- Joined
- Jan 11, 2003
- Posts
- 11,919
There are many reasons why one should play a racing simulation. When in
a person's life (other than Bernie Eccelstone or Michael Schumacher of
Formula 1 racing fame) will a person own more than 50 cars not to
mention 50+ cars that are high end performance cars? In Forza Motorsport
I can do so and is one of the reasons why people should play these types
of games. I can own a Ferrari Enzo, Ferrari F50, Ferrari Challenge
Stradale, Porsche 959, Porsche Carrera GT, Audi R8 P1 race car, C6
Corvette, and other cars that will definitely not be in my price range
in the near future or perhaps ever.
What I can also do with these same cars is modify them. I would never be
able to get my hands on a Porsche 959, but I can in this game and tweak
it to have 700+ hp and make it weigh around 2500 pounds and be one of
the best performing cars in the world.
What is unique about this game too are the engine swaps that are
available. I can take a third gen RX-7 and place a turbo charged 3 rotor
Wankel engine inside it rather than keeping the turbo charged 2
rotor Wankel. One can also place a Honda Integra Type R engine into a
1991 Honda CRX SiR and make it one heck of a stealth car.
Other reasons to buy this driving sim are because it has Ferrari,
Porsche and ONLINE PLAY! Three very key aspects that Gran Turismo 4
simply forgot. One cannot make a racing game or driving game without
having the two most famous names in racing history Scuderia Ferrari
(Enzo Ferrari) and Porsche of Stuttgart (Ferdinand Porsche, pronounced
PORSHA!). The online play has infinite replay value testing different
cars of different strengths and seeing if a 500+ hp Mitsubishi Lancer
Evolution VIII can take on a Dodge Viper.
The damage modeling is quite good in this game, but could use some more
tips from ToCA Race Driver 2. In ToCA it is possible to crash your car
into a wall once, your car will lose a wheel and that will be it for the
race. The damage is still good in Forza though, I really enjoy how the
gearbox can get really messed up when crashing into a wall and thus
leaving you only 1st or maybe 2nd gear. The steering also can be beaten
up to the point where it heavily favors steering to the right or left.
Overall the damage modeling and effects are very effective especially in
simulation mode.
As for 30 frames per second being enough, I hardly notice the game
slowing down if ever. I think Microsoft Game Studios did an excellent
job with maintaining a playable frame rate.
This game should get great reviews because the physics of the game are
truly amazing. Rear wheel drive cars will spin out on the driver if too
much power is being used at the apex of a corner. A Nissan Silvia
(240SX) will do so since it is a rear wheel drive car and one must use
countersteering and correct oscillation between the throttle and the
brakes in order to control a car through a power slide (drift) or to
even just gain back control. I also noticed that front wheel drive cars
do not take full advantage of 350+ hp because of wheel spin and
definitely notice torque steer when a front wheel drive car is under
hard acceleration (and has over 155 lb. ft or torque) and thus pulls to
the left or to the right like in real life. Cars that have massive
understeer are very apparent as well in this game and a good example is
the Nissan 350Z. The 350Z in real life has massive understeer and really
hinders the 350Z's abilities to perform on the track. Forza Motorsport
also sports excellent graphics (especially of the Ferrari lineup Enzo,
F50, GTO (288), 250 GTO, etc.). Many of the tracks are exactly the same
as in real life and this especially goes for Laguna Seca. I visited this
track in 2002 and it is very very very close to the real thing. Each
skid mark, the cork screw, the Mazda advertisements, everything seems to
be in place for that track since I last visited it. This game is so
close to driving and racing perfection it deserves a 10/10 and should be
highly praised. There is a huge variety of cars Subaru, Mazda, Honda,
Toyota, FERRARI, PORSCHE, Lancia, Ford, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Opel,
Vauxhall, Lotus, etc. The great part about this game too is that it
gives challenges for petrol heads like me (use manual transmission, turn
off ABS, turn off Traction Control System, turn up difficulty) and
rewards more money for doing so, but at the same time people who are not
so into cars can ask for a lower difficulty, have a racing line so one
knows where to accelerate, brake and where to stay for optimum speed. If
there is one auto racing game I would recommend overall it would be
Forza Motorsport. I am a huge World Rally Championship, American LeMans
Series, Formula 1 and overall racing fanatic and I heavily approve of
this game because it is as close to the real thing as a person is going
to get (for now).
There are a few suggestions I have for the game, but they are hardly
gripes that I would deduct points from the game. One of them is to
include Group B Rally cars, these cars include the Ford RS200, Peugeot
205 T16, Lancia Delta S4, Audi Quattro S1, Rover Metro 6R4, Toyota
Celica Twin-cam Turbo, Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione, and any others I had
forgotten. What is so special about these cars? These cars were so fast
(550-600 hp with 0-60 times from 1.8 seconds to 2.8 seconds) that they
had to be banned. There have been specators who died at Rallys because
of them and even a driver and his co-driver (Henri Toivonen and Sergio
Cresto) who died in a crash with a Group B Rally car. I think the Group
B Rally cars would have fit in very well with this game. Other cars I
would have included are Formula 1 cars (which weigh 1333 pounds and have
V10s which are naturally aspirated and produce 900 hp). Formula 1 cars
are the best performance cars in the entire world and should have been
included in this game if Microsoft wants THE ultimate racing sim.
a person's life (other than Bernie Eccelstone or Michael Schumacher of
Formula 1 racing fame) will a person own more than 50 cars not to
mention 50+ cars that are high end performance cars? In Forza Motorsport
I can do so and is one of the reasons why people should play these types
of games. I can own a Ferrari Enzo, Ferrari F50, Ferrari Challenge
Stradale, Porsche 959, Porsche Carrera GT, Audi R8 P1 race car, C6
Corvette, and other cars that will definitely not be in my price range
in the near future or perhaps ever.
