Forza Motorsport 5 reviews

I don't have it though I have seen videos and answers to questions posted on the official forum.

Forza 5 solves the "LS1 for everyone!" swap deal. Turn 10 Studios covered their ass and the engine swap upgrades are now labeled Street, Sport, and Race. They're nameless though if you look up their configuration and stats you can pretty well determine each real-world counterpart. Ex: ZL1 Camaro has a street upgrade that produces 825 horsepower, 650 ft. lb. of torque, and increases weight; that should be the stock car engine via earlier Forza titles. Also, the RX-7 can receive an "LS1" swap, a la this thread. I like this though not 100% and I have a feeling moving forward Turn 10 can make it better.

Those with the game, chime in. Tell us all what you think.

Not far enough in to make any real review.

I will say it looks amazing, and the cars don't feel the same. The control now has vibration that goes through the triggers. So when you break traction, the right trigger vibrates, same when you brake hard and/or go into lock-up. To me the cars feel a bit more predictable once you get the feel. They feel somewhere inbetween GT5 and FM4.

From what I have seen with the paint stuff, there are more defaults shapes, and more textures. White is actually white, stock and chrome wheels can be painted. You can make your car gold plated; its really reflective.

I haven't played online yet, so I don't know what extra stuff there is (or not). Aero still doesn't get fixed in the pits.

I’m going to try and make my review as succinct as possible…both console and game so far.


First, the console!
The Good
--The box is really nice. Lines are good, I like the blending of both shiny plastics and the matte vents, looks high quality, but boy is she big. At least an inch longer and wider than the slim 360, maybe the same length and width as the 1st gen console, but taller when laying down. Its big…but it blends in well.
--The power/indicator light is really subdued, which is great. Its not the blaring green LEDs of the 360, and it’s the same on the Kinect.
--Kinect has some strange dots on it, gives me a feeling of HAL from 2001 a little, but all in all its fine. Kinect 2.0 is a marked improvement. Camera is scary good…and it has a very wide angle.
--Controller is great…honestly its fantastic. Force feedback on the controller is very strange initially but after a couple of races its really nice to have.

The Bad:
--Installing the games on my console to the point of playability was annoyingly long. I’m guessing it was at least 15 minutes of just waiting for the game to install in order to start playing, which sucked. I’m attempting to install Battlefield 4 and it too is taking a long time…I’m at 3% and it’s been about 5 minutes…it seems to speed up as it continues, but still...very annoying. Haven’t tried playing a game while installing but that might be the ticket.
--Had to install an update already…one of those “Really…and update already?”
--Tried running Forza while installing Battlefield…told me to insert disk or “make sure I was signed in”…oye, this could be a problem since it’s already installed.



Now Forza.

Oh where do I begin…lets get the facts out there first...there are less cars and less tracks than Forza 4. This, in my humble opinion, is a problem. Theres no Nurburgring, theres no Infineon, theres no Suzuka, no Tskuba, no Maple Valley, Hockenheim, and IIRC no Road America. There’s also only one oval as far as I can tell and that’s Indy.

The less cars means there are also no stock cars, but with only one oval, whats the point really. Certain companies have been semi-gutted, personal example is Pontiac, as the newest Pointiac available is the 1987 Firebird GTA. There is no G8 GXP, no LS1 Firebird, no Holden based GTO. Oh, and the GTA is DLC only…
Other Makes have also been somewhat obliterated. There is 1 Koniggeggeggeggeggeggz, the Agera. The niche specialty makers are all gone, and if you look at the current Forza DLC (already available, how convienent) it has a couple of cars that honestly should have been included. 79 Z28, Acura RSX, and 87 GTA, a Charger Daytona, M6 BMW, Sierra Cosworth RS500, basically a lot of popular cars that are now stuck in DLC land. I’ll talk more about that in a bit.

I’ll say a few positive things before I kinda keep hammering…the game is beautiful…god its stunning. I thought FM4 was good looking but 5 is just…I mean the detail is really, really good. The Forzavista (because we all want to see the interior of a new Subaru BRZ) is a very neat feature, kinda fun to screw around with, and it does give you an easy access to “customizing the look of your car” by getting you easy access to body mods, rims, and suspension upgrades.

The tracks that they have included are very well done. Background graphics are great, tracks are awesome, and they have nice little details, like the concrete dividing wall at Sebring being uneven and having juts out so they catch the front of the car like a hillbilly going spelunking.

