2.11.2012

Before forza horizon got released I watched quite a lot of game-play videos and I liked the look of the game. then I played the demo which made me pre-order a copy. but the thing is when I normally see a driving game that has forza in the title I usually stay clear of it as I find the forza franchise to be not my kind of game. I love driving games but I like driving games to give me a rush of adrenaline something that I just personally find lacking in the forza motorsport games. but in forza horizon I can drive a whole load of exotic cars at great speeds and drive round corners at a speed that I feel is realistic to the speed that I can drive my own car around a corner at speed in real life without sliding off the road.but as well as driving around corners the handling of each car feels unique and true to the way you feel the car should behave. if you are using the official xbox force feedback steering wheel with foot peddles then again the weight and feel of the road is spot on and the force feedback and rocking of the wheel when you go from smooth tarmac to bumpy dirt track is good without feeling that you have to wrestle with the wheel to keep control which you might find in other proper rally games. but not only is the game great with a wheel it also handles exceptionally well with the control pad. I find some driving games with a pad can make the car feel twitchy and not under your complete control but in this game its slick and smooth. the only problem with the pad is you wont get that feeling of driving on smooth tarmac and then rough dirt tracks. and when you get some air time you don't get the feeling of the steering wheel feeling light to turn but its still works really well with a pad.now for the game-play. you have single player campaign and on-line multi-player. in single player the whole map is opened up right from the start of the game so you can drive anywhere you want as long as it is on the roads but you can't smash through a crash barrier and go anywhere you want. but this is not a problem as all the roads in the game have been well designed and thought out so that you have twisty windy tarmac and dirt roads, long fast straight motorways and urban built up streets layouts. also dotted about the map are fast travel point that you have to pay for the fast travel using your game credits. but if you complete the 3 challenges at each of these zones then you can fast travel to these locations for free.along all the roads you will find discount signs that if you smash through you get a 1% discount on buying upgrades for you car like a new engine. there are 100 of these signs dotted about the map and finding them becomes a challenge in itself.there are also speed cameras and average speed cameras doted about on most roads and the object of these is not to drive slow but to drive as fast as you can past them and get the fastest speed that will be posted on your friends message board and asking them if they want to challenge your speed.as you drive about you will also come across lots of rival cars that are A.I. controlled. basically if you want to race one of these cars then you just drive up behind them and then you get told to press X if you want to race them. then you will start racing that car from where you are on map to a different location on the map and if you win you get cash credits to spend on buying new cars or upgrades.there is also a sort of xp that you can level up in the game. you don't get this by winning races you get it by showing off doing burnouts, drifting, near misses on cars, and getting air time to name a few. if you can link all these things together in chains without crashing into another car or crashing into a crash barrier then you get massive amounts of this xp that all goes towards you being the number 1 by the in-game fans.the other thing that will become available to you as you progress through the game are barn finds. at certain times in the game you will get told that there is a rumour that there is an old banger of a classic car in barn hidden in a shaded out part of the map. if you find the car at the barn then you get to keep the car after it gets restored for free back to its original state. there are 9 of these barn finds but they are not as easy to find as you might think.then there are the actual game races. they start with one or two and then you get more and more as you go through the game. each race can be entered at any time as long as you have the car class for that race. if you don't then you will get asked before the start of the race if you would like to buy one saving you any travelling about to garages to find or buy a new car. I find the races quite tough to get 1st place on the medium setting in some races. so the fact that there are a few more harder setting in the game shows you that its not a game that you can stroll through if you like a challenge.then last of all you have the free roam. yes just driving about in the map is a real pleasure in this game as you watch the the day turn to night while listening to the best music track list in a driving game to date. and that's coming from a middle aged guy that does like all sorts of music including new current dance and guitar bands. if I had to make a complaint it would only be that I'd have liked some form of urban hip-hop as well but that's only my personal taste.well I think I've covered single player so now onto on-line multi player.on-line is just the same map as in single player except there is no traffic on the roads. its just you and the 8 other people that might join on a server. now this might seem like a bad point to some but having no traffic actually makes multi-player a fun place to be. you can race in a completely different way and style from the single player map. doing drag races down the long empty motorways, drifting and cutting corners on the normal roads as you get the best racing line and try and beat your friends speed cameras times. if you can think up a game in your head to do with your friends then you can do it without getting stuck behind slow moving traffic and getting slowed down weaving in and out of cars. but even if you playing alone on multi-player you can still join in with other people doing whatever it is they are doing.but as well as free roam on-line there are loads of great pre-made games for you to join with up to 8 other players. like lap races, point to point races, cat and mouse, king (game of tag set in an arena.try and be 'it' and don't get tagged by someone else or they become 'it'), and infected (set in an arena, someone is infected and has to tag someone else to infect them. then all other infected players try to get the others that are still not infected until everyone is infected). coming 1st, 2nd and 3rd in all these games wins you random amounts of cash and cars every time you level up.and I forgot to add as well as buying new cars you can paint and decorate them anyway you want. you can join a car club share all your cars with the other club members so that they can drive them if they want. there is not the anywhere as near the amount of cars in forza horizon as in the other forza games. I think about 150 cars in the basic game without buying DLC.and as for weather. it is always a sunny day in forza horizon. but then I don't think you get much more than sun in Colorado in the middle of the summer which is where and when the game is set. so rain and snow just wouldn't fit in right in this game.and I also nearly forgot the graphics in this game will blow you away. the amount of detail on all the cars and the scenery in the world is top notch.so to end with I knew I wanted to write a review to let other people know that there is another driving game out there. but I knew it would be hard to write a short review without missing all the games features and content that the game has to offer. and to do that I would have to stop playing forza horizon and write this. and that was a big ask I'm telling you. but if you love just driving or messing about as well as racing then you really should own this game.

