When it comes to racing simulations I've always fancied myself a Gran Turismo kind of guy. There has just never been anything that stacked up to it in my eyes, even when considering the first two Forza titles. But that could soon be changing as Forza Motorsport 3 handles like a dream and is easily the best looking racing simulation to date.
When Forza Motorsport 3 boots up you're treated to a nice simple white background with the Forza 3 logo in the middle of the screen. This is how every menu in Forza 3 looks, making them look as sleek in design as the cars you'll be racing with. These slick menus also mean you'll be getting into the actual races much faster to ogle over the ridiculously good looking car models.
It's no joke just how good a job Turn 10 did on the car models in Forza 3. From the exterior these models look like you're staring at the real damn thing. In the demo there was five cars to choose from ranging from a 2009 Mini Cooper to the 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro to the 2007 Porsche #80 Flying Lizard 911 GT3-RSR, and they all looked incredible.
However, it's unfortunate that car detail goes down a notch when you decide to use the cockpit view of Forza 3. While I trust Turn 10's judgment when rendering the inside of a Ferrari California, as I've never even been within 500 feet of one, it still looks far less detailed in comparison to the outside of the car. I also wasn't a fan of the lack of a shifting animation in the game. You would think Forza would have incorporated this animation with how true to life they insist on being in every other facet of the racing experience. It also seems like it wouldn't be much of a challenge since a lot of race cars these days use paddle shifters for quicker response shifting. But in Forza Motorsport 3 you're driver somehow telepathically tells the car to shift while keeping his hands at 2 and 10 without a finger twitch in sight.
And since I'm still fixated on the game's graphics, I can't go without mentioning the environments which are unfortunately pretty hit or miss in Forza 3. While the landscape of the track we played, Camino Viejo de Montserrat, looked phenomenal, with large vistas and snowy mountain peaks, the actual track suffered from grass, trees, and other general shrubbery looking pixelated and flat, as if it was a Nintendo 64 game. But then again, when you're traveling by it at 90 m.p.h it's not that big of a deal. The only moments it's really visible is when you watch race replays and pre-race course previews. But when this game is in motion, you could mistake it for watching a race on television in high-definition.
Now once you've stopped ogling the car models of Forza Motorsport 3 you'll be happy to know that you can also find one hell of a deep racing simulator within. For those that have played Forza before, this will be no surprise, but for those new to Turn 10's racing sim, know that Forza 3 easily compares, if not surpasses in some aspects, Gran Turismo in car customization and general racing options to make this feel as authentic as actually taking one of these super cars onto the asphalt yourself. Not only will you be able to tweak what's under the hood of all your rides, but you'll also be able to switch around gameplay settings to your liking.
Microsoft and Turn 10 have definitely developed a Gran Turismo competitor in Forza Motorsport 3. While next year's GT5 might be coming with more cars, and more tracks, Forza 3 brings it's A-game where it counts: the racing mechanics and making these cars look as pretty as they do in real life.
Forza Motorsport 3 releases on October 27, exclusively on the Xbox 360.