It appears that they’ve done a better job with the physics(?), or maybe it’s the laser scanned tracks(?), or something, because the cars I’ve driven (ok so they were the RX8 and the Challenger) seemed to be uncontrollable demon cars at times. The ridge at Laguna Seca on the front straight is just a bear with the Challenger, and Sebring with the RX8 wasn’t exactly a joy either, but then again, that could have been because of the company I kept.


What company you ask? Oh just the demon spawn of the internet known as hopper drivers. Yes, the greatest feature that all the big wigs at Turn 10 kept parading around, the beloved drivatar feature, sucks. Its honestly fucking terrible and I wish I could turn it off. Give me M. Rossi in 1st and me in 8th any day after 2 hours in the hell known as Forza 5 single player. I could not go one race without being bumped, shunted, jabbed, poked, proded or just plain ran off the road by the drivatars and their erratic behavior. Let me give you an example.

I’m racing a spec race with RX8’s. Stalkers drivatar is also in an RX8. Were racing at Sebring. On one straight, his drivatar is on the left, it shoots over to the right, right in front of me, never have seen Stalker do that in such a dramatic fashion. Same track, different straight, his drivatar randomly steps on its brakes in the middle of the straight, again not something he does…so frustrating that I actually had to shut the game off…now I had it on a higher difficulty, so maybe I need to drop it down to not get abused, but still, it’s the most aggrevating thing I’ve ever had to deal with in a game…to all the morons on the Forza boards who complained about the AI, I hope they enjoy it, because I’ll take the old Forza AI back in a heartbeat.



Modifying the car is annoying, engine swaps as Avanti said, are no longer labled. Rims are no divided by manufacturer, instead they’re divided into 3 catagories and then they’re just tossed into a box that way. Cars are also not divided into folders like in every previous generation, instead they’re all in a e list without the ability to do a very detailed search like FM4. There is no sorting by price, instead its only by age, make, and something else, I can’t remember…





I don’t really know what to think at this point…if I had to give it a letter grade, I’d give it an Incomplete. I’ve only spent an hour or two playing it but right now I’m pretty down on it…I know it’s a new console, new generation, all that, and graphically its hands down the prettiest FM ever…but as far as playablity goes…jury’s out for me…

Smus, my drivatar's actions are probably my fault, see in order to win and get the fuck away from the wreck fest AKA Drivatars, I wreck the shit out of them. So ya.... sorry lol....

I spent some more time with it tonight and actually ran a few private matches with Shatter. Its frustrating. Thats probably the best word I can describe it with. Like previously said, it looks amazing; the textures, the detail, the tracks, the cars. At one point I was squinting because the sun looks like the sun, it obscures the track if you are facing right at it. Hats off to them for it, it looks damn good.

I actually like the physics of the game. The cars feel more like cars to me. Cars don't slide around like they are driving on glass (like FM3 and FM4 felt to me), but they are also not glued to the road and become abruptly uncontrollable like GT5. It feels like the car has grip, but if you get careless with it, its hard to reel it back in. And going off the track is BAD; when you drop a tire, the car lets you know.

But it really does feel incomplete. The private races are well, odd. If you start one, it automatically invites your party to it. If you want to spectate, well you can't. And if you were hoping for any race set-up improvements, there aren't any, same shit as FM4.

Probably a big let down for me, besides the obvious lack of cars/tracks, is that there are LESS features with FM5 than there were with FM4.

The community features? Pretty much gone. All the new livery and decal features that have been added to make some bad ass stuff? You can't share it, you can't gift it. Its really a kick in the face to people that want to run or participate in series races.

I've heard that updates are in the wings for a lot of this stuff. I hope so, and it better be free. Honestly it should have been there to begin with.

Oh, the X1 itself is pretty fuck'n cool.

It responds to hand gestures, voice commands, you can play a game and watch Netflix at the same time. While Smus was playing with his...... you know..... while he was waiting for FM5 to download updates, I was watching a movie on Netflix.

It recognizes you as soon as you come into view and greets you/signs you in. I even created a profile for the dog, yeah it says hello to the dog when she comes into the living room. That provided 5 min. of enjoyment.

No issues with it so far.

Well I want to amend what I said earlier.  The drivatar thing works and it works well, IF you have the right mental mindset going into the rrace.  I kept wanting to race it like a standard singleplayer race, and that just doesn't work.  Cars don't hold their line, they will cut corners, they dive bomb corners, they don't brake when they should and brake when they shouldn't.  Its a multiplayer race, but with the ability to pause and use the rewind  feature..with that mindset I ran the same modern muscle race at Laguna and it was a blast...its gonna take some getting used to though.


I'll second what Stalker said, the physics are special.  Go offline and it pulls you in, damage your front suspension (which it tells you BTW) and have fun turning...



