Forza Motorsport 6 Review

"Pinnacle of Racing"

Campaign

Taking a page out of the Horizon 2 playbook we kick off the game with a trailer about racing and the drive that pushes us to race against one another. That message is mostly true as every single person has a competitive desire to push forward and this is the game the genre has been racing to since it began on the consoles of old. When Forza Motorsport 5 released back at launch I thought it was definitely a beautiful game that was decent though it did have quite a lack of content.

For Forza 6 it feels like this is the game that should have released then with over 460 launch cars matched to 26 tracks to race across. Each of these vehicles and tracks is beautifully captured into the game with perfection. The amount of detail present is breathtaking as each level features a number of scenic elements to help capture a more natural scene. Birds fly about; leaves float off trees and fireworks can be seen in the distance. Aside from those smaller details people also appear 3D this time around and trees look great though sadly lack movement during weather conditions which seems out of place.

Another huge difference is the night and rain tracks which are present. These conditions have never been seen before in past Forza titles so this is a huge and welcomed change-up. Rain looks quite realistic on both the track and on your wind shield. The cars also have water sprinkle off of them and puddles can be splashed about, be wary of the hydroplaning. Night driving is also present with some very dark levels with just the right amount of light that emulates that environment in real life.

With the story you race across a number of semi-selected events to compete in with various cars. These circuits range in length of races and take you to a few differing levels. There's a massive amount of these to complete and a number of tiers to advance across.

Aside from the core competitions you can choose to partake in a vast number of showcase events where each race focuses on a particular car highlighting it to show what's special about that model. These cover a wide variety of cars and tracks with themes that keep each unique. I actually found this aspect to be more appealing to me as they were focus events compared to multi-track circuit competitions which were much tenser.

Forza Motorsport 6 Screenshot

Multiplayer

Multiplayer is largely the same this time around bringing twenty-four racers together in lobbies as they race against each other in competitive events or more fun modes like infection where it's essentially tag with cars.

Everyone can vote on maps or a host could select them if you play private to choose what course to race on. There are also options for what tier of car is allowed during the race so everyone will have to match that level to a degree which keeps the race equal. The majority of my time online was decent though you can clearly see some difference in skills within a lobby, but it was fun taking a more relaxed shot at racing other drivers.

Gameplay

Forza 6 is the most beautiful and realistic racing game you can play at this point. The level of graphics and details within the environments take this racing game to the next level with not too much more to be done to make it anymore authentic. It worries me that there's this much detail and expansion in one title since it'll be hard to be more impressive across future titles.

The additions of both the rain and night tracks were well welcomed for this title since they definitely provide deeper variation. The fact that these new environments were captured so perfectly was outstanding as the rain levels are the next level of realism. The splashing and look of the mud filled water was quite a sight to behold while whipping through it.

Drivatars return once more from past Forza titles featuring player-like movements as they attempt to replicate the attached gamertag to them. These cloud based racers learn from you and then compete against friends or other players across the globe. Races contain up to twenty four racers on the track at once which is complete insanity.

With the total of 460 cars present there is truly a vehicle for every person and so many brands are covered within this title. As with the past titles you can download custom liveries from online, create your own or pick from a number of colors to choose from.

Once that's done the option to upgrade and tune your vehicles is also present for each which can make the experience much more connected to you as an individual racer. Another new addition within Forza 6 is mod trading cards, which makes sense since trading cards are all the rage in these times. These cards are broken down into three categories and provide multiple variations on the game.

Some challenge you, others give race bonuses depending on performance and the final area adds vehicles bonuses. Cards can be bought with credits in a number of pack options for increased rarity and then applied before a race is set to start. The rewind feature also returns which I'm thankful for since it greatly improves my ability and enjoyment of racing. I did find in this Forza that the rewinds on occasion would take you too far back on portions which was annoying. Horizon 2 got that feature done the best so far, but it still functions fine enough here.

Forza Motorsport 6 Screenshot

The Conclusion

I was never a fan of racing games in the past only enjoying PGR before and then I really got into the Forza titles once I gave them a try. While I've switched between these titles and prefer the open road I can't help but appreciate the amount of detail that's present on this circuit track.

The lighting system that's mixed with the variety of smaller background additions created the perfect racing atmosphere aside from the tree comment. There really isn't anything that can compete to the level that Forza Motorsport 6 provides as it's the ultimate racing game. The amount of detail; the cars, the tracks and the realism is matched by none of the genre. It truly is the definitely racing title that all others in the history of racing games have been geared towards.


Forza Motorsport 6 Review Review on Xbox One
Review Code Provided by Microsoft

Rating Overall: 9.1

Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner