My sixth completed game of 2011 is Forza Motorsport 3 from Turn 10 Studios.
Racing games aren’t really my forté, as I’m not particularly interested in cars and I tend to get bored watching motor sports. Every now and again though, a game will come along that grabs my interest and entertains me to the point where I forget why it is that I shouldn’t like it. Sometimes it can be arcade style delights, like Ridge Racer Revolution or Burnout 3: Takedown, and sometimes, although less frequently, it can be a “proper” racing game.
This has only happened once before, with Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec on the PS2, I was absolutely hooked by the brilliance of that game when it was released in 2001. Fast forward ten years and I’ve had nothing like it rev my engines, so to speak, until I happened upon Forza 3. It wasn’t ever my intention to play this game, but my dad bought an Xbox 360 at Christmas with a copy of Forza 3 as well, so I figured I would pick up a copy in order to play online with him. After having a few races together I was starting to feel the buzz once more and I have been playing it on and off since the year began.
What I liked the most about Forza was the sheer amount of choice. There are literally hundreds of cars available, all of which are customisable, both operationally and aesthetically, and you can participate in a racing career that spans numerous years, during which you are free to choose from a multitude of racing events, tailored around the abilities or make of car you are currently using. Don’t like the choice of races you’re presented with? Then all you do is switch to a different car to get a different selection.
So six racing seasons later (approximately 30 hours of play) I’ve reached the end of my epic career, and only two achievements short of joining the 1k club! Despite giving me the “Forza Finger” and a lack of night races, I have to tip my hat to Turn 10 for making a racing game that I found to be nothing short of excellent.
