Browsing in WH Smiths in Meadowhall yesterday we chanced upon this title for the xbox at the utterly petrolicious price of £1.99 - BARGAIN GET! Comparisons with Gran Turismo 4 on the PS2 are invidious, so let's make some.
Graphics wise, there's not all that much to compare between them. The PS/2 is slightly sharper but the xbox boasts more detail, particularly on the city tracks. Forza really scores in the car stakes - it models damage to the cars in considerable detail (something that is noticeably lacking from GT4) and losing your spoiler not only costs you money, it can drastically affect the handling of your car.
Forza also beats GT4 in a number of other respects. The suggested driving line (an option that can be switched on at the cost of some potential winnings) responds in real time to the speed that you are actually driving at, making it far more useful than the GT4 equivalent. There are the same sort of race challenges in both games, but Forza wins an important point by telling you when your current car is not eligible and showing which of your cars you can use without making you go back to your garage and hunt through the list to find something suitable. Custom soundtracks are another good thing for anybody that has tired of the rather limited choice in GT4.
GT4 had the B-Spec mode and Forza has the Drivatar - an AI driver that you train to match your particular style by racing a series of sample courses and demonstrating how you handle particular types of corners. B-Spec in GT4 felt like more of a cheap way of racking up prize money than the Drivatar which makes you work somewhat harder for less reward (winnings are cut to 25%).
The driving experience in Forza is much more visceral than GT4 - it's difficult to pin down exactly why, but part of it is that the xbox pad with two analogue triggers for accelerate and braking just feels more comfortable than the rather awkward dual shock.
On balance, highly recommended.
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