Say what you want, but Forza is the best racing simulation game there is. It’s Microsoft’s premier racing game and arguably the best racing game there is and it’s no wonder why there is always heavy anticipation when a new Forza comes on the scene.
I got a copy of the Ultimate Edition of the game and right away every good feeling I had about playing Forza had come back to me and I was ready to race. Forza 7 is much of the same as it’s been for a while with some subtle changes in the UI and how cars, standard and unique are earned. After playing about 20-25 hours, I can say that Forza 7 hasn’t changed much and it’s still the best racing game there is on the market. There’s a lot to like and some things not to like so much and that’s how this review will play out because this is how I assessed it.
What’s to like about Forza 7?
Cars – There are over 700 cars from most of your favorite manufacturers (BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, so on and so forth). You get a fantastic array of cars of different engine types and class types even including F1, Rally, Electric F1 and Nascar. There is no shortage of cars to drive and each are shown off in Forza 7 with an amazing attention to detail cosmetically and sonically. I mean the Bimmers sound like Bimmers and Ferraris sound like Ferraris. You can drive each car anyway you like from different perspective views from 3rd person to dashboard. It’s all laid out for you to feel like a driver when you play this game.
Destinations and Tracks – Forza 7 has places to for you to get your drive on. All over the world. 32 tracks in all. World famous tracks. They are beautifully designed and detailed and racing on these tracks will require skill and some mental fortitude. Whether you’re navigating turns on Laguna Sega or the Nurburgring there will not be a track that has been left out of this game so the world is yours in terms of driving.
Career mode – Forza 7’s career mode is extremely engaging. There are 5 different racing series each with a variety of events to choose from. At least 10 events in each series which require you to use different vehicles from truck to rally cars. The more events you do, the more it inches you closer to capturing the Forza 7 championship. You don’t have to do all of the events but if you want to fully take advantage of the career mode, do them all and get your bearings with a multitude of car types. Career mode is deep and involved and more than what GT Sport leads us to believe is their version of a campaign (More on that at another time).
Great Simulation mode – Forza 7’s strength is in the simulation mode. Every aspect of your car can be changed or altered as well as how you play the game. Forza’s 7’s simulation can assist you in your driving or not at all. You can have damage cosmetically or damage that affects your performance and can take you out of a race completely. AI can be adjusted for tougher and dirtier competition. Race customization to some degree is also a thing in Forza 7. You can’t create tracks but you can dictate the type of race you want to have on specific tracks within the game. Tuning your car for the perfect feel and drive experience on any track is present in Forza 7. Every element of Forza 7 can be customized for the perfect simulation and its part of what makes Forza 7 so good.
Weather, lighting and track conditions – The weather and sky changes in Forza 7 add a sense of realism to the game that you have to just love. Depending on the time of day you race you could start in mid-afternoon and end up racing at night. Weather changes especially rain are so much fun to drive on and while they can be frustrating to keep control on, it does add the realism that one would expect when driving at high speed in the rain. The lighting is also key to well the tracks look and sometimes it can affect your driving in a real way. Many times I’ve driven on certain tracks and the glare of the “sun” in the game gave me reason to slow down or the shadows at night forced me to make adjustments to my speed when approaching corners. It’s all so well done in Forza 7.
What’s not to Like
Truthfully speaking, there isn’t too much not to like with Forza 7. I did however find a couple of things (literally) that I found made my experience kind of annoying more so than something that I didn’t like totally
Car collection tier – The car collection tier system is really annoying. I get that you have to collect XP during the game in order to progress your driving level but the system in Forza 7 forces you spend money to buy cars that you may not even want just to get out of the tier and finally be able to buy the cars that you want that’s in another tier. It ends up costing you money that you have to earn back and it’s almost impossible to save it. Makes no sense to me.
Multiplayer – Let me clarify, the multiplayer in Forza 7 is not bad at all. It’s just a case of it being really challenging for a casual Forza player. The same can be said for any game with online multiplayer but this is Forza so I’m including it. Having a steering wheel in this game isn’t necessary but it’s important and you get a sense of that the more you play multiplayer. This is kind more of a nitpick than something not to like. It just means to have the best experience get a driving wheel which can be costly. I don’t care what anyone says, it makes a big difference.
Is Forza 7 the best driving game out?
Hands down, Forza 7 is the best driving game on the market today. Project Cars 2 and Gran Turismo Sport are legitimate contenders but neither of those two games offer quite as much as Forza 7 does as a total package. GT Sport being the more disappointing of the two (I’ll get into that review. That’s coming soon). If you like driving sims and you have an Xbox One then there is no reason at all to not purchase this game. Not only is Forza 7 cosmetically beautiful, it plays beautifully. There’s a lot to do in this game in terms of customization, events, multiplayer and there are some options within the game that aren’t available yet that will be in the near future. Forza 7 is a great game and worthy of your investment. It just covers all of the bases
