Forza Motorsport 7 - automotive cornucopia
Where to start reviewing the new Forza? For several days I thought what exactly I can write about this game. I know that a lot of texts on this topic have already appeared on the net, moreover, several days have passed since the premiere and the creators decided to make some rather important changes that influenced the perception of this whole work. Perhaps the delay on my part was expedient? But let's get down to business.
When to start …
When I found out that Forza Motorsport XNUMX was coming up, I kept a close eye on the announcements, plans, teasers, car listings, and all the information released by the developers while I was rummaging around. Why? After all, I haven't finished the XNUMX yet, and I already have a confusing new part that was supposed to be better in every way. More cars, better graphics, more tracks, better controls, physics, etc. The bubble grew...
A bit of history ...
Before I get to the review, I have to acknowledge something. For years I tried to test every possible car game. My “serious” adventure with cars began with the first part of Gran Turismo for the first generation Play Station console. Probably most younger readers don't even remember or know what this nice car looked like. Oh, a gray, angular box with a hatch, under which a black disk was spinning. No one even thought of downloading the game from the Internet, playing online, etc.
A little later, the first part of Gran Turismo was replaced by the "deuce", which I spent a lot of time on. Then there were games like Need for Speed, pretty much every part of Colin McRae Rally, V-Rally, Richard Burns Rally, and really a lot of other games that had very different characteristics. From typical arcade games to demanding simulations. Sometimes it was easy fun, sometimes it was demanding gameplay.
When I got my hands on an Xbox 360 with Forza Motorsport 3, everything I've seen so far in car games stopped making sense. It was Forza Motorsport 3 that became the quintessence of virtual driving. Here I found the perfect driving model. Maybe not a total simulation, but not such a simple "arcade" - what is it, no! The driving pattern was demanding and hard to master, but driving my favorite track with ultimate traction was a lot of fun. When the fourth part of this game came out, I didn't hesitate to spend my hard earned money, so what? I was not disappointed!
Admittedly, there were other games as well as other parts of Gran Turismo on the Play Station 3, but... that wasn't it. There was no fluidity, satisfaction, comments from the famous Top Gear trio, etc. These games "didn't live" like Forza.
Then it's time for Xbox One and the next installments, i.e. 5 and 6. I don't know how the developers did it, but each part was different and in many ways better than the previous one. Yes, there were flaws, but you could live with them. Apart from these few scratches, the whole thing seemed to be a beautifully polished whole with a huge community, online racing, etc. And how are things going with the "seven"?
Before we hit the track...
When I got the 66 from Microsoft for testing, I was itching to fire up my console and load those modest 7GB of base games (not including add-ons). By the way, Forza Motorsport 2 starts in a very difficult and responsible season. Several excellent car games have already debuted this year, most notably Project CARS XNUMX. Moreover, Forza's main competitor, Gran Turismo Sport, will soon appear on the market. However, in this case, the players are quite skeptical about this game, and the emphasis on online gameplay does not inspire us with optimism.
But back to Forza. If you don't have really fast internet, downloading a game like this can be frustrating to say the least. Obviously, this isn't just Forza's problem. We haven't seen discs in game boxes for a long time (although there are exceptions). Since DVDs can no longer store that much data, it's much more convenient for the publisher to use a code that gives them the right to download the game from servers. Sometimes it takes an hour, sometimes a whole day...
Anyway, after downloading and installing Forzy Motorsport 7, we are greeted with a catchy video, a brief introduction, and then we go to the menu, which looks quite attractive. We see in it the driver (we can even choose a gender), a currently used car, and in the background a large garage / hangar. On the other hand, we have a multi-page menu. Everything is quite readable and attractive.
I spend most of my time browsing cars, watching them in the beautiful ForzaVista mode, checking available parts, choosing rims, decals and designs. Trust me, you can spend many relaxing hours doing this and we haven't even hit the track yet! In terms of cars, Forza is really HUGE! We can drive one of… 720 cars. Moreover, more models will be released in paid DLC soon - seven new cars per month for six months. It should also be remembered that all cars have been finalized in every way. This is a real feast for car enthusiasts - both fans of classics, racing cars, and top-end hypercars.
... Let's dig in the garage!
We already know that we have over 700 vehicles to choose from, divided into 5 groups. In the former we find popular but still interesting cars such as the Subaru BRZ, in the latter we find the most expensive gems in the game. Moreover, we will not be able to buy some cars, but only win, hunt on special occasions (which change every 7 days) or randomize. As if this is not enough, at the beginning only the first group of models is available to us, and we get access to the following ones by advancing in the game and collecting cars. These are completely different assumptions than those that we will meet in Project CARS 2 - there we have access to everything at the very beginning. What's better? The score is up to you. Personally, I prefer the Forza philosophy - when I have to fight for something, I have more motivation and enjoyment of the game.
