Forza 3: Progress Part I

    I've had this game for a year and a bit so I've progressed quite far in it. But I'll start off by writing from the time I first played the game and work my way up chronologically. When you start the game, you'll be presented with a list of difficulty settings to choose from. There is easy, medium, hard and custom. Since I've played the demo before picking up this game, I found that easy and medium are too easy and hard was too hard. I decided to pick hard because I noticed that the less assists you use, the more money you earn which was a big enough incentive for me to try the hard difficulty setting. The first race you do is with an Audi R8 which I assume is the hero car on the game since it's on the cover. This race is more of a test to see which difficulty setting suits you the best. After losing the race I decided to alter my difficulty setting. I chose to stick with all assists off but changed the computer difficulty (the other driver's skill level) to medium which leaves me with a bonus of 90% compared to 100% cash bonus with hard computer difficulty. After that race, I was able to pick my first car which was a 2009 Ford Fiesta Zetec S. In career mode, you progress through seasons 1-6 with each season longer than the last and faster cars are used.

My primary car throughout season 1, Alfa Romeo Brera Italia Independent

     Season 1 uses cars mainly from F to E class cars which is good to start off. This is because slow cars generally allow a larger margin of error meaning you could make more mistakes while still having a chance of finishing first. I found that F class cars don't require assists because there is a very low chance that the brakes will lock up or your car will spin out of control. Very little money can be made in season one since you only earn about $2000 per race which may seem like a lot of money but it really isn't. The good part is that you can beat season 1 without spending any money since the cars you earn from leveling up will get by just fine even if you're not the best driver. I finished off season 1 without spending a dime and managed to save up about $20,000.

Forza 3: Gameplay

Camino Viejo de Montserrat in Spain

In this blog, I will review the overall appearance and the game play. First off, the graphics are simply stunning on a HDTV but still looks nice on my standard TV compared to some of my other games. The background is very detailed and each track is modeled very accurately including every tire mark and bump on the track. The cars received the same treatment as well both on the interior and exterior. View the photos below and the difference between Forza 3 and real life is barely noticeable.To compliment the amount of time spent on detail in this game, there is a photo mode where you are able to use various settings like brightness and contrast to make the cars seem as realistic as possible. Some of the photos I will be using in future blogs will be taken by me in game. The menus are sleek and organized making it very easy to navigate throughout the game.

Click to enlarge

 Although I do not have much experience behind the wheel of a car, the physics have been praised by many credible gaming sources such as IGN.com and Gamespot.com. The cars seem to handle a lot more realistically than other racing games I've played in the past such as Need for Speed Underground 2 and Test Drive Unlimited. When assists are put on, the cars feel generic at times as the handling is virtually the same for all cars. Turning the assists off is a different story. When you turn the assists off, you can actually feel the different handling properties of each car and there are no two cars that feel the exact same.

While playing this game, there are some faults that I have found or experienced which i will explain. The car model while racing seems to be lower quality than the models used in other parts of the game. When buying rims, you are only able to look at the car from the side rather than a complete 360°. If an opponent is behind you and you're exceeding 100mph (known as drafting) it invalidates your lap time which doesn't make much sense as it doesn't alter your lap time. On my standard TV, the font is too small so there should be an option that increases the font size. When quick race is selected, you are unable to choose the number of laps or what cars your opponents use. Other than these minor issues, the game is pretty solid and well presented.

Forza 3: Features

 Each and every one of the 500+ cars in Forza 3 are fully customizable which i will explain below

My first attempt at a design

Paint: Forza 3 has a diverse design editor that allows complex designs and pictures be drawn on cars. This takes a while to learn but if you're good, the possibilities are endless. Designs are drawn by using a variety of different shapes called layers. Each side of the car has a maximum of 1000 layers which is more than what most people will need. I haven't spent much time using the design editor but it is easy enough to make simple designs. Best of all, you are able to share your designs with other people through the "storefront" and you are also able to obtain designs drawn by other people in the Forza 3 community.



A design i found through the storefront.



Performance: Cars can be upgraded with parts to increase different aspects like handling and speed. These parts can either increase or decrease PI(Performance Index) which is a point system that categorizes cars into classes. For example, a car that is between 100 and 200 PI is in F class. If you upgraded a car that has 200PI, it is possible that it will move on to a higher class like E. The PI system is in place to keep cars competitive by racing cars in the same class.

This is where you tune your car.

Tuning: This is where you will need experience to utilize the tuning aspect of the game correctly. Luckily, it isn't required as inexperienced players like me will find very little difference whether their cars are tuned are not. Basically, the point of tuning is to adjust the car to fit your driving style by making changes to tire pressure, gear ratios and camber. These changes will help maximize the potential of your cars if done correctly but may also make your car worse than not tuning it at all if done incorrectly. For the most part, i don't bother with this but it's good to know that this feature is available as most racing simulators have it.

Forza 3: The Beginning

  Ever since i was little, i wanted to race cars but i couldn't. The closest thing i could get to racing in real life was racing in a video game. With today's technology, racing simulators like Forza Motorsport 3 come close to what it would feel like to race in real life. Since racing simulators aren't the easiest types of games to learn, Forza Motorsport 3 offers a variety of assists that make the game more forgiving for new players into the genre. Assists like auto-brake will make the game more enjoyable when racing with friends who have never played a racing game before. Arguably, cars are one of the most important elements in a racing game and Forza 3 has plenty. This game offers over five hundred cars with fully modeled interiors ranging from economy cars like the Ford Focus and the Honda civic to super cars like Ferrari Enzo and the Mclaren F1.



My first car in the game: 2009 Ford Fiesta Zetec S

  The game starts off by giving you a selection of cars and difficulty settings to choose from. They aren't the most appealing cars but they are just what you need to start learning how to play a racing simulator. Since this was my first racing simulator, this helped me develop skills required to play the game. When you start your first race, you are able to get a feel of how accurate the car handles compared to real life. For instance, when you are turning a sharp corner, you are able to feel the car's weight shift to one side. Each car feels and handles differently making them all unique in their own way. To add to the realism, the AI (artificial intelligence) drivers have human characteristics as they make mistakes from time to time whether it's braking too early or sliding off the track. After every race, you are given money depending on what place you come in which you could save and buy faster cars. Although driving fast cars is fun, driving slow ones was much more enjoyable than i thought. As you progress through levels, you are given a car every time you level up which lets you drive a variety of cars that you may have not considered buying. Cars are separated into classes depending on their speed, handling, acceleration, braking and launch. You will be driving slow cars that are in F class at first but as you progress in your career, you will be eligible to drive faster cars.

Introduction

I am an average gamer that plays a variety of genres such as racing. I've started playing video games when I was about seven years old playing simple games on the computer like checkers. It is one of my favorite hobbies as I spend a fair amount of time gaming. I use multiple platforms such as the computer and Xbox 360. Some games I play currently include Forza Motorsport 3 which is a racing game and DotA which is an RTS (Real time strategy). I believe that games are beneficial if you are able to moderate how long you play and prioritize your duties. Games can develop a plethora of skills that are needed throughout your life such as social skills, teamwork and hand eye coordination depending on the type of game. You will also learn how to problem solve and find quicker alternatives to tasks when playing video games. Despite these benefits, games can also be a disadvantage if you are unable to control how long you play. Some games also have no educational value especially those that just include useless killing. In this day in age, video games can be a crucial form of education as it is also entertaining therefore capturing the attention of the average student.