mfnick Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 Made a quick start and done the first set of races/championship & part way through another. Initial impressions, the handling instantly feels great. Just opening up the next set of tours the progression system seems promising with a variety of disciplines to get stuck into. Graphically it’s impressive but I can’t help but be disappointed. It’s a noticeable step down from the initial trailers. & while they do look great the cars have a weird uncanny valley (but in car form) look to them. This is an area GT7 excels, in particular the paintwork and light clusters where I was hoping FM might catch up. So GT7 is still the car porn game of choice. However the tracks themselves along with scenery and weather effects look better here to me & the cars get wear on them throughout the race which gives this a much better visual look & realism overall IMO. Plus when using the chase cam the cars look like they’re actually turning not just pivoting from the center. Huge shout out once again to the audio. They’ve excelled themselves once again. It’s a significant step up even from FH 5 which was no slouch in this department. Only used 3 cars so far but they’re ones I’ve had real life experience with and they sound near perfect. The environmental effects such as heavy rain hitting the roof just fits perfectly too. Top marks. A couple of early concerns though. So far it’s making me do a 3 lap practice sessions before each race. This just feels like a huge waste of time for the most part and should absolutely be optional. Why it’s forced I’ve no idea, I really hope this goes after playing for a bit. Another is the car upgrade path. You essentially level up a car by using it by getting XP for overtakes and nailing sections of the track. What this means is unless you’ve actually used a car for a few races you won’t be able to buy upgrades for it. This seems absolutely ridiculous to me and actively discourages you from using different cars. It’s insane. I’m just hoping it’s not as bad as it initially seems. Apart from those niggles early impressions are still strong though. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my short time with it so far & looking forward to getting stuck in more. It just feels great. It lets you set your grid position too and the satisfaction & fun of starting towards the back & fighting though the crowded pack is pretty much unmatched already. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimboxy Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 8 minutes ago, mfnick said: the cars look like they’re actually turning not just pivoting from the center That's good to hear, that's a pet peeve of mine with some racing games where it feels like you're turning the track around the car, not the car around the track. I always had that issue with Ridge Racer and the original mario kart to name two. It's a once you notice it you can't un-notice it thing and why I've always used the "Stuck to the front like a dead fly" view since Ridge Racer Revolution 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmmark Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 Bought the premium upgrade. It’s only 23.99 from cdkeys. Brum brum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmmark Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 I’ve only played a little bit but it’s quite impressive so far. I think I have my settings just right. If you just accept the defaults tho I can’t imagine you’re controlling much or getting a challenge. Steering and brake assistance just seems very mario kart. What was doing my head in a bit was that it looked like the gamma was too high. I went in to settings to change the brightness but it didn’t make a difference. Turns out it’s a bug that you just need to quit and restart the game to resolve. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatular Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 On 05/10/2023 at 22:21, mfnick said: A couple of early concerns though. So far it’s making me do a 3 lap practice sessions before each race. This just feels like a huge waste of time for the most part and should absolutely be optional. Why it’s forced I’ve no idea, I really hope this goes after playing for a bit. you can skip the practice i think but its a bit hidden in the pause menu under exit i think, and maybe the initial ones are mandatory. i only played a little bit but initial impressions are good. The tracks and handling seemed good which is the main thing for me. yeah the having to level up each car to upgrade it seems stupid, see how it pans out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfnick Posted October 10, 2023 Author Share Posted October 10, 2023 Yea eventually found that out after reaching 2nd or 3rd tour. It is under exit which makes no sense. Would still prefer the option to just go straight to races but it’s something. Definitely still not a fan of the car progression thing. Maybe if it was tied to the manufacturer? Or even if it was that specific model it’d help a bit too. Say if I have the 370z I’m using at the minute. If I want a drift build and a track build I have to level up that car from scratch again to be able to do a drift set up unless I change it manually every time I want to swap on that particular setup. Makes no sense. I’m enjoying the gameplay but everything around it is really turning me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nag Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 I started this tonight, been playing a couple of hours and so far I'm kinda loving it... I've not spent any time with a full on track based racer since Driveclub on PS4 so this is kind've a breath of fresh air for me. It looks phenomenal and sounds amazing... I'm even not hating the level up system or practice laps (at the moment) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimboxy Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 How are people getting on with this? I'm not sure if it's because I've not played a track racer properly for a long time (Forza 3 on the 360) or I'm just to used to the Horizon games, but I'm finding it a little bit of a chore. I'll keep going with it for the time being, as I've got Game Pass until January, but I'm not enjoying it as much as I'd hoped I would. I can't really put my finger on why, it feels like the Forza I remember, I quite like the game play loop of choose a tournament, get a car for it, level that car up as you go through and come out the other side with something better, but I think it might be a bit dull. Maybe I just enjoy the Horizon games more these days. I'm playing in performance mode on the Series S, oh boy it does not look good. I'm not a bit graphics guy but it looks very "last gen", but runs at 60fps though. Not tried it in visual mode (I can't remember the correct term) as I can't handle the switch back to 30fps once I'm at 60. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaggletooth Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 Not really got into it too much, primarilly bought it to play with freinds who have it on PC, however that version is in poor state, crashes ect from what ive heard. I did opening tutorial, trying to find a sweet spot on the control scheme. Feedback is good but the triggers suffer from lack of resistance in my mind. I dont like playing with too many assists on rrally dislike the partial abs braking. Its like dumbed down racing. I am a bit biased I have always enjoyed the gt handling model, to me it feels more "right" but just personal preference. Seems they have taken the bad lessons from gt and put in too many menus, honestly the settings for car alone should be a lot more refined. that being said it looks nice, has a goood sense of speed to it. Im sure ill adapt more to it when freinds get back online with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfnick Posted October 17, 2023 Author Share Posted October 17, 2023 Don’t know why, but meh. Really not doing it for me. To say I’ve been looking forward to this for ~6 years it’s really disappointing for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatular