Quick Look: Forza Motorsport 7

Stealth Quick Look

Is it just me or does the UI for this game look kind of plain and ugly? Like it's just a temporary developer mock up lacking any real polish.

Everything in games nowadays is about the tech trees, unlocks, skins, shaders, cosmetics, mystery crates, loot boxes, loot drops, currency, etc. etc. and I can understand why, but every time I see one of these elements in a game my interest is diminished a little bit more.

LOOT Boxes are a cancer on the industry, I'd appreciate it if the Giant Bomb staff would more directly call developers out on their shady gambling tactics. These developers and publishers are just as bad as casinos in the way they prey on addictive tendencies in people.

I'm OK with loot boxes if they ONLY use in-game currency, which cannot be bought for real money. This game is ridiculously expensive if you get the ultimate edition, yet they still want to bleed the consumer for more. So depressing but I guess that's the way it's going.

It wouldn't surprise me if in a few years, games are part of a subscription package to Sony/Microsoft, like Netflix is to films and microtransactions infest every game.

Look, Cartunes.

Hm, I don't think I mind Jeff's progression complaints, at least at a precursory glance. Progression in Forza games has always felt incredibly meaningless to me so the idea of having to work up to better cars seems like an overall good thing. I haven't spent any time with the game yet so maybe my mind will change when/if I do, but not being able to buy overpowered cars right away doesn't seem bad.

I want casino tactics to leave video games. I know they've been there for a long time but I feel like they are rapidly becoming more prominent and insidious than during the arcade heyday.

Even if they don't require real money (yet) I still think they poison video games and rob them of (some of) their fun.

No game should have loot boxes.

Forza Business-sport 7

I'm now starting to think Loot Boxes are becoming a shoe-in for the "Please, stop" award this year.

I haven't played FH3 last year but very early this year, I have to say that its still one of my most fav racing games of all time. Dunno about this game however of what I can tell. More of the same good stuff is always good I guess. It sure looks amazing actually.

@larmer: Agreed. They're so disconnected from the actual game and game interaction that I can't even find a reason to have those in them.

If they find a way to make loot boxes more immersive then I think they would be way more accepted, as it is already in many game. In terms of in game purchases where you don't spend real money for loot boxes, things like item chests you know from hack and slash games aren't really all that different from them. You really never know what to get exactly. Defeating a boss and opening a big chest that drop random and sometimes extremly rare items instead is just way more rewarding.

Just having a disconnected list where you scroll down random crap is just easier to make I guess instead of having gameplay connected to it for some reason.

I guess these sort of business practises won't stop entirely until either enough people are fed up, which have to be like a country full of people, or making up interesting and gameplay friendly ways to include them instead of being basically like a RNG-casino.

@biggusbennus: Don't even freaking joke about that.

Just started playing the game myself. I don't think I'll mind the progression stuff as much as Jeff seems to.

I haven't played a Forza Motorsport since 3, so everything feels fresh to me. That probably helps.

do I see me some ANIME??

I love Giant Bomb with all my heart, but this Quick Look is truly embarrassing.

I'll probably stick with Horizon 3 or move to Gran Turismo Sport and Project Cars 2. No more loot crates, please.

I hate sweeping comments like "motorsports are dry" from people that don't watch them like B&J made in this vid.

The Drama of F1 and it's personalities alone is more than enough to disprove this insanely misinformed comment.

If you're not into the concept of motorsports at all that's cool, not everyone's taste is the same. But don't make sweeping judgments about the entire thing based on this, they could EASILY make a madden/nba style story mode for a game like this. A poor kid rising from driving old busted karts made by his working class dad to the top flight of F1 like Lewis Hamilton did is a perfect motorsport story suited for game progression.

@sushix: You wouldn't happen to have played a lot of FH3? I have a rival on the game named SushiXXX who always seems to beat my times. Pretty fun to compete on that game.

Jeff complaints are pretty personal as he stated. Theres no arguing with if a person thinks something is fun but having spent around 5 hours so far, every criticism I've heard does not manifest itself in a vastly different experience playing. Besides the fact I think there are arguments to support a more meaningful progression by having later cars unlocked later.

