Forza Horizon

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One of the first things gamers will notice is that Forza Horizon actually has a story.  Yep, Forza brings a narrative to the game.  In a nutshell, you enter the Horizon Festival event, which is a combination of music, parties, and of course racing.  During your pursuit to win this yearly event key moments of the story are played out through cutscenes as you climb through the ranks, and in this case earn different coloured wristbands for later events.  I found that although the story is not “academy award’ material, the addition of it takes away from monotony of just racing.  There is a reason ...

If you love Forza 4, this is the perfect companion. If you love cars, this is essential. The school of thought may be that it’s hard to push racing games this late in a generation, but Playground Games hasn’t just moved the needle here. It’s buried it. Ladies and gentlemen, the open road beckons. And racing developers of the world? Playground Games has just put you on notice.

Forza Horizon isn't a game that needs tedious cut-scenes to force a narrative; the road will do that on its own.

Horizon supports both Kinect and SmartGlass. Kinect integration is smartly limited to navigating the world. Saying "GPS" brings up a small menu that allows players to choose the next event, the nearest event, or the Horizon Festival's central hub as their destination - after that, just follow the arrows on the road. Smartglass, on the other hand, is a disappointment. Basically, it functions as a second map screen, allowing users to set navigation points. Unfortunately, the map doesn't scroll or scale smoothly, making it tough to find specific locations, and the "Barn Finds" highlight - clearly...

When is a door not a door? When it’s ajar! DO HO HO! It’s an old (lame) joke but one that is perfectly apt here. So when is Forza not Forza? When it’s Forza Horizon. Playground Games has taken the tried and tested formula of Forza Motorsport and shaken off the cobwebs, letting it loose on the mean streets and mountain roads of Colorado in a game that has faint whiffs of the Need for Speed series while still maintaining its own personality.