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Forza Motorsport

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Forza Motorsport

Developer(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Publisher(s)	Microsoft
Released	^USA May 3, 2005 ^JPN May 12, 2005 ^PAL May 13, 2005
Genre	Racing
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Ratings	ESRB: E (Everyone)
Platform(s)	Xbox

Forza Motorsport is a racing simulator video game developed by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox gaming system. Since its release it has been heralded as one of the most realistic racing simulators for any of the popular gaming consoles. It was shipped to stores on May 3 2005. The name Forza means "strength" in Italian. Many people were confused when Forza was first announced, because Microsoft already had a flagship racing game in the form of the Project Gotham Racing series. The primary difference between the two is that Forza aims to be a very accurate simulation whereas PGR has much more of an arcade feel. Forza is circuit-based while PGR is mainly city-based (although some of the tracks in Forza are present). Forza is also notable for its ability to realistically model damage to cars, from both a cosmetic and a performance standpoint, which was (and still is) a very impressive feat in terms of acquiring the licenses for the 200+ cars. This changes the way the game is played, in contrast to the Gran Turismo series, as collisions with barriers and other cars will alter the car's handling, top speed and acceleration. More noticeably, spoilers and bumpers can be knocked off cars, paint can be scraped off and windows can be smashed completely (however, the front window however can only be shattered). Microsoft did not, however, get permission from car manufacturers to depict cars rolling over. The cover art features a tuned Acura NSX racing against a tuned Nissan 350Z.

1 Gameplay
2 Physics engine
3 Reception
4 Forza Motorsport 2
5 External links

Gameplay

Cars

There are 231 cars in Forza Motorsport ranging from a Honda Civic to supercars such as the Enzo Ferrari and Le Mans race prototypes such as the Audi R8. The cars are separated into 6 classes named D, C, B, A, S and R.

Class D: Standard production vehicles such as the Ford Focus and Chrysler PT Cruiser GT
Class C: Sports cars such as the Impreza WRX STi and Lancer Evo VIII
Class B: Performance cars such as the Porsche Boxster and Ford Mustang
Class A: High performance cars such as the TVR Tuscan S and Dodge Viper
Class S: Supercars such as the Enzo Ferrari, Koenigsegg CC8S and Porsche Carrera GT
Class R: Purpose-built race cars (non-production vehicles) such as the Bentley Speed 8 (These are cars that cannot be customized in any way.)

Each class, except class R, has 4 subclasses with 1 being higher and 4 being lower rated. Upgrading by tuning or buying new parts can move cars between classes except class R (no car can enter or leave class R). There are 3 subcategories of class R:

R-GT: Racing cars (Grand Touring) such as the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe
R-GTS: Higher performance race cars such as the Saleen S7R (a racing variant of the S7)
R-P1: Racing prototypes, mostly LMP's these cars weigh around 900 kg with roughly 450 kW examples include the Bentley Speed 8 and the McLaren F1 GTR

Like Gran Turismo, each car can be upgraded and tuned with a large number of extras and parts. Upgrades are separated into 3 categories; engine/power, appearance/aerodynamics and chassis/drivetrain. There is a wide range of tuning available including tire pressure (which changes during races due to temperature), down force, gear ratios and limited slip differential.

Customization

One feature is the ability to change the look of your car, from changing the color to applying decals. The tool set is somewhat difficult to use for novices, but when used properly it is possible to create some very striking designs. Though Microsoft may not have intended it, the community surrounding the game has allowed the decal feature to take on another level of complexity. Through the use of various open-source tools written and made available on the Internet, a user can edit the "decals.bin" file that ships with the game, and insert their own custom decal and vinyls, allowing almost infinite customization. However, this requires the user to own an Xbox that has either been mod-chipped or soft-modded, along with the game being copied onto another media, preferably the Xbox's own internal hard drive. Some people are artistic enough to make their own artistic decals with the customization features in the Apply Decals section.

Circuits

Forza contains a mix of licenced, street, point to point (P2P) and original circuits. The licensed tracks include Road Atlanta, Silverstone, Laguna Seca, Tsukuba, Road America, and Nürburgring Nordschleife. In addition to these, Forza also contains a wide variety of autocross, oval, and drag strip courses. The longest track included in Forza Motorsport is Nürburgring Nordschleife at 13.04 miles (20.99 km). The longest multiplayer race allowed is 75 laps which would total 978 miles or 1,574 km on the Nordschleife. 8 minutes per lap (roughly an average speed of 100 mph) would result in a 10 hour race. The distance is equivalent to traveling almost entirely from the Canadian border to the Mexican border via the western coast, and is over 200 miles longer than traveling the entire vertical length of Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats). A similar real annual event took place on the real track until 1983, but has since been held on the shorter Grand-Prix-Strecke course.

Physics engine

One of Forza Motorsport's most-lauded features is its physics engine. Like any racing simulator, Forza Motorsport calculates a car's performance in real time using physical data (for example, the weight of a car's engine, its drag coefficient, etc.). The result is a driving game that many believe matches closely with real life. In 2005, Popular Science magazine tested this effect by inviting a professional race-car driver and an amateur car enthusiast to drive identical cars on an identical track in both Forza Motorsport and the real world. Each driver's track times matched closely from his performance on the real track and in virtual reality. [1]

Reception

Much like Sony's Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsports' debut was both a commercial and critical success. It sold more than 1 million copies worldwide (both stand-alone and through console bundling) and it received rave reviews from such media outlets like 1UP.com, IGN, Eurogamer and more.

1UP.com: 10 out of 10 (100%)
GamePro: 5 out of 5 (100%)
GameBiz.com: 10 out of 10 (100%)
GamePlanet.co.nz: 5 out of 5 (100%)
Electronic Gaming Monthly: 9.83 out of 10 (98.3%)
Xbox.IGN.com: 9.5 out of 10 (95%)
GameSpot.com: 9.2 out of 10 (92%)
GameSpy.com: 4.5 out of 5 (90%)
EuroGamer.net: 9 out of 10 (90%)
Games Master Magazine: 89% (89%)

The game was also featured in the June 2004 issue of Popular Science.

Forza Motorsport 2

Main article: Forza Motorsport 2

Shane Kim, one of Microsoft Game Studios' executives, confirmed that all of their first-party game franchises will definitely have sequels on the Xbox 360 console. After Microsoft's Press Conference at E3 2006, a CG, non-gameplay trailer was shown proving that a sequel was in fact in the works. Forza franchise’s lead game designer Dan Greenawalt was quoted as saying that it has a "commitment to creating motor sports mastery under a strenuous Holiday 2006 release deadline" showing a hopeful launch window of Q4 2006. Dan has stated that "(Forza 2) will have a dedicated graphical frame rate of around 60fps, without combining the physics frequency in with this figure. Expect a physics refresh in the several hundreds, which, when combined with a high graphical framerate, equates to a very complex and smooth running experience." On January 26, 2007, in an article on the official community site, Turn 10 Studios announced the game's release date would be in May 2007. On April 5, 2007, JCPR in London issued a press release confirming rumors of a downloadable demo soon to be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. It stated that details of the timing would be confirmed "in the coming weeks". It also quoted Game Director Dan Greenawalt as saying the game would, "redefine what it means to be a racing simulator". The release finally added the list of Aftermarket Tuner Car Classics to the list of new cars on the Forza Motorsport website.