Title: Forza Motorsport 5
Platform: Xbox One
Year: 2013
Developer: Turn 10 Studios.
Reviewed by Clay Davis
(Gamertag: Ryamatsu)
SCORE: 5/10
SCORE: 5/10
I've been a fan of Forza Motorsport since the original release on the original Xbox. We've seen the franchise gradually evolve in positive ways but I feel the series has taken a big step back in the latest installment. Forza 5 succeeds in graphics and racing mechanics but fails in game play longevity and immersion.
I'm not sure if it's just my particular setup but after every race I hear a distorted crash noise. Also when racing I occasionally here a sudden rev of an engine from a vehicle across the track wall but only lasts for maybe 2-3 seconds. I know this sounds like a minor issue, but after grinding every race these things become a bit annoying and more frequent than you might think.
I've been a huge fan of the music in every entry of the franchise besides Forza 5. I'm not talking about racing music but rather the menu music before and after a race. The music composition in Forza 5 sounds very uninspired and such a step back for the series. They decided to use a very awkward arrangement of electronic strings and percussion that don't actually flow into anything musically coherent. I remember one menu track having out of tune piano notes playing during the car customization screen. I finally decided to just mute all of the menu music for the sake of my sanity. The music is very unpleasant to the ears and doesn't really flow well with the atmosphere of the game. If you don't believe me, turn on Forza 3. You'll immediately notice how much of a step back the latest installments music selection is.
If memory serves, Forza 4 also had no endurance race feature. Endurance racing might sound boring but there's something exciting about the added strategies involved. Having to worry about tire wear and gasoline usage is interesting and apparently Turn 10 has nothing to do with it anymore. However, Gran Turismo still offers endurance racing in their latest installments.
Words can't describe how annoying this ladies tone of voice is. Especially if you have already muted the god awful music. She sounds like an overly optimistic SIRI from iPhone that you just want to strangle to death every time she mentions you're returning to one of the dozen tracks you've already raced seven times. I wish I could mute her as well.
I know it sounds silly to press a button for a clutch while shifting but you do get extra credits. In Forza 4 I raced with all simulated aspects on max meaning the most bonus credits you could get after finishing a race. I had it down in Forza 4, no problems at all clutching while shifting. However, in Forza 5 I can't for the life of me get it down without having to hold the clutch button down longer than it was in the previous installment. This isn't Turn 10's fault but I'm starting to think part of the reason is the controller design on the new XBOX One. The left and right shoulder buttons are poorly designed in comparison to XBOX 360 which itself was pretty poor designed as well. It just doesn't feel very fluid when pressing the button and sometimes you wonder if it's even pressing down at all. I was successfully clutching without error probably 50% of the time while in Forza 4 I clutched without fail. Only way around this is to get a racing pedal + steering wheel to clutch but unfortunately there's only one compatible steering wheel to my knowledge. I also tried changing the clutch button from LB to A button but that actually made matters worse. Because of this I race on all simulated featured turned to max besides shifting to just normal manual. This breaks the immersion for me because you don't need to let off the accelerator when shifting unless you somehow tolerate the terrible new clutch mechanic if you can find a suitable button combination other than LB for clutch.
When people compare Forza to GT many would say Forza had the edge because of the amazing car customization from the community. Yet, Forza 5 decided to remove important search features that makes finding the car design of your dreams pretty much impossible. It automatically pools up a small list of cars that looks like a twelve year old designed them. You might only find one or two interesting car designs in the automatic list. No problem, you can just do a manual search and see the most downloaded or most popular right? Wrong. You can only search by basic keywords only or search a specific user's car designs. I tried to find some cool anime designed cars by using the keywords Cartoon + Character but the most I could find was maybe a Kirby car or Mega Man car. Either the cool designs haven't been made yet or the search tool is to blame. We're a week from launch now and I'm still not finding anything of quality I could find in Forza 4 and I'm starting to fear that it's because the search tool is too limited. The cool designs could be out there but can't be found.
The new A.I. system called "Drivatar" sounds great in theory but is disappointing in action. Somehow I believe this system won't be returning in Forza 6 if they listen to the community. The first lap always feels like Destruction Derby from Psygnosis. There's no way around it either. If you slow down and try to avoid the inevitable collisions you will probably lose the race by allowing the top driver too much breathing room. The current system is just too sporadic and weird. I know the classic ways of everyone driving in perfect lines is boring but that's actually how it looks in real-life racing where the drivers don't want to fuck up their expensive race car or accidentally kill someone. The Drivatar system actually kills immersion more than gains. Unless of course people in real-life race like Cartman in the infamous South Park NASCAR episode.
Not enough cars, not enough tracks and not enough game modes.
I find it disturbing seeing the cars that are DLC on the first week in a game that doesn't have enough cars to begin with. Also, pay real money to unlock in-game cars that aren't DLC.
The reflection of the dash onto the windshield stood out to me the most. I just wish that damn sun would stop blinding me on most of the tracks. I get it Turn 10, the new engine is beautiful, now stop blinding me with the sun that never changes position!
The standout track for me was the Top Gear track with all the debris near the beginning of the game. Unfortunately, these fun challenges are few in-between the normal grind.
I just flat out love the videos with the Top Gear guy narrating (Jeremy Clarkson). The graphics, music and demonstration was done without flaw. However, why didn't they just have him talk all the time instead of hiring the SIRI sounding girl?
The graphics is the best I've ever seen in a racing simulator for a gaming console. Simply put, it's stunning and awe-inspiring.
The gameplay has the same basic formula but missing many features that Gran Turismo has to offer. Forza 5 needs more game modes for multi-player and an endurance racing mode to remain competitive. No night mode, no weather, the sun never changes position, etc. It's basically a tech demo showing off the power of the XBOX One, and it does this beautifully at least. The controls of the vehicles are as smooth as ever and it's actually really fun to drive. The Subaru BRZ for instance was a blast to drive with all the drifting you could do once you turn on the simulation mode.
Unless you're willing to fork out real money for more cars or tracks, there really isn't a reason to come back to the game. The car list is just too small and the track list gets boring quick. No night mode, no rain, the sun never changes position, etc. Forza 5 is very flawed with a general lack content and distasteful music, however I can't seem to put the controller down. The racing controls are as smooth and precise as ever.
OVERALL SUMMARY: 5/10
If you want to pay 60 dollars for a great looking tech demo, Forza 5 has you covered. Just make sure to mute the music if you plan to complete the game to 100% if you want to keep your sanity. However, Forza 5 has very smooth and precise handling taking advantage over the new Xbox One controller. It just feels great to drive. Unfortunately, the lack of content and micro-transactions hold back the game to it's fullest potential. Think of it as "Forza 6: Prologue".