Forza Horizon

Get beyond the cynical positioning of Forza Horizon and you'll find a racer that is, ironically, as efficient and refined as it's older, more mature, siblings. Whether it can build a community as effectively as the Motorsport games is unlikely, but Horizon, for all its familiarity and reluctance to experiment, is still a fine addition to the Xbox 360's roster.

Forza Horizon is a fresh branch on the Forza tree. It is truly a pleasure to drive the beautiful cars pedal to the metal through the magnificent scenery, but Forza Horizon feels a little bit inconsistent at times.

With Forza Horizon, Microsoft Games succeeds in blending the Forza spirit with open-world gameplay. It's an all-new atmosphere for racers to discover, with miles and miles of roads to race on with a true driving experience and sensations. But this new open-world philosophy could have been better exploited with more variety and fun, especially in multiplayer ; as is, it feels a little incomplete.

I'm disappointed with the new Forza, but not because it's a poor game or one that doesn't meet my expectations. It's a really good game, but there's no big ambition. You play it and you put it away. The first admiration fades away quickly and later on it is evident, that the developers lacked ideas for filling an open world with content. It looks as if the new Forza is a framework that will be filled by the means of DLC. How else can you think about it, when all the game's secrets can be revealed by using real money? It can be done using the game's virtual currency as well, but it will take more time. Playground's new game is a technological gem and nothing more.

Thanks to a sloppy handling model, it lacks the precision required of its predecessor, so sim racers will probably struggle with the controls. Meanwhile arcade racers will struggle with more advanced driving techniques such as counter steering and throttle feathering. If you can get your mind into the right headspace for the game, approaching it as an arcade game with complex controls, there's definitely fun to be had here. It's just not up there with the likes of games dedicated to arcade or sim, but not both, such as Hot Pursuit or Forza 4.

In Forza Horizon, racing is rubbing, wrecking, banging, and rewinding. Without a meaningful economy, there's no incentive to drive anything other than completely wrecklessly. The driving physics concur. This is one of those games that has no solution to the problem of videogames teaching kids that the best way to keep inside a turn is to bounce off the side of another car. Bounce off other cars, rear end the guy in front of you to slow down, and cut across corners with impunity.