Is Forza Forza anymore?
Yes, don't be stupid. What kinda question is that?
Forza Horizon is pretty much the same game all you Forza fans know and love except with a more arcade style control system. Now don't you fret, you can go back to the simulation style Forza is know for, with an added bonus of a bigger reward percentage for the added difficulty. However, for the average racing enthusiast, you can look forward to a Burnout Paradise feel without the crazy crashing.
Based in a made-up city in lovely Colorado, Forza Horizon's story is pretty simple. You're a racer who gets into the heat (group of racers who compete in Horizon) and your one goal is to be the most popular racer. So basically be a bad-ass, motherfucker, i.e. drift around every corner, run into every sign you see, be a daredevil threading your way through traffic and overall be completely and utterly insane. One rule and one rule only, don't stop your combo, meaning don't start t-boning traffic or other racers while watching out for guard rails and bushes. Oh god! The bushes! They'd stop a tank, I swear.
Now besides the industrial strength bushes, Turn 10 and Playground Games made a fantastic racing game with a first-rate single player and I think the meat of the game is in said single player. They do the races in a brilliant way. Here's an example: I bought the best car in the game with tokens ($5 for 5+1 for free), however, each race has certain criteria and unless your car meets that criteria you can't use it. Meaning, you can buy the best car in the game and it doesn't do you much good in races. That being said, you can race racers you find in the street. While on the street, watch out for the discount signs. When you find them make sure you smash them into bits for a discount on upgrades.
You earn money fairly quickly and you can win cars by winning showcase events. For example, the first showcase you race in is you in a 1970 Mustang against a plane. Yes, you read that right, I said a plane. Now I'm not talking about jet planes I'm talking about straight prop propeller plane. It's fantastic fun.
In the multiplayer I had a bit of a lag problem to the point where a racer was flying for about a 1/4 mile. Other than the flying car (which might have been a ping problem) I quite enjoyed the multiplayer. My personal favorite is infected. Standard infection rules, one guy is infected, the rest aren't. Run
Now I'm not a big achievement guy, but this game is making me fight the urge to 100% it. Overall this game is fantastic in single player with a less than best multiplayer and if I were you, I would definitely not miss this if you're looking for some fun by yourself.
