XBM review with scans

[XboxLife]

First Review : Score = 10/10 (XBM UK Cover Story)

- "No driving game for the past two years has come close to this."

- "Perfect for all kinds of racing fans from the casual right through to obsessive hardcore."

- "Much more than a Gran Turismo beater."

- "Playing Forza is like being given a skeleton key and unlimited access to the biggest car showroom in the world."

Thanks again to our member lasercutter for doing the scans of the XBM review.
You can find them in our gallery:
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[EDIT by BADNED]

[Vilante]

I find this on french boards



If someone can scan this mag...

Nice find XboxLife

I'd take it with a grain of salt though, it is an xbox mag after all.

[MasterRusty]

I'd take it with a grain of salt though, it is an xbox mag after all.

Haha yeh, or a truckload.
I don't tend to buy magazines for that exact reason but last month i got the official UK Xbox mag for the Unreal Champ 2 demo (which sucks), and OMG, the magazine is written by a bunch of plebbs, it's real cringeworthy stuff. It's quite sad reading the letters pages too and seeing that the mentality of the magazine is wearing off on it's readers.

[John Player's]

Cover Mag XBM

[MasterRusty]

See what I mean, they're proud to have a world exclusive of 50 Cent Bulletproof, haha

Nice work John Player's, now if you can just find the review pages

[XboxLife]

This mag did not leave yet

[John Player's]

See what I mean, they're proud to have a world exclusive of 50 Cent Bulletproof, haha

Nice work John Player's, now if you can just find the review pages

Thanks

Ok, it's not the review, but a preview by XBM :

Make no mistake; This is the ultimate racing game

The Xbox isn't exactly starved of racing games, if anything there is far too many to choose from. It is however running a little short on high class drives. At the moment the only game that can fit in this field is Project Gotham Racing 2. A stunning game, as we're sure you must know. With this Microsoft has the city-racing genre sewn up, now all that's needed is a decent track racer. A hole that Forza Motorsport fills with ease.

Of course, at the same time this also manages to provide a decent contender to Gran Turismo. In fact, it's so obvious that Microsoft is trying to compete with Polyphony and Sony that it's painful to watch. The only way this race is going to end is in tears, call us Fanboys, but we think its Sony that is going to be reaching for the hanky. How can Microsoft possibly compete with the experience and skill at Polyphony you ask? Well, the Forza development team (which includes ex Gotham, RalliSport, Midtown Madness and Need For Speed staff) appears to be designing this specifically for car fanatics.

The full roster of cars that appear in the game is nowhere near final, there's not even a total figure yet. The latest number touted was 200 plus. What has been confirmed is that this pool of cars will come from 60 different manufacturers from all corners of the globe. Confirmed so far are BMW, Chevrolet, Dodge, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche and the all-important Ferrari. A brand you're never going to see in Gran Turismo.

Okay, so the vehicles aren't going to number anywhere near that of the Sony game, but the developer has said that the focus for the vehicles in Forza is speed and fun. That means you're not going to have to put up with any crappy small car classes where you're forced to race milk floats. No, here you get everything from the classic Porsche 911 through to modern monsters like the Mclaren F1, Enzo and Koenissegg. Only the machines deemed worthy enough have made it into this game and from what we've seen so far, the developer has impeccable taste, so no worries on the car front.

What's great about this game though is that if you do find a car that is not to your liking you can rip it apart and rebuild it however you desire. At a machine level, this means swapping suspension systems, tyres, engine parts and so on. All of which will be familiar to you if you've played Gran Turismo. However, what's interesting with Forza is that you'll also be able to install entirely new engines. For example, how about putting a Ferrari engine in a Mitsubishi Evo VIII? Size restraints are obviously a factor, but if it's possible in the real world the option will be there to do it in this game.

As well as replacing parts, you can also tinker with the mechanics of the engine system. At it's basic level this means changing gear ratios and suspension height, but you've also got the chance to dip into factors like fuel mapping and forced induction pressure. That is, if you're feeling brave. We're sure that there will be a simplified version of this in the game to assist beginners.

The fiddling doesn't end there in this game, because in the garage you'll also be able to give your car that all-important visual appeal. There are a variety of official and non-official body kits in Forza. If you want you can add skirts, shiny rims, silly spoilers, bonnet scoops and so on. All of which will, of course, have an impact on car handling. Then you've got the aesthetic add-ons that won't affect the car handling. This includes colour schemes (that you can create yourself) and a variety of stickers and decals, again, which you can create yourself.