26.11.2012

I consider myself a driving/racing game fan, but I can be picky about what I enjoy. I really enjoyed Test Drive Unlimited (TDU), thought TDU2 had its moments, loved Dirt 2 but not 3 as much, loved Forza Motorsport 3 but not 4 as much. That said, Forza Horizon hits a sweet spot that has me completely hooked to it.The basic premise is an open world, with a good choice of cars. The cars are king in this game, with the focus clearly being on them, rather than any ridiculous side-story (I'm looking at you TDU2!). The big names including Lamborghini are here, except for Porsche, but having RUF will, to a certain extent, fill that niche. Within a brand are a wide range of models,with anything from an Aston Martin DB5 of yesteryear to a modern day One-77 to choose from.For what I want from a racing game, the handling is perfect. I've heard dedicated racing gamers and journalists say that the handling can still feel a little simplified and not a 1-2-1 simulation of actual driving, but if you appreciate that it's close, and not trying to be a direct simulation, then it's close enough for most. If you're a beginner, you can have a multitude of assists on, while those more experienced can turn off your racing line, ABS, automatic gearbox, rewind features etc., and be rewarded for doing so by getting cash multipliers for winning races with these assists off. Cars have enough character to feel unique, and you'll definitely have to adjust your driving style from one car to the next. Just upgrading your car, using the typical suite of Forza tools, can drastically alter the feel of a car (as you'd expect).The world itself is big but not huge. Don't go into this game expecting 2 islands to play with, but do expect to be able to get lost in the scenery through simply enjoying driving. The graphics (in my opinion) are gorgeous, with the graphics engine really bringing out the best in the cars and the scenery. The day night cycle brings with it some glorious sunsets, which you'll want to stop and admire, perhaps using the Photo Mode to capture the scene. The camera settings are also head and shoulders above TDU2's offering, with proper settings such as shutter speed, aperture, contrast, vignetting etc. that all come together to provide the tools for some great photos.I'm not a multiplayer kind of person, so look to another review for that, but I've heard it's pretty good - however the AI of cars in the world when playing offline can also create ridiculous fun, with other drivers actually going for it. In TDU you'd find another car which would only cruise around at low speed unless you started a race. Not only are instant challenges much better in Horizon (only 1 button to press before you're racing) but you'll find cars will actually push themselves outside of races, and so can be good fun to follow and race for miles, not just pass and then beat to a marker.All in all, this is a game that I had to buy having played the demo. Once the demo had its claws in me, I pre-ordered the game, and am so glad that I did. I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes open world driving games, or is looking for a driving game that can be serious when you want it to be, but on the surface is good fun.

31.5.2013

This game is based upon a brilliant concept, the idea of miles and miles of diverse open road underpinned by fantastic driving physics that Forza is famous for. The problem is that while it dillivers a great drive, with each car having it's own unique handling traits and vocal,believable engine notes, it fails to use it's dispassionately small open world environment to it's full potential in the way the recent Test Drive games have done. Firstly as pre mentioned the map size is not as vast as you would expect, taking place in Colorado there is quite a mixed landscape with a forest and desert areas, but there is only on average one stretch of road per environment and the transition between environment is quite sudden,

25.11.2012

I've always loved the Forza Motorsport games and like many I was wary of this spin-off game. Although I enjoyed the Dirt and Need For Speed series, I wasn't sure how they would fit the Forza style into that kind of open world game, and feared that it may replace the regular Forza games. Well I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed this game, plus apparently it will not be replacing the regular Forza games.Turn 10 have created a beautiful environment that is fun to drive in, with plenty of decent events, while streamlining the usual process of car upgrading to give the gamer more time to enjoy racing. I had no real problem with how they went about things and had a ton of fun competing the events,

7.2.2014

This game is truly amazing!Firstly the car customization is absolutely amazing being able to make your cars exactly the way you want them and being able to replicate your favorite cars of all time like Fast and furious cars. The car customization does go back to the Need for Speed games of old like Underground 2 and the first Most Wanted.The game play is fun and feels energetic rather than some simulation games which can get sluggish and boring.Note this game is not a simulation so for people who love simulation racing games this may not be for you but for people who like to play free roam racing games with amazing customization then this game is defiantly for you.

