Forza Motorsport 3 Review

Recently I was allowed the experience of a few hours gameplay of Forza Motorsport 3. Developed by Microsoft exclusively for Xbox 360, this game boasts loads of great features. First of which is the way the game looks whilst playing. There a number of views available to drive from, including an in car view which is amazingly realistic. But the scenery, too, is stunning as you whizz past in 5th gear.

There is also a nice selection of cars to choose from, not as many as Gran Turismo, but still quite a few. What is quite annoying is you have to download some of the later cars from the Xbox Live store, why can't they just be there from the beginning? I liked the way the cars were grouped, with ranks by letter, it was useful for 1vs1 split screen races.

Talking about split screen, it too was good. There was a nice choice of how you could each have different settings, even if it took a long time. What wasn't so good, though, was the sound. It had both car's engines revving and they clashed like hell. Unless you are focused on making a symphony of revs then best mute it and listen to some music.

One great feature is the pause and shoot mode. This allows you to pause your race (not online) and take a screenshot of your car, which you can edit with amazing results. If you head over to its website then you will be able to see the amazing shots which gamers have taken and uploaded to the net.

I didn't have long with the career mode, but the start was good. The customisation of cars is excellent and the option to sell them online is even better. On the subject of online play, the lobby is really easy to use. With games pre-set up to difficulty and sometimes car groups it is a breeze to find a race to join. One fun feature is the "It" game, where it is tig but one person is it and everyone else has to smash their cars into that person to be "it". Great if damage is on, and a great laugh anyway.

So, Forza 3, an amazing effort for a driving game. Beautifully laid out, with wonderful graphics. A couple of bad points can't get in the way of this being a fantastic driving game, a must buy for any driving enthusiast.