Forza Motorsport 3 [Demo]

[fahrenheit]

clinical and barren appearance of Forza and GT.

I think that word sums it up perfectly for me. I can see where the improvements have been made over Forza 2, but its still very much a hamster in a wheel experience for me.

I tried to work out how my great affection and commitment to the original GT could turn into complete distaste for sims and I think that GT was an enigma due to the fact that I got it at the same time as I got my PS1. I learned to play the game and learned to master the original dual shock controller at the same time. The progress was very easy to plot and very rewarding.

Its not likely that any other sim will ever give me that kind of reward again. Today, its all too familiar and samey regardless of improvements in graphics, physics and AI.

[Malc]

I spent a good 2 hours this morning in time trial. I managed to top the leaderboards with every car apart from the last Porsche R3 car. Damn you TheForce!

Although I suspect my times will only last a few minutes untill TheForce and Senna sit down for a proper session sometime.

[MrMarbles]

.
I tried to work out how my great affection and commitment to the original GT could turn into complete distaste for sims and I think that GT was an enigma due to the fact that I got it at the same time as I got my PS1. I learned to play the game and learned to master the original dual shock controller at the same time. The progress was very easy to plot and very rewarding.

Up until that point, every console racer had been pretty arcadey (with the exception of TOCA Touring Cars. Gran Turismo was a revelation at the time, and a revolution for console racers - PC gamers already had access to plenty of hardcore racers I'm sure, but GT brought sim-like racing to consoles in an accessible manner.

The amount of tuning that could be done to the cars was unparalleled at the time, and the whole progress structure of looking through the second-hand cars and buying a battered Honda Civic on the cheap at the very start, working your way through Sunday Races, getting better vehicles with the aim of competing in huge sponsored events... it was something I'd never experienced before. It also helped that the visuals were a league above everything else at the time - having panning and zooming TV-style replay cameras and reflective cars was astounding at the time, particularly on a console that was starting to show its age.

Alas, that revolution hasn't been felt since - the core structure hasn't changed since 1998; that's eleven years ago.

Think of how much racing games changed between 1987 (Outrun on the Master System!) and 1998 and how little they've changed since. No wonder we're bored of them! The nearest we've come to a racing game revolution since is Test Drive Unlimited.

I guess it's an issue that will always result in Forza and GT facing criticisms of being slightly stale unless they change their core design structure, something that would undoubtedly upset a lot of their fans unless done sensibly (as shown by the demise of the traditional Colin McRae and TOCA games and the backlash both titles have faced by fans of the original titles).

[Super Monkey Balls]

Well, there goes the last good reason to keep my PS3 Fantastic.

I didn't really get on with Forza 2. Found it a bit drab. This completely rectifies the stuff I didn't like and now appears to be a real GT contender. Lovely, detailed, colourful 60fps visuals, driving feels just right and I think the menus are gorgeous.

My only gripe is the bloody rewind feature.

[Malc]

What don't you like about the rewind feature?

[Super Monkey Balls]

The fact that gamers are so cheap these days that the developer thought they needed to include it.

[Malc]

Originally I was really against it, but it is such a good idea if you cock up during a race as it saves you having to restart completely, especially that the game's loading times are so long.

I'm glad it discounts your lap time if you rewind in time trial though, otherwise everyone would be up the top.

[Super Monkey Balls]

I must confess, I'll probably use it, I just hope that a) its not made essential by the gameplay, like DIRT where it becomes essential due to cars spinning you and hard to see corners, and b) it can be turned off, with some benefit.

[analog dog]

The handling seems to be very 'safe' even with the assists off,this has taken me by suprise somewhat.
Anyone else feel the same?

[BearBoy]

I'm glad it discounts your lap time if you rewind in time trial though, otherwise everyone would be up the top.

I'm glad that is the case too. I was thinking rewind was going to make a total mockery of any leaderboards etc.

[Malc]

The handling seems to be very 'safe' even with the assists off,this has taken me by suprise somewhat.
Anyone else feel the same?

It could be a mixture of the cars and track in the demo. Only the R3 Porsche and Ferrari are the ones which are a bit tail happy, especially the Porsche when you really start pushing it and you notice certain parts of the course that completely upset the car.

[Nighteyes]

I'm finding the handling is 'safer' as opposed to very safe. The Audi R8 is fantastic to drive, really sublime; I found the Porsche and the Ferrari a little more 'twitchy'. And yes I race with all the assists off. I do use automatic gears though.

As for the rewind feature, I was dubious when it was announced, but not really against it. Having used it, however, I love it. It's going to come in very handy on those long single player races where that one mistake on the penultimate lap causes you to spin and crash. Forza 2 was very frustrating for me on certain races, this will alleviate that frustration somewhat, and the fact that it stops your lap/race time from entering the scoreboards means that the purists will still be 'leet'.

[analog dog]

Yeah the porsche is a beast for certain.
I don't know,I thought I'd be tip-toeing around the track but I feel like I can 'push it' a lot more than I could in Forza2.

[Brad]

The handling seems to be very 'safe' even with the assists off,this has taken me by suprise somewhat.
Anyone else feel the same?

Yep. As I may have said previously, hardest setting (but auto gears), second go, race winner. I'm not even that good at driving games really. I was allowed to just barge my way to the front. I displayed very little skill.

Also, I agree with Nighteyes on the rewind feature.

[Nighteyes]

Yeah the porsche is a beast for certain.
I don't know,I thought I'd be tip-toeing around the track but I feel like I can 'push it' a lot more than I could in Forza2.

This is gonna be a bit off the wall. But your post took me back eleven years to when I was 19 and Gran Turismo first came out. Garbage released their single 'Push it' about the same time the game was released, in fact I may have bought the single and game the same day, but I remember listening to that song pretty much over and over while playing GT. So for that song title to appear in this thread seems to make everything come full circle!!