Again, no arguing how a person feels. In general I agree with Jeff often. I just think he's a little off the mark on the progression.

These loot boxes are getting old man. Forza Horizon 3 had me pumped for a PC version of serious Forza, and then they pull this shit.

Loot boxes are killing my excitement for video games.

Ha. Guess you haven't seen any of the recent Destiny raid, wherein Giant Bombers get excited to unlock random colors for their pants. Or the DOTA streams. Or that time Jeff bought a cache of loot boxes in Overwatch and everyone excitedly gathered around to watch him unwrap his crack rock boxes. No one here is gonna be calling anybody out until it's too late and doesn't matter anymore. (Which might already be the case.)

Anyway, congrats to the Forza team on poisoning your game. Guess you learned nothing from Forza 5. Easy hard pass on this one.

It is really odd to be complaining about real tracks in realistic driving games. Although I suppose Gran Turismo games do have more track variety compared to this with city street courses and fictional tracks along with real race courses. Although to be perfectly honest, I'd be fine with a game that only has the Nurburgring.

Ugh. I just found they removed AI from private races in multiplayer. It was in Forza 6... friends plus AI is the only way I play online.

Man. Giant bomb needs a car guy.

Also your little avatar character acts like they just got super high, cant stand still, and doesnt know what to do with themselves

B: 'Do you like anime?'

J: 'Love it'

I got some better rocks for you guys.

@dray2k: @biggusbennus: If you ask me blind boxes are always, always bad. I just want to buy the thing I want. I don't want to buy a 1/1000 chance to get the thing I want. That holds regardless of if the currency is real or not. Grind is bad, guys.

I must admit I am surprised that the reaction to the progression system that clearly is in service of their gambling system in a premium price game is treated just as "a little dodgy". It doesn't need to be another video of someone getting angry - there's enough unhelpful and toxic coverage like that already, but at least something else would be good.

Maybe??

NEVER

@dray2k: The original concept of loot boxes isn't terrible, I guess. When you went down into a dungeon and found a chest full of random treasures it made sense. But they've been so perverted now and used to purposely manipulate players is such rotten ways. So now when I hear a game includes them I have an immediate reaction of disgust and disappointment. No matter how they're used the mechanic has been so polluted, tarnished, and spoiled that no developer can use them without being suspect.

It was the DLCs, now it is the Loot Boxes/VC/whatever name the developer deigns to label own version of ripping gamers to their last penny. It is more ingrained, indelible part of the gaming experience, the sinew that strings our attention together from pay prompt to pay prompt, making us addicted and addled to this vapid form of meaningless entertainment called gambling saddled on now rotten husk of what made gaming at least worthwhile. The concept of mobile free-to-play games boring itself and infesting the rest of gaming industry. Is there regulation to this? No, it's the race to the bottom on how low we can bend over, and how hard they can ram us in their pay to win schemes. And here's the real head scratcher, this game isn't free!

As someone who owns a modern hot hatch. Pray for me.

The more I've seen of the new Forza (and I've been buying the games since 1), the less I've liked.

@sgtkillsington: agreed. It also encourages legal gambling for children. I know it might sound a bit dramatic, but I wonder how kids growing up playing loot box filled games will be with adult gambling.

I love how Jeff is describing Forza 7 the same way he did Drive Club. Boring, bland, with no since of aim or progression. Looks like PS4 came full circle. They won this console cycle and broke even with Microsoft's top racing series.

As an aside holy shit is Horizon 3 looking good on PC nowadays...

e: part of the problem in that I still want this. Paid $100 to play Horizon 3 early as I quite loved Horizon 2. Really showing restraint right now as I realize this is kinda bad progression, as well as I haven't played quite enough of Forza 6/Horizon 3.

(I will probably get it down the line, eventually...)

