Forza Motorsport 5 Review (Xbox One)

Every car enthusiast in the world of gaming will fall in love with Forza Motorsport 5 during its first race, which allows players to get behind the wheel of one of the most expensive cars in the world, a P1 from McClaren, and test their skills on the impressively designed streets of Prague in the Czech Republic.

The car itself is extremely detailed, lovingly rendered and polished to perfection, all its gleaming bodywork reflecting the landscapes that you rush by and the city itself, with its mix of historic buildings and narrow cobblestoned streets, offering plenty of distractions from the race itself.

The opening event in many racing games is designed to awe the player and show what he is to look for as he progresses in the single-player mode and Forza 5 does not disappoint.

Unfortunately, that first race might also be the high point of the game for many racing fans because the teams at developer Turn 10 and publisher Microsoft have made some weird design decisions that make Forza Motorsport 5 a mixed experience.

The title is available at launch exclusively on the Xbox One home console and manages to be one of the products that really show what the new hardware is capable of.

Story

Forza Motorsport 5 has opted to choose quality over quantity when it comes to the single-player progression, allowing gamers to get access to about half the cars that were included in the last title that the series launched on the Xbox 360.

The racing game offers close to 600 events for the player to explore, in 27 separate environments, and most players will be satisfied with the variety that’s offered, mixing straight up races with sequences where players need to deal with specific challenges.

The progression system is well designed, combining driver levels with a new affinity meter, and the game’s presentation for the various types of competitions includes introductions from Top Gear’s presenters, who lend their gravitas and clear passion for cars to the video game.

Old favorites

Cockpit view

This means that a racing fan who really wants to fill his garage has two options: he can grind races, trying to always finish first and race against the most capable rivals, or he can spend some real-world cash in order to get a boost that allows him to get experience and currency at a faster rate.

The system has been so controversial that Turn 10 apologized to the community and made a number of changes, but it still takes serious dedication to get access to the included vehicles.

Gameplay

Forza Motorsport 5 is a racing game that can deliver the fast, adrenaline filled arcade experience at first and, once the player gets accustomed to the tracks and the cars, he can move into simulation territory as more assists are disabled.

Turn 10 has been very careful to capture every possible detail of the racing circuits included in the game and all the quirks and the advantages of the cars that are part of the experience, but they are not immediately apparent to a gamer that is only looking to have some fun at high speed.

The racing assists are well implemented and do a great job of helping almost anyone become competitive, mainly because the assist line makes it very easy to see exactly how every corner and straight line needs to be approached for the best possible results.

The replay feature is also well implemented because it gives gamers a chance to try that last maneuver that turned out less than perfect again and again until it becomes part of their routine.

Play Video

But the depth of Forza Motorsport 5 only becomes clear once those assists are turned off one by one and each of the cars becomes a different type of beast, each needs time to study, understand and then control.

The game can be frustrating at times, but through repetition and attention, a player can master each car and each track even if he is aiming for a full simulation.

The racing feeling is also improved by the addition of trigger-based rumble, which offers an organic way to deliver feedback on the way the car is handling.

Turn 10 has also innovated on the Artificial Intelligence front by creating a special Dirvatar for each player and then using cloud technology to populate other people’s races with them, creating competitions that feel more alive and unpredictable.

The biggest problem is that almost all Drivatar seem focused on keeping as close as possible to the racing line, which tends to lead to collisions that can be incredibly disruptive when the damage model of Forza Motorsport 5 is in use.

Graphics and audio

Forza Motorsport 5 has moments when it’s so beautiful that I wanted to just freeze the race at that point and simply spend time using a free flow camera in order to change angles and look around.

The Prague track is the standout for me because it manages to take real-world elements of the city and blend them into a very intriguing track that challenges the player to deal with a variety of racing surfaces and with the blinding glare of the sun.

There’s plenty of love to go around in the other areas of the game and Turn 10 used a lot of impressive tech to make sure that both the cars and the tracks are as close to their real-life counterparts as possible.

Race setup

Cosmetic changes

Traditionally, graphically impressive titles don’t have the resources to deliver the same quality when it comes to sound, but Forza Motorsport 5 changes the trend, including incredibly lively renditions of the way cars sound, with plenty of variation between each model.

The purr of the engines and the occasional sound of clashing bodywork is so well recreated in virtual form that I found the music layered on top of it entirely unnecessary, an element that broke the suspension of disbelief rather than enhance it.

Multiplayer

The Drivatar system means that gamers are actually able to experience the driving habits of their friends and rivals in the single-player mode, but the game also offers modes for those who want to face live human opponents and are paying for Xbox Live Gold.

The races tend to be rather chaotic and there’s a lot of aggression that will probably send all but the most hardcore of gamers back to the grind of the single-player progression.

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion