E3 2015: Forza Motorsport 6 Preview – Righting the Wrongs of Forza 5

E3 2015: Forza Motorsport 6 Preview – Righting the Wrongs of Forza 5

19
Dan Webb

I like Forza. It’s been a good Xbox staple for many years now and Turn 10 has proved year after year that it knows what it's doing with the franchise. However, if I’m being completely honest, recently it seems as if the studio has lost its way a bit. First things first: I’m purely talking Motorsport here. Forza Horizon has been a wonderful offspring that continues to excel.

Let me clarify what I mean. Forza Motorsport 5 was light on content, a fairly limited package for the gamer who has been used to getting almost too much content from their Forza franchise; and fundamentally, the franchise that used to be a trendsetter, has fallen behind while other franchises (even those under the Forza umbrella) have pushed forward offering full weather engines and full night/day cycles.

Enter Forza Motorsport 6, Turn 10’s answer to that very issue. Let’s talk content, of which there is a metric fuck ton.

At the core of Forza Motorsport 6 is its career, the aptly dubbed 'Stories of Motorsport', a 70-hour experience that offers players the chance to celebrate the whole 'car passion' that Forza has always been about. The Stories of Motorsport is broken down into five different volumes, which is further broken down into series – think of them like chapters – and that is further broken down into divisions.

What does that mean? Essentially, lots of races, different car classes to jump into, and loads of different race types to tackle. The Forza Horizon 2 prize spinner will also make its way into Forza 6 in what Turn 10 is calling an evolution of that, making it more interactive for players.

On top of all this Forza 6 will also have 'Showcase Events', 80 in all, which are small vignette events with unique cars, things like AutoCross, Endurance events and reliving some of the greatest moments in racing history, all of which will be narrated by drivers and professional enthusiasts. You’ll also be able to apply 'mods' to races too, which challenge the player to perform certain feats (win without rewinds, win from the back of the pack) for more credits and XP.

From a stats perspective, Forza Motorsport 6 is all about the numbers. The game contains 450 Forza Vista cars, 148 unique drivable surfaces – both with properties for wet and dry – 26 race destinations (including the all new Rio De Janeiro, Brands Hatch, and classics like Daytona, Yas Marina, and more) and will of course be delivered in 1080p at 60 frames per second. Your Drivatar will return also, with all your stats carried over from Forza 5 and Horizon 2.

Let’s talk weather and night racing for a second, because that’s clearly this year’s biggest gameplay addition. Let’s get the bad news out the way first, there’s no day to night transitions – like Project CARS – and there are no weather changes mid-race either. Turn 10 wants to deliver a specific experience, as opposed to using dynamic weather and time of day.

You will get to experience what Turn 10 is calling “3D puddles” with aquaplaning, all of which will have accurate drag, and some stunning visuals to boot. You’ll also be able to experience the harrowingly bright highs of the night races at Yas Marina all the way to the terrifyingly dark back stretch of Le Mans like never before… or so we're told.

From a multiplayer perspective, Forza Motorsport 6 introduces what Turn 10 likes to call 'Leagues'. These are ranked, competitive races with strictly enforced divisions based on your temperament and skill, something Turn 10 will be revealing more about this summer.

Previous Forza players will be treated like royalty in Forza 6 too through the Forza Hub. Forza 6 will be looking at past garage sizes, tiers and what not from Forza 2 through to Forza Horizon 2, and will be rewarding players as a result. In fact, players can be rewarded with cars and up to 25 million credits, so past players will be getting a windfall of rewards this coming September. Turn 10 has also promised Logitech and Fanatec steering wheel support too.

With weather effects and night racing, plus a whole slew of other content, Forza Motorsport looks to be back in the race. Sure, it’s not offering the same sort of customisation options as the impressive Project CARS when it comes to weather and time of day, but it’s a start. Baby steps. What’s clear with Forza Motorsport 6 is this: there is a shit ton of content, addressing Forza Motorsport 5’s fundamental downfall.

Forza Motorsport 6 is scheduled for a September 15th release on Xbox One.

Comments
19
  • Can't wait for it. Already preordered it with early access option ;)
  • I can forgo weather transitions if it's as much of a game changer in terms of traction physics as I am hoping.
  • The "wrongs" are lack of courses and the handling model. The rest was fine, if not great
  • For those of us who aren't the rest of the world, can you work out what a metric fuck ton is to English standard fuck tons?
  • "For those of us who aren't the rest of the world, can you work out what a metric fuck ton is to English standard fuck tons?" And how does this compare to a "shit ton"?
  • @4 Uncle Cousin: A metric fuck ton is 0,9842065276 of a british fuck ton ;)
  • You don't need 4 gazillion tracks, nor do you need 10 gazillion cars, you will always struggle to simulate wet conditions in any realistic form, as the parameters are far to great, hence why IRacing etc don't,and there aren't really many night races, this is all just pandering to the masses that shouldn't really be playing what is at heart a sim like racer and would be far better suited to playing horizons, or not racing at all. Why have millions of tracks when people generally only play on 5 or 6, why have millions of cars when people generally only use 5 or 6 online. And why don't they reintroduce the tournaments that they had in Forza 2, which is still by a country mile the best Forza.
  • The paint design tool needs a massive overhaul. Its been the same since forza 2 i believe. It needs to be a app for tablets etc.
  • unfortunately i wont be getting this as forza 5 puts me to sleep cause i feel like i raced the same tracks 700 times in a row and its boring beyond all belief. its not because its a racer cause in a big fan. but forza 5 was just not for me.
  • 2 words... AUCTION HOUSE..?
  • I am cautious about buying this after how disappointed I was with 5. I hope they work on the drivatar because it was poorly implemented compared to the original AI. They also need to fix the handling to make it more inline with past games and re-introduce reward cars for certain levels. A lot of people complained about the struggle of making money in 5. This will be the first Forza game I don't buy day one, I'm waiting to see what others in the community say before I take the plunge.
  • I believe the handling was fine in Forza 5 and have heard it is similar but tweaked in 6.
  • My post was supposed to say "but not great", not "if"
  • Metric Fuck Ton? Nearly sprayed my drink all over when I read that lol, has to be a first in a review. haha
  • Forza 5 ruined the Motorsport series for me. It was like I bought half of forza 4. You can put in rain and night driving but the first horizon game did that several years ago. Not impressed turn 10, give me forza horizon 3.
  • so, is a metric fuck ton , or = to a standard shit load?
  • Need fans on my TV to imitate wind, as it might help keeping me awake whilst trying to decide if I liked forza 5. Still don't know, I'll pass, handling, crash physics over lush environments.
  • @15 The first horizon didn't have weather effects, just the day to night driving
  • Forza really needs to add camera shake to convey s better sense of speed. I find myself falling asleep more often than not.
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