I really like the progression system in Forza 7, because the shitty cars are still fun to drive and there's enough variety in the events (and you don't have to do all the events to progress). I don't see a reason to spend real money in the game (especially because if you want to play this on PC, you already need to spend way too much money), but trying to ignore the microtransaction stuff has never been more difficult and having a voice that keeps telling you to use mods is annoying. I wish they would just let you turn all that stuff off, but I guess that's never gonna happen.

Reviewers need to start to give 1/10 to these nonsense lootcrates focused shit games. At least give a good point reduction

To be fair, Jeff was referring to Forza Motorsport the series, as opposed to Horizon, not motorsport in general.

@zabant said:

Kind of sad that my favorite driving series has sunk so low since this bullshit started in Forza 5. Blind boxes are awful and provide no benefit to the consumer. Especially at the expense of taking away features and items that were freely available in prior titles. I say that as someone who played too many hours in Forza 3 and 4.

Also, let's not kid ourselves: Progression is code for 'padding the game out'. There's no reason not to offer more choice to the player from the get-go. In a driving simulator game, the real progression should come from learning how to drive a car in particular racing conditions. Merely unlocking a car proves nothing except that you have time on your hands, can put up with awfully steep grind curves and possibly developed a Pavlovian response.

If you need to employ gambling tactics to get me to pay more, it shows me you have no faith in the product you're offering and therefore, I've got no motivation to give you more money.

I hit that track problem like Jeff back in the 360 days. You can add as many cars as you want but the sheer lack of tracks is always going to mean eventual boredom. It baffles me, considering just how many circuits there are in the world, that there is always so very few options to race on.

I would easily have half as many cars if it meant twice as many tracks. But it seems that is never going to happen so I long stopped playing Driving Sims like Forza and GT.

What are they complaining about? they all bought lootboxes in Battlegrounds.

That looks like one sterile piece of software.

@zabant: The time is now. The world is ready.

F1 OTOME GAME!

The driving is really fun. I'm enjoying it and don't feel the need to buy any of the loot game boxes, even with in game currency.

People are focused on the loot boxes, while the worst part of the game is the homologation or whatever. I understand the purpose of it (cleaning up leaderboards and multiplayer where someone just powers through bad driving). The problem is, half the fun of Forza was taking a crappy car, then upgrading it and tuning it to compete out of its league. This also sometimes results in the car you select being tuned down from stock in order to meet the requirements. It makes the racing better a lot of times, but it removed the fun of upgrading, tuning, and testing.

Where is the "build a dumb car and take it for a spin" mode? The driving is good, all of the races have been fun and exciting, but they took all of the personality out of it.

Project Cars 2 looks to by my racer for the near future. More interesting career mode, and you can just take any car out and set up a race how you want it. It doesn't have the parts upgrades, but neither does Forza anymore (not in a way that matters). I'm having enough fun to justify my purchase, but this thing has no legs unless they take out the upgrade restrictions.

The loot boxes I don't care about. VIP was purposely misleading and they need to do something about that as well.

To be clear, this is the best driving in a Forza Motorsport game, if that's what you want. Just some of the other stuff is a bummer.

Personally I feel "loot boxes" need to be banned. Whether they are purchasable using real or in game currency they feel like a first step to gambling. If you are rewarded with one that is slightly different, but the moment you choose to spend any form of currency on one it's gambling.

The real reason this stinks in Forza though is the way the game has been built to encourage the use of "loot boxes" and the inevitable inclusion of microtransactions. The car collection system means that you need to collect a bunch of cars you probably don't want in order to unlock the ability to purchase the cars you do want. Or purchase "loot crates", you might get them sooner.

Purchasing the VIP or ultimate edition used to get you 100% Cr boost all the time, now it only gets you it for 25 races. If you want Cr boosts you need the mod cards, which of course come in loot crates.

The racing/driving is better than ever and I'm actually enjoying the game but some of the things around it stink.

Just a quick comment to correct Jeff and Brad: Forza Motosport 2 was on the 360. Only the first game was on the original Xbox. The only Forza games I played before 6 were the original two. I loved Forza 1. Stepping into 6 was daunting. UI is a mess.