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Forza Motorsport Review: Page 7
The sense of speed in the game is very accurate. Driving at slow speeds does really feel way too slow, whereas driving at an incredible 330 kph feels like you are about to decorate your pants with material not used by decorators.
While the lighting might not be a photo-realistic as Gran Turismo 4 (let’s face it, this comparison is inevitable), the realistic shadows moving over your car and the scenery reflecting real-time in your car’s body makes the game just look quite impressive.
Sounds
Like physics, sounds are important for a racing simulation. Engine sounds need to be authentic and reflecting the current state of the engine. Forza Motorsport delivers this requirements quite well. Each car has a distinguishable sound and upgrading it will noticeably affect it. Sounds for the lower classes are a bit on the low side in terms of volume, but the raw “I am going to eat you alive” feeling really comes to life in the higher classes. Hearing the gear whine, turbo blazing and engine roar in a whopping Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound setup is a guaranteed way to wake up your neighbour’s baby.
Environmental and collision sounds are the only aspect that is disappointing, compared to the overall quality of the game. Colliding with a wall or an opponent doesn’t sound very realistic. One of my top annoyances in the game is the volume of the opponent’s engine sound. I prefer to drive by the sound of the engine and the feeling of the car, but this is difficult when you are being chased by exactly the same car with the same engine. Microsoft Game Studios would have done better, for gameplay reasons, if your car’s engine sound would have been much louder.
A feature that has become part of the basic package are custom soundtracks. Forza Motorsport managed to implement it very well — they play in the menu, in your garage, during loading and racing. Finally, we are saved from hearing the same song every time starting a race.
Read on for the conclusion and the scores…