Forza 3 | First Impressions

Mike Rohde Says Let's get this out of the way: don't be like me and think you can install Disc 2 first and then go to Disc 1 to play the game. No, no, no. Save yourself a big headache and pop in Disc 1 first, enjoy the incredible opening scenes, and then follow the directions to install Disc 2. And don't forget to hit A after the install starts. Otherwise, it won't install. And you'll just sit there. Watching your screen and wondering what the heck is taking so long. Ok, now that we got that out of the way…

Forza 3 got me on the race track fast. Instead of starting off with creating a profile or choosing a car, it put me right into a race. As that first race was loading, I casually took a sip of my cold beverage, and as I was doing so the race finished loading…next thing I knew, I was sitting back in my chair watching a preview of the track...instead of quickly hitting A to start the introductory race. Yes folks, the graphics are good. They are stop-you-in-your-tracks good. I raced through the intro on Casual level and easily won. A quick and easy Achievement popped up and next thing I knew I was picking my first car…and yeah…I was a little disappointed I couldn't keep that sweet Audi I was just driving. Instead, I got a Honda Fit...

I chose the Honda Fit as my starting car because I'm the proud owner of an Accord and a CRV. I thought I'd choose a member of the family to get started in Forza 3. I did feel a little silly racing a Fit after racing the higher-class cars for so long in Forza 2. But whatever, I had to start somewhere.

I have to say, the racing wheel felt good and comfortable. It was nothing like my experiences playing Dirt or Need for Speed Most Wanted. Granted, those games are several years old and Forza 3 is the cream of the crop. It's very good to know there have been remarkable improvements in how the racing wheel handles. So far, there's been no learning curve to using the racing wheel controls. I did choose layout 3 to accommodate the hand brake on the right bumper instead of the B button. Anyone with a racing wheel will probably agree that the B button is hard to hit while going around corners.

To get started, I chose to race on the Easy level, and then quickly moved up to Medium after easily winning my first race. Then, I moved up to the Hard level after easily winning the second race on Medium.

After winning the second race, I had enough credits for a Quick Upgrade, which is a great new feature. In Forza 2, I had to sort through all the parts and then be careful to not outclass my car for the next event. Quick Upgrade removes all of the guesswork and got me right back on the track and into the race in no time at all. Essentially, it removes a lot of the work out of the game and keeps me behind the wheel and out of the shop. Hardcore enthusiasts can still customize and fine tune the cars, but for me, that's not enjoyable. I just want to race and Forza 3 allows me to do just that.

After a few tries, I did win my first race on the Hard difficult level and I moved my driver up a level and I earned a new car. It was pretty sweet.

I'm two hours into the game and have already earned several Achievements. One of those Achievements was for winning a race using the cockpit view. I gotta tell you, I've always stayed away from the cockpit view because I never felt that comfortable with it. I don't see the track as well, I don't see the other cars as well, and I don't get the sense of control like I do with an exterior view. Well, in Forza 3 that all changes. I raced twice in the cockpit view and it was a ton of fun. Yes, my view of the track was limited, and I couldn't see the other cars as well, but that actually improved the experience. It was kind of like a cloud-of-war effect that provided a more realistic driving sensation.

Some of the added effects of racing in the cockpit view include seeing the hood of the car dip down when I hit the brakes too hard, the view shook a bit when I drove off the road, and, the coolest part (and this actually made me laugh a bit) was an occasion when an opposing car slammed into the back of my car causing me to spin out of control. I was coming around the final corner, I was in first place, the finish line was within sight, then next thing I know I feel a jarring thud and my car is spinning out of control and I headed straight into the crash barriers! I was like, WHOA! What just happened? I turned on the new Rewind feature, watched the series of events happen in reverse (had to smile at seeing an opponent take me out on the final corner) and then I played it over again starting at the spot right before I got nudged. This time, I put on a little more gas and steered out of the way before I got hit. I won the race, and DING, I got another Achievement.

You can find me on the Xbox 360 as Jimmy James 70. Let's race some multiplayer!

The Xbox 360 Racing Wheel

JimmyJames70 Says My love for racing games all started with my first Xbox 360. The console came packaged with three games: Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero, and Project Gotham Racing 3. Kameo was quickly dismissed, I played through most of PDZ, but it was PGR 3 that really grabbed my attention. It took awhile for me to get a hang of the controls: you can’t always floor it and you gotta use finesse in the turns. I eventually traded it on Goozex and kinda sorta thought about trying another racing game.

I must have gotten sidetracked with many other games, because it was a long while before I got another racing game. The second one that I played was GRiD. I tried to get Burnout Paradise, but that game has a forever wait to it and I eventually put it on hold because I got GRiD, and then Forza 2, and then DiRT, and then Need for Speed Most Wanted… Anyway, after a couple of races with GRiD, I started kicking myself for not trying another racing game sooner. These games are action-packed with plenty of adrenaline and you need a finesse touch that most games don’t require.

