Forza Motorsport 4 review

And so the biennial Forza Motorsport edition rolls out on to videogaming’s increasingly congested racetrack. Picking out the competition, despite the heavy traffic, is easy: somewhere near the front, Shift 2: Unleashed and Gran Turismo 5 trade paint as Forza 3 pits from the lead, straight into retirement. That front spot is the position Forza 4 assumes it will take. It’s a fair assumption, and one that should surprise no one. Turn 10’s first two forays into GT territory went largely unnoticed by PlayStation owners, but third time out would have left all but the most ardent Polyphony aficionados in no doubt about the series’ credentials. The game’s combination of advanced handling dynamics, player-focused structure, unparalleled accessibility and unrivalled community-based emphasis delivered a supercharged package.

Number four, then, aims to convert the inconvertible. Cementing the already successful approach means the lightest of tinkering under the bonnet, hence the reason the career mode (now World Tour) strictly adheres to previous structure. Aside from a sprinkling of new elements – cone-based tests and Top Gear challenges – designed to inject a little variety and playfulness, the graft of progressing through increasingly difficult seasons while building up driver XP, credit levels and manufacturer affinity returns.

Of course, you won’t fail to notice the game’s improvements along the way. The excellent handling dynamics have been further enhanced, with cars displaying a more grounded attitude and tyre rubber biting into asphalt in a manner that sits yet closer to real-world behaviour and is almost always masterfully conveyed via your chosen method of control.

Engine notes sound rawer, too, while visuals have been brought up to date. Although Forza 4 tailgates GT5’s focus on realism, its 60fps environment emerges a less sterile example than the approach adopted by the PlayStation exclusive, with the additional detail coming into play in subtle but effective ways. Blasting through Maple Valley, for instance, you get a genuine sense of passing beneath the circuit’s overhanging trees, of being fully integrated into the setting. That said, a sprinkle of fertility wouldn’t have hurt. We’re not proposing the aesthetic excesses of Dirt 3, but Shift 2’s organic intensity would have enhanced the atmosphere further.

Still, if it’s pretty graphics you want, visit Autovista. Designed to showcase an intriguing – if Ferrari-centric – selection of vehicles (as well as Turn 10’s much-publicised IBL 3D rendering technique), this mode enables you to interact with these remarkably detailed machines in a manner that will delight those who loitered around Test Drive Unlimited’s dealerships. There is an element of a subgame, too (access to cars is granted by completing simple challenges – or you could kick off the Jeremy Clarkson descriptive voiceovers and time how long you manage before pressing B), making this one of few significant new singleplayer inclusions.