the obstacles that weren’t in the main series.
Final Thoughts
Forza Horizon reignited my passion for racing games, which had started to wane. It’s one of my favorite games of the past few years and a must-play.