With so many customisation options it's very unlikely you'll find a car in the game that you won't want to play with. Even the lesser-powered machines can be turned into a boy racer's wet dream. Now think about what this can mean for Xbox Live. There's not much known about the online game modes at the moment but car trading seems to be one feature the developer is heading towards. Racing personalised motors for pink slips would be a very welcome addition to the game. There's also talk of being able to trade sticker and decal designs. We give it all of five minutes on Live before the clan scene jump on this with their logos.

It really is quite stunning how much the developer is putting into Forza. Take a minute to think about how difficult it is to get car licences in the first place, then imagine the logistics of working out car upgrades, body kits and so on. The phrase 'all or nothing' springs to mind. Especially since the game features realistic damage. No biggy, you say? Well how about this, the damage actually affects car handling. Control your whooping, this is a huge feature for a game like this.

We're (not at all) sorry to say that this will mean you won't be able to drive like a jackass, bouncing off other cars and riding the walls. Forza is simulation first, arcade-racer second. Before you switch off, the developer has very wisely decided to include a selection of driving aids that can be switched on and off whenever you want - which should ease you nicely into the physics system of the game engine. Although we can highly recommend trying without any computer assistance, the feel of the cars is sublime.

As well as optional driving assists, the game also includes an innovative piece of technology the developer is calling Drivatar AI. This allows you to teach your computer-controlled team-mates to drive like you - aggressive or defensive. This should mean the opponent AI is also very human in appearance. A feature that is usually difficult to get right in racing games. It'll be interesting to see how much focus there is on this in the final game.

We like the idea of being able to teach a car to race around Nurburgring in the same way we do. Oh, and yes, this is one of the tracks in the game by the way. There are just over 15 circuits in the game that include real world tracks like the German monster and Laguna Seca, as well as fantasy courses themed around locations such as Rio, Tokyo and Grand Prix-style circuits. There's also a selection of point-to-point tracks that have up to 60 roads running through them. Hopefully, a random run will be included to take advantage of their size.

Size seems to be a running theme in Forza Motorsport. The game is trying to become the biggest racing experience you're ever likely to see and, from what we've seen, we're inclined to believe this to be true. It should come as no surprise to learn that the word Forza is Italian for 'be forceful'.

Written By: Mike Richardson

Essential info :

Mummy, I want one of those for Christmas…
If you frequent any car forums (or indeed, talk to anyone on Project Gotham on Live) you’ll know that one of the most sought after machines is the McLaren F1. It may have a few years under its belt (the first one was built in 1993) but it remains the fastest road car ever built. The BMW V12 engine delivers 627bhp at 7500rpm giving the car a 0-60 time of just 3.20 seconds. To give you a comparison this is about the same acceleration of the TVR Cerbera Speed 12, made famous by Project Gotham 2.

Here is

[BADNED]

I hope some of our friends from the UK will scan the mag and put it online!!

[John Player's]

Second " mini " review :

http://www.reviewcentre.com/review152020.html

From Donington on 28th Mar 2005

User Ratings :

Addiction Level : 10/10
Graphics : 10/10
Multi-player : Yes
Value for money : 10/10
Overall rating : 10/10
Recommended : Yes


Good Points :
Well there are alot of good points in this game for Microsoft Xbox as we see the amazing graphics and the detail in each car it is modelled to the exact shape there are over 200 cars in this game and over 30 tracks quite amazing really. Another good thing about forza is the things you can do to your car as forza has over 100 layers of paint to choose from, and you get alot of parts to put on your mean machine as you get turbo's intercooler's you name it your mean machine will be from a stock car to a drag racer. The speeds are extremely real as when you go 200 mph you feel as though you are going 200 mph as the wind glides past you, while you are driving and you may get bumps on the road where your car may glide of the road. In forza you can get someone to drive for so basically you train them to be a super driver and if you are not a person who likes endurance races, well, you may be in luck, as you can get your driver to drive for you.

Bad Points :
There are not really any bad points for this it is just the tracks. You only get 31 tracks when it would be better to have a lot more except for that it is an amazing game.

General Comments :
What will I get out of Forza Motorsport?
Well the graphics and the detail and the amount of cars. Plus the realism and physics and the damage as when you crash into a wall at 100 mph it accurately has the same amount of damage as in really life as you get broken mirrors, cracks in your car and your cars performance goes way down as your car will go slower. And you can also so up your car without the amount of parts and colours for your car.

Overall 100%

[S t e f a n]

Pfff, who is spoonie99 ? Everyone can write a review on this site.

We better wait for some real reviews from some independent magazines.