II'm still upset about the tracks and cars being reduced...but if they offer more tracks then I'll be ok with it.


Edit: Had to fix my damn typing...phone use plus not being able to see what i typed was none too plesant.

I'll join ya guys in a week and attempt to wreck my own face lol, UPS decided to leave a note yesterday and not leave it at my place. Today the place was closed so I couldn't pick it up which is a bummer.

Real quick, I'll give a more detailed review today.


No more multiplayer spectating/replays/game setup saves/ STILL no aero repair or pit animations

Drivatars are pretty horrible but will hopefully get better once everyone is used to the game and start driving better

Okay, clear something up for me, please - 'cause this is huge.

If you can't spectate, and you can't save your replays, then you've got to rely on the X1's streaming/capturing feature. So, how does that work???

And, if you can't gift layer groups, what alternatives do you have for sharing them with friends? I assume they are downloadable from the storefront? If you download a file, can you edit it???

Simcik wrote:Okay, clear something up for me, please - 'cause this is huge.

If you can't spectate, and you can't save your replays, then you've got to rely on the X1's streaming/capturing feature. So, how does that work???

And, if you can't gift layer groups, what aou have for sharing them with friends? I assume they are downloadable from the storefront? If you download a file, can you edit it???

There are no store fronts, I have not tried editing someone's design. I'm assuming they are not "locked"

also as far as I can tell the only way to spectate and possible save is forza tv. Aside from that Xbone's recording feature allows for 30 sec recording, 5mins if you have something additional

Okay, can you elaborate on Forza TV??? What is it? How does it work? Would it allow us to capture a whole event?

Simcik wrote:Okay, can you elaborate on Forza TV??? What is it? How does it work? Would it allow us to capture a whole event?

Its exactly what it sounds like. Forza TV shows multiplayer races, I don't know how they will pick which races they will showcase, I haven't tested it but you used to be able to save forza tv replays back in the day.

I'd like some more specific info on that at some point if one of you tries it out.

Namely, can you pick what you watch, or is it chosen for you?

Simcik wrote:I'd like some more specific info on that at some point if one of you tries it out.

Namely, can you pick what you watch, or is it chosen for you?

When I get home from work I'll jump on forza and give you what info I can

Thank you!

Some interesting things going on on the Forza forums and already a few questions have been posed as to why features have been taken out of the game.... I'm very curious to see what happens in the coming months....

http://forums.forzamotorsport.net/forums/thread/6274130.aspx

http://forums.forzamotorsport.net/forums/thread/6281254.aspx

Something more.

It seems there are many hidden things in the game that hint to future content and/or features:

In the private race lobby, under the body and race sections for cars, there are several body styles of cars and racing types. There is a 911 body style, American stock car, racing truck 1 and 2, Pro Stock Drag Racing, GTO/Monaro, and several others I can't think of at the moment. What they all have in common is that it shows there are 0 of those types of vehicles in the game.

Another thing, there are titles that corespond to features that are not there.

Also, from the forums, someone said that if you go into photo mode on the airstrip, you can see 3 drag strips outside the track.

There are many frustrations about this game, but I'm trying to see what comes to play in the next couple months.

Oh and the 69' Boss 302 is fun to drive around, just saying.....

It seems like it's the old "we know what you really want" attitude that unfortunately seems to be Dan's M.O. as of late. That makes me sad.

I like the idea about the cars being harder to attain. The only downside I see to this is in series tuning, where you'd want to buy all the cars to build them and test them. Just out of curiousity, what does the Daytona cost in FM5? And what's the approximate cost of the upgrades?

I like the new UGC policy, to a point. I want to be able to modify a layer group. Like the F4RR logo, for instance. The original one had black font. We needed a white one. Would that have meant we had to track down the original designer and ask him to make a white version? I'm confused on how that works I guess... Whether the designs are locked or not would make a big difference in my opinion of that system.

And then it gets me to my biggest issues: Yes, Dan - we did request you add Spa and Bathurst. But we didn't ask you to pull all the other tracks! We wanted more options, not less! Same goes for the cars. Furthermore, why the hell do you even bother to add more entry-level, econo-crap-boxes to the game, while removing performance or racing cars? It just seems odd to me that a motorsports/racing game has so few actual race cars...

And no ovals??? You do realize what the number one revenue generating motorsport is, right? (Hint, it's not F1.)

Okay, okay - rant over. I'm just so disappointed... Who knows, this may be a good thing - now I don't feel so bad about not having the extra coin at the moment to get a new system and FM5...