27.10.2012

Basically its a good game however there's lots of small things that really bug me firstly being that there is no change in weather no rain cloud or anything like that. also customization of your car is really awkward as you have to wait for it to keep loading up then once youve done that and want to spray your car you have to somewhere else and wait for that to load its really annoying when you want to do all of your cars. another thing all of the cars seem less life like and more cartoony. also i really hope they bring out several expansion packs because its no the sortt of game where you could play single player for ever it will get a bit boring after a while especially after you have completed it.

28.10.2012

Some games try to do too much. They try to be too many things at the same time. This is a game which has tried to do many things, but somehow managed to pull it off. This is a seamless blend of simulation and arcade racing.The cars have a great feeling of weight and the steering is just as realistic as Forza 4 if you turn the assists off. What struck me the most is the handling variations on the road surfaces. The game feels so tight that you can feel the road surface change even between subtle variations of tarmac, to tiles, to dirt tracks.The audio department impresses in both music choice and engine sounds, the world feels logically laid out with enough fast travel points and things to do in between events.

15.5.2013

I really wish I could enjoy driving games more but I just find them a bit samey. The last driving game I bought was forza 2 and it spent approximately 4 hours in my Xbox 360.Having played forza horizon at a friends house I immediately understood that it was aimed at my market, that is to say something that is bright and arcadey but without the steroids (am thinking burnout paradise) and at the same time feeling like a simulation but without the minuscule tweaking (such as forza 4). I bought it straight away and have already clocked up nearly 10 hours on it.Each car feels unique to drive and the variety of different races keeps the interest. Graphically the world is beautiful and the decals,

24.12.2012

I've always liked the Forza series, so I was really excited when they announced their open-world game, Forza Horizon. And I have to say, it doesn't disappoint. The graphics are awesome, the physics, as we have grown to expect from the Forza series, are awesome, and the variety of cars on offer, while not as extensive as Forza 4, is great.I do, however, have a couple of minor issues. The first is the game world seems a little dead. Sure, there are cars driving round, but there are no people. No-one is walking around on the pavements. Also, unlike other open-world games like Test Drive Unlimited 2, you are limited, with very little exception, to the roads. There is no possibility to go driving round the countryside off-road.

16.1.2013

Forza Horizon is certainly best racing game in 2012! I suggest it to everyone who likes racing games! I have only positive words to describe Forza Horizon.Forza Horizon is totally different game when you compare it with Forza 4. New game have open world where you have lots of things to do. Festival races, Showcase races, Rival races, etc..Forza Horizon story focuses on completing in the Horizon Festival, where you need earn points from races to ern different wristbands. New wristband gives to you new races and new cars.Also there is some illegal street races, promotional events, speedtraps, etc. And if game is too hard or too easy to you, you can always change settings to make racing more difficult or more easier.

1.1.2020

As the 1st game in the Forza Horizon franchise, Microsoft did an absolutely fantastic job. The car list was brilliant, the setting (Colorado) was simply gorgeous, the soundtrack was perfect and the graphics looked AMAZING!The DLC for this game is also solid. The first large DLC was the rally expansion. This added a whole new game mode, new cars, upgrades and achievements. The 2nd DLC (which was free) was the 1000 Club DLC, which added a couple of new cars and achievements as well as challenges for every car in the game.Even after 6 years, this game is still so much fun to play, and I'd even go as far as saying that this is the 2nd best game in the whole franchise!

22.11.2012

This game blends free roam and racing brilliantly, with we'll executed tracks, roads and off road areas all to drive on, be it on the open road or in a race. However, it is clear the developers didn't put as much details into the cars. The dents after a collision pale in comparison to Forza 4's. Also, there is a significant lack of content when it comes to cars. About half as many are in the game than was in Forza 4 and it is also clear that the extra cars will be released in expensive, pointless and endless DLC's. Overall, a good game but the developers took the easy way out and tried to make as much money with DLC as they could when they aren't worth it.

25.3.2013

recently purchased a new xbox 360 and Forza Horizon was included as part of the bundle and all I can say is wow.this game does not disappoint, I have spent many hours unlocking various parts of the game and cars.I have seen on other sites some people say the game is quick to complete.Unsure what they mean, they must be playing it on extremely easy and just completing certain parts of the game.Highly recommended for Forza Fans or just those who enjoy street racing games. There is some Rally parts to the game which gives that slight blend between street racing and rally which is enjoyable.

1.2.2013

This my first review so please don't be harsh on me.This is a great game and really addictive!I've played Forza 3 and 4 and I can honestly say that this game is on a different level, I love the fact that in this game in-between races it's just a massive open world. The map size is pretty big too, the only little thing I don't like about this game is that their is only 3 radio stations to pic from and each of them only have about 4 songs on and after a while it can get really crap, but that's maybe just me! :POverall brilliant game and well worth the money!

5.5.2013

I love this game. I love racing games and this adds a free roam aspect to racing games. Recently, an update was released whereby mini challenges were added to the game which includes about 5 challenges for every single car so it will definitely take you a while to fully complete. A rally expansion is available, haven't brought it, not sure if it's totally worth it. Also, a DLC pack is added every month or so which adds a few cool cars to the game. However they come at a price and you may find yourself a few quid down from all these DLC's. Otherwise, great game.

Forza Horizon (Xbox 360) - Reviews

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