Of course, almost every car can be modified to a great extent. If there is not much that can be done in the top models of Lamborghini or Ferrari, then in the Subaru BRZ we can change the engine, install all-wheel drive, add a turbocharger, replace the suspension, install a roll cage, change the braking system. Fanatics will surely spend long hours creating dozens of versions of one and the same car. Aesthetes will put stickers on, paint rims, download free designs… there are plenty of them! As I mentioned earlier, the game is fun even before we hit the track. Although supporters of quick action may be a little confused by the sheer number of options, possibilities, combinations, etc. Who likes what.
3… 2… 1… Go! The first straight and sharp turn!
When we decide to go on the route and start our career, we will immediately get into the thick of it - the game will show us what awaits us. In the first three exhibition races we will drive the latest Porsche 911 GT2 RS, then we will jump into… a racing truck and a Japan GT car. If you turn off all assists, which I recommend you do, you will have to work very hard to get to the finish line unharmed. These three races will show you that in addition to beautiful views, you will also see great effects related to weather conditions, intense cornering, etc.
The driving model, as I mentioned, is not an outstanding simulator, but you can definitely feel the car, its power, speed, understeer, oversteer, gearbox operation, etc. On the one hand, driving is difficult and demanding, but on the other on the other hand, mastering a car is a great pleasure and motivation. Perhaps these first three races may seem difficult for beginners, but we do not have to win them, we just need to finish. Having defeated them, we move on to our own career, which we start with racing hot hatches.
In racing we have certain rules, i.e. approval. Moreover, a certain pool of cars from the selected category can take part in this race. It's a step towards realism, although it lacks a bit of madness compared to previous releases when we were getting heavily tuned Golf to compete with cars like Porsches or Ferraris. If the car you are buying, although it belongs to this group, has an engine that is too powerful, you will have to install a special gearbox in the workshop. Sounds interesting, right? Of course, we can do everything automatically, and the computer will select the appropriate set of parts, but it is much more pleasant to choose components in various configurations. Each setting can be saved, and then choose between "ready".
As if that weren't enough, we can also set individual parameters - from tire pressure, through suspension, camber, to differential settings, etc.
In addition to racing and championships, we can also take part in demonstration events such as bowling, 1v1 races, etc. This is a good springboard from serious competitions. Of course, we get money and experience points after each race and championship. For the first we buy cars and spare parts, for the second we get prizes to choose from.
The finish line is just around the corner!
Of course, Forza Motorsport 7 is a game that we will also be playing online. What's more, special missions, parties, tournaments, and more are coming soon. If someone has an Xbox Live Gold subscription, they'll have a few more hours of great fun with friends. No subscription? This is one of the few games that has returned to the traditional split screen, so we can race without the need for an Internet connection on the same TV screen.
Also, if one prefers to play alone, the solo player's career is really long, and the additions and attractions prolong the fun. For example, at any time we can stop the race and switch to photo mode, where we can play with effects, exposure, composition, etc. This is a real "machine" for creating great wallpapers. We can share each of them with others. There's also the option to view other users' photos, and trust me, some of them really care about photorealism.
Last straight... Done!
And how do you evaluate the game, the disadvantages of which do not bother me at all? Maybe it's a bit unprofessional, but it's really hard for me to blame anything. Well, in the beginning I had problems with the stability of the game, there were several problems with the graphics, the game crashed several times, etc. If this had continued all the time, then there would definitely have been problems, but fortunately, after the premiere, a patch appeared that eliminated these shortcomings.
A lot of controversy is caused by the privileges associated with the Deluxe and Ultimate versions of the game. We are talking about a VIP bonus - in addition to a few cars, it also gives you an advantage in your career (earnings increase by 100%). Until now, in the Forza series, this bonus was active all the time, but in the "seven" it worked only for 25 races. Unfortunately, Microsoft did not mention this anywhere, so there was a wave of criticism. Fortunately, the company decided to change these rules and restored the permanent bonus system. Another bug fixed.
You can get attached to harsh race homologations, not quite dynamic weather conditions, or a few graphical bugs, but such flaws occur in every game - with the difference that they are accompanied by a whole avalanche of other “baboli”. There are really few such bugs in FM7, and, perhaps, just like the first “shortcomings”, they will soon be fixed. So we're dealing with the perfect game?
Ideally, the game should have practical jokes. And rallycross, and F1, and… I don't know what else. But when we consider what is now, it is difficult to give a different opinion. The game is highly recommended. If someone has both an Xbox One and a PC, they will be able to use the Play Anywhere system. What's this? We're buying the Xbox One version and also playing on Windows 10 PC. It's also worth noting that the game will run in 4K and 60fps on the new Xbox One X, which will be released in early November. .
Do you need more? Well, probably more free time, because you can't buy it for złoty.
PROS:
- Fantastic graphics: cars, tracks, effects, weather, etc.
– Over 700 vehicles to choose from!
– A huge number of options, settings and accessories for cars
- Great fun in multiplayer
- Split screen mode
- Almost all...
MINUSES:
- ...
– The high price of the top version?
Rating: 9,5/10