After playing through much of GRiD, I decided I needed to have at least one racing game in my library at all times. At this point in time, I have two (Dirt and Need for Speed Most Wanted), and by the end of the month I’ll have three (Forza 3; I just sold Forza 2 through Goozex; otherwise, I’d currently have three racing games). I guess you could say I’m a geek for the racing games. And in all honesty, I’m not even all that good at playing them. I race on the easy level just so I can smoke past the AI. Sure, I put the difficulty up a notch or two every once in awhile, but by the time I reach the latter stages of the game, I’m back to easy. I don’t care. It’s fun. And that’s what’s important… which brings me to the point of this post: if you’re a fanatic for the racing games, you need the Xbox 360 racing wheel.

At first look, the official racing wheel is steep in price. The accessory retails at $100, and that doesn’t include tax and shipping. I did look for it at Wal-Mart, but they didn’t have it in stock and I’ve never noticed it at Target, or other places I unfortunately shop at (hey, don’t blame me, blame the economy). Given that, my attention turned to eBay. I was a bit hesitant purchasing a somewhat-pricey item through eBay, but I decided to give it a shot. It took a few days, but I eventually landed a winning bid at $63, roughly a little more than a standard controller. There was no sales tax and the shipping was reasonable. All in all, it was still far cheaper than paying retail.

The seller was Priced_Less_Products (no, they did not pay me for writing this) and apparently they have a ton of these in stock; winning bids range anywhere from $50 to $70. They seem to have a few on sale at any given time. The package was shipped and received in less than a week via UPS. The box was in rough shape, but the product was in like-new condition. In fact, if I was told it was brand-stinking new, I’d believe it.

How does playing a racing game with a racing wheel differ from playing with a controller? Believe me, it’s a world of difference. While it’s true it took several races for me to get a handle on the sensitivity and adjusting to where the e-brake is, after several attempts, I was a racing pro. It is completely awesome. Last night, I played Need for Speed Most Wanted for a straight three hours before realizing how late it was getting. I was having that much fun. I now want to play the entire series of Need for Speed games, and I’m looking forward to Forza 3 as much as I’m looking forward to Modern Warfare 2.

Everything from the look-and-feel of the wheel and the pedals is so cool. The wheel has a great grip on it, the pedals feel like a real car, and the resistance and tumble effects make the standard controller feel, well, it makes it feel standard.

If you ever thought about getting the racing wheel and never have, I do strongly suggest getting one. It really changes the whole game and allows you to fall even deeper into the game. In simple words: it’s awesome.

Racing on the 360

Pure is an adrenaline pumping, non-stop racing game that allows you to perform tricks on your ATV while flying through the air. The game is exaggerated, for sure, and the demo might get you hooked. However, The Goozex Report recommends holding off on purchasing Pure, and waiting for it to drop in value before requesting it. In the meantime, there are plenty of other racing options to choose from.

The cream of the crop appears to be Forza Motorsport 2 and the runner up is the Burnout series, which has recently added downloadable content. If you favor something not-so-in-depth, and more geared towards racing than crashing, then the arcade style Project Gotham Racing 3 is your best bet.

If you’re brand new to Goozex and want to spend your free 100 points, then go ahead and trade for PGR 3. Why not? It’s a great game for it’s time and serves as an excellent introduction to the racing genre. You might want to stay away from PGR 4. After playing the demo, it appears the franchise has run out of steam and ideas. The demo plays almost exactly like PGR 3, but with motorcycles added to the mix. If someone else picked up the job of producing PGR 5, it would probably be a good thing.

DiRT and GRiD round out the top picks. DiRT takes you off roading and GRiD has you traveling the continents. The GRiD demo is very worthwhile to checkout and will have you waiting patiently for it to start dropping in value. Stay tuned, and The Goozex Report will let you know when that happens.

Electronic Arts, surprisingly enough, appears to have hit a brick wall with their Nascar series. Both their 08 and 09 titles failed to impress the critics. Maybe you should steer clear of EA when it comes to racing?

Contributing writer, Blake Grundman, has this to say on Forza 2 and the rumored take over of the PGR series:

Forza Motorsport 2 was Microsoft Game Studios first venture into the world of racing simulation on next generation consoles. Turn 10 Studios developed the game to be the most realistic racing simulation ever released. Another selling point of Forza 2 was the game’s custom design, which was tuned to utilize the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel to its full potential. To assure the game was an authentic representation of racing, professional drivers were brought in throughout the development process, helping to hone and perfect the racing experience.

All of the extra time and effort proved to be very beneficial, with Forza 2 creating a level of realism that rivaled the likes of the Grand Turismo franchise. Features like custom designed paint jobs, the ability to share cars, and a fully integrated online community, drove Forza 2 to become one of the most ambitious Microsoft Game Studio releases to date.

However, this did not make the game perfect. Players complained that the tuning and balance of vehicles, while extremely detailed and complex, would create a rift too large for new players to bridge. In many cases, this proved to be true, with online numbers dwindling in recent months. Despite the outcry, Forza Motorsport 2 has been universally well received by critics, and securing a Forza sequel for developer Turn 10.

In more recent rumors, it looks like Turn 10 may also be taking control of the Pro Gotham Racing franchise. When PGR’s developer, Bizarre Creations, left Microsoft Game Studios earlier this year many assumed that Turn 10 would take over PGR 5’s development. According to sources within Turn 10, it looks like this might in fact be the case. There could be an announcement on this rumor as soon as September 25, so stay tuned. For more information see Kombo.com.