The Xbox has a rich heritage of quality 'Xbox only' driving simulation titles such as: Sega GT & Online, Project Gotham Racing 1 & 2 and for months, the Xbox was the only console to feature V8 Supercars 2. I remember after playing Sega GT at a store for less than 5 minutes, which was my reason to buy an Xbox. Yet, the “PS2 only” Grand Turismo 3 outshined them all in terms of realism.

On the eve of the next installment, Grand Turismo 4 (March 10th) - 'Microsoft' has supplied their own answer to this title - Forza Motorsport.

Many of you may have become aware of this title after reading the February issue of Hyper. Just turn the page over from the 4-paged preview of GT4. From reading the comments of the Forza preview - this gave me confidence, that this title could go head-to-head with GT4, and fill-in the gaps that GT4 excluded - namely car damage and an on-line mode. Forza Motorsport includes more features like custom body kits, paintwork, and decals much like the Underground series of Need for Speed offered us. Forza Motorsport is more than just aesthetically pleasing; it's keeping to its promise as a driving simulator. Forza 'Lead Program Manager' was quoted as saying “Our mission on Forza was to make the definitive console racing simulator”. You can read the full preview in Hyper, but before reading on, remember Microsoft has promised us this game won't just be 'on-par' with GT4, but much better.

Forza Motorsport is to be released this month (Feb), according to 'The Official Australian Xbox Magazine', which features a Forza demo, so "I'm excited" - Big Kev style. (Sammy’s note- while the Australian Xbox website is still saying the game is due this month, other sources are claiming it has been delayed. We shall see).

Now I know that the demo isn't a full reflection of the final product, so all I can give are my first impressions.

12 cars from three different classes gave me a fair idea of how the game flows. These cars are: the '04 Nissan 350Z track', ' 03 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, ' 03 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII GSR, '03 Acura (American Honda) NSX, '02 Chevrolet Corvette C6, '02 Ferrari 360 Modena F1, '02 Porsche 911 GT3 & '02 Dodge Viper GTS ACR. Then we move on to the Le-Mans spec 'Audi #1 Infineon R8', 'Toyota #27 GT-ONE TS020', 'BMW #15 V12 LMR', and the 'Ferrari #12 Risi Competizione F333SP'. All hero cars, most 'Xbox only' racers - all set to tackle the classic Laguna Seca raceway.



I need to mention the level of sound detail first, since this was a stand-out feature. Jumping into the ''Ferrari #12 Risi Competizione F333SP' would wet the pants of any grown person, the quality & detail the sound plays is like nothing I heard before. The amount of 'rpm' this car can handle sent the speedo needle to the limit faster than the tacho. I would love to get that car out on an oval track, flat out. Yes, it was worth Microsoft investing in Ferrari to join the team. Actually, this game was developed with Ferrari engineers, to give each car spot-on accuracy. This creates the side-effect of being too hard for anyone without experience with driving simulation games. So it didn't work to my “cowboy - wall hugging ways” which have become my trademark. Practice makes perfect? At first I was coming over 10 seconds behind any other racer, but I eventually improved. The sound is great - it's sampled from real cars, and not vacuum cleaners. The physics of each car are different (as you’d hope they would be), the Xbox controller makes easy work of dialing in your commands, which has always been my preferred option. I find this superior to the comparatively dated layout of the PlayStation controller. The car damage is a great addition, which reward's skilled drivers who can keep can their cars looking shiny for longer. Bump into a car, and you'll trade paint. Decide to make love to a wall, or play in the sandpit? Your car becomes both mechanically and visually damaged. It’s hard to finish off a race after any sort of damage.

Sadly the demo version doesn't include any online or multi-player modes, which have been kept in reserve for the full game.

If Forza is to be successful in competing against the king of the ring GT4, it needs to improve in a few areas. My short list is for key areas that need some work are: graphics, car models, track models, and where are the female models?

I could live with the current level of development seen in the demo, but with Forza we have been promised more. The '30 frames per second' masterpiece PGR2 is currently still the best looking car game on Xbox. Forza was disappointing, because I didn't see the same level of graphical detail I've seen in magazine screen shots. The detail is ok, but I was lead to expect more. The same can be said for the track modeling. Well I guess all I can do is cross my fingers in hope that the finished product is more impressive. I also hope the programmers are still working on the car models. From what I saw in the demo, it was disappointing again. When has anyone seen any Ferrari roll out of the factory wearing anything else but low-profile tyres? To make this point valid and prove that I'm still not as cross-eyed as I once was, it seemed that each car was wearing the same rim size, and the difference was made up by tyre thickness?! Interesting.




The last point I like to cover is AI. Now I know that most of the enjoyment of this title will be found on-line, but before I can think about that, how can I learn the driving skills I need and progress though the career mode, with dumb AI? How can the skill of other racers affect me? It all revolves around promises. The editor of 'The Official Xbox Magazine' started the mud fight in comparing Forza directly with GT4 on this subject. His comments were "I'm happy to confirm that Forza Motorsport does not suffer from any of the following problems...driver AI that'll smash into you just to maintain the best racing line" I think he has just described what I feel Forza suffers from. Don't believe me; play the demo, still not convinced? When the green light goes at the start of the race, drive any car - and hold down on your brakes, whatever CPU controlled AI is stuck behind you on the racing grid, won't figure out how to drive around you. It's like they are driving blind. So it's a big call from the editor of a magazine that on the same page has the statement that “Microsoft has no access to, or influence over, the 'Official Australian Xbox Magazine”. (Sammy’s note- this is Andrew’s opinion, don’t get me involved in this one!)

In not a sole fan of GT4, nor do I wish to condemn Forza, I just hope that this title finds success in achieving what it promises. We will soon find out. Anyways, play the demo; make up your own mind. But if you do remember that the demo isn't a full reflection of the final product, at least I hope so.

Also since this is still in demo form, I won't be giving it a Buttonhole rating.

by: Andrew Berry