What I can also do with these same cars is modify them. I would never be
able to get my hands on a Porsche 959, but I can in this game and tweak
it to have 700+ hp and make it weigh around 2500 pounds and be one of
the best performing cars in the world.
What is unique about this game too are the engine swaps that are
available. I can take a third gen RX-7 and place a turbo charged 3 rotor
Wankel engine inside it rather than keeping the turbo charged 2
rotor Wankel. One can also place a Honda Integra Type R engine into a
1991 Honda CRX SiR and make it one heck of a stealth car.
Other reasons to buy this driving sim are because it has Ferrari,
Porsche and ONLINE PLAY! Three very key aspects that Gran Turismo 4
simply forgot. One cannot make a racing game or driving game without
having the two most famous names in racing history Scuderia Ferrari
(Enzo Ferrari) and Porsche of Stuttgart (Ferdinand Porsche, pronounced
PORSHA!). The online play has infinite replay value testing different
cars of different strengths and seeing if a 500+ hp Mitsubishi Lancer
Evolution VIII can take on a Dodge Viper.
The damage modeling is quite good in this game, but could use some more
tips from ToCA Race Driver 2. In ToCA it is possible to crash your car
into a wall once, your car will lose a wheel and that will be it for the
race. The damage is still good in Forza though, I really enjoy how the
gearbox can get really messed up when crashing into a wall and thus
leaving you only 1st or maybe 2nd gear. The steering also can be beaten
up to the point where it heavily favors steering to the right or left.
Overall the damage modeling and effects are very effective especially in
simulation mode.
As for 30 frames per second being enough, I hardly notice the game
slowing down if ever. I think Microsoft Game Studios did an excellent
job with maintaining a playable frame rate.
This game should get great reviews because the physics of the game are
truly amazing. Rear wheel drive cars will spin out on the driver if too
much power is being used at the apex of a corner. A Nissan Silvia
(240SX) will do so since it is a rear wheel drive car and one must use
countersteering and correct oscillation between the throttle and the
brakes in order to control a car through a power slide (drift) or to
even just gain back control. I also noticed that front wheel drive cars
do not take full advantage of 350+ hp because of wheel spin and
definitely notice torque steer when a front wheel drive car is under
hard acceleration (and has over 155 lb. ft or torque) and thus pulls to
the left or to the right like in real life. Cars that have massive
understeer are very apparent as well in this game and a good example is
the Nissan 350Z. The 350Z in real life has massive understeer and really
hinders the 350Z's abilities to perform on the track. Forza Motorsport
also sports excellent graphics (especially of the Ferrari lineup Enzo,
F50, GTO (288), 250 GTO, etc.). Many of the tracks are exactly the same
as in real life and this especially goes for Laguna Seca. I visited this
track in 2002 and it is very very very close to the real thing. Each
skid mark, the cork screw, the Mazda advertisements, everything seems to
be in place for that track since I last visited it. This game is so
close to driving and racing perfection it deserves a 10/10 and should be
highly praised. There is a huge variety of cars Subaru, Mazda, Honda,
Toyota, FERRARI, PORSCHE, Lancia, Ford, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Opel,
Vauxhall, Lotus, etc. The great part about this game too is that it
gives challenges for petrol heads like me (use manual transmission, turn
off ABS, turn off Traction Control System, turn up difficulty) and
rewards more money for doing so, but at the same time people who are not
so into cars can ask for a lower difficulty, have a racing line so one
knows where to accelerate, brake and where to stay for optimum speed. If
there is one auto racing game I would recommend overall it would be
Forza Motorsport. I am a huge World Rally Championship, American LeMans
Series, Formula 1 and overall racing fanatic and I heavily approve of
this game because it is as close to the real thing as a person is going
to get (for now).
There are a few suggestions I have for the game, but they are hardly
gripes that I would deduct points from the game. One of them is to
include Group B Rally cars, these cars include the Ford RS200, Peugeot
205 T16, Lancia Delta S4, Audi Quattro S1, Rover Metro 6R4, Toyota
Celica Twin-cam Turbo, Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione, and any others I had
forgotten. What is so special about these cars? These cars were so fast
(550-600 hp with 0-60 times from 1.8 seconds to 2.8 seconds) that they
had to be banned. There have been specators who died at Rallys because
of them and even a driver and his co-driver (Henri Toivonen and Sergio
Cresto) who died in a crash with a Group B Rally car. I think the Group
B Rally cars would have fit in very well with this game. Other cars I
would have included are Formula 1 cars (which weigh 1333 pounds and have
V10s which are naturally aspirated and produce 900 hp). Formula 1 cars
are the best performance cars in the entire world and should have been
included in this game if Microsoft wants THE ultimate racing sim.
Last edited:
) One mistake and it's all over. However after putting some time in with Forza and coming back to GT4 I feel that I can drive a bit better. I'm still not winning any races I could before, but i'm getting a bit better. I need to learn more about tuning...anybody got any suggestions?