Just saw that the first DLC includes only the Charger, NOT the Charger Daytona as I read somewhere else. So, you can disregard the above question regarding it's cost, Stalker.

I thought Dan said something a while back tongue-in-cheek referring to GT5 being an incomplete game.  Seems like needing DLC and patches to correct things that either weren't there or need fixing fits the definition of an "incomplete product."

I wonder if GT6 will fix the sounds of the cars?  If they finally figured out cars don't sound like vacuum cleaners I might get me some GT6 until the prices drop for the next gen consoles.  Otherwise I guess I'm out until Forza 6 from what I've heard about Forza 5.

Sorta05 wrote:I wonder if GT6 will fix the sounds of the cars?  If they finally figured out cars don't sound like vacuum cleaners I might get me some GT6 until the prices drop for the next gen consoles.  Otherwise I guess I'm out until Forza 6 from what I've heard about Forza 5.

Or you can stick with FM4 and party with the cool kids...

The current Week In Review talked about fixing some of the economy problems, although thats not a huge issue to me.

Good news is that T10 reps have been posting in the threads about the issues we all are experiencing. So they are seeing them.

I also checked out Forza TV. I'm not sure if it works yet though. I saw only vids posted by T10 crew, but interesting enough, they were replays. I could manipulate them, pause them, skip ahead, just like replays in FM4. So I think the replay feature is there, it just hasn't been implemented yet?

Its frustrating, it looks like there is a lot of stuff that is there but not able to be used yet. I haven't written off this game yet, I was playing it earlier today, and the cars look and feel much better to me. The painting options are slowly being realized; you can search for a specific gamer tag and their designs will come up, same with tunes. The only missing one (or I haven't found it) is searching for specific vinyls.

I read that it's not possible to share vinyl groups. This is irking the painters who collaborate on designs because they can't work on their portion and gift the design to another painter. Also, think of the times we gift vinyls amongst each other; that's currently out.

The missing content Stalker brings up (Stock cars, Porsche 911, etc.) could come in charged additions later which seems to be the industry standard. "Is this what you really want? You do!? Well then it will command premium prices!" I hope for the best but expect the worst.

Everything in the game now will still be there in twelve months, along with added content along the way.

So everyone has their thoughts on the game but I finally got a new X1 and FM5.   Well I have to say I freakin love it.  Theres flaws and those that expect perfection will obviously be, as usual, disappointed.  But the physics are great.  The more I play it, the more natural the cars feel.  You can predict and catch powerslides so much more now and with a loose limited slip you get exactly what you want!  A one wheel wonder.    Once you get comfortable with the car its so much easier to hold your line and race 2 or 3 wide through corners.   The yaw feels so much more natural when you ease on the throttle.  

So this is the part where Simcik best not read on because Im am positive he will react with rage and tears.   Seriously!

So there is true small block Mopars.  340 you say??? Ennnngggggggggg!   Nope, a 5.7 LS swap.   It only says 5.7 liter engine though.   But its really light weight and makes 325hp and 350ft lbs with a stock redline of about 5800.   but toss that in with sport suspension/bars/brakes/ and a mild cam with 395 rear tires you get a top 200 lap time everywhere in D class (400 PI).    Its cool that in  4speed cars a sport tranny gives you a 5speed.  Comes in handy for tuning.   

I have noticed that brake distribution is opposite of F4.   We always put around 44-46% bias to the nose.   Well doing this RUINS corner turn in and weight balance.   Makes sense.  The nose is higher up with less force pushing the front tires down.  With the brakes at 55% bias to the nose the front end will actually turn in to the apex while still braking.  You still have to make sure to hit you marks though!  You just cant or very, very rarely get away with dive bombing the corner.  Most of the time you just plow off into the dirt or wall.   

Trans Am could be a blast with all cars using balanced 5.7 small blocks or my personal fav the ever lovely 5.9L 359 CI stock car swap!  Vintage TA with 9000 RPMs!!!   AI could really take advantage of the 5.7 swap too.   I raced Stalkers Monster Miata with a Monster SRT4 ACR.   Was insane trying to hang onto 300-400hp at Spa.  

All in All I feel the game is definitely worth it.  I totally get it that swinging the cost of a console makes everyones case different.  Its tough to justify the 560 bucks only for the one game.   But Stalker, Fender, and I all plan on playing plenty other games so the large buy in was easier to accept.   But I seriously cant wait for more of you guys to hopefully get FM5 because the racing is way better!    

Just thought Id give my 2 cents for anybody that is will to read it.  Im not the best at wording descriptions but if I see any of you on 360 Ill hit you up and chat about it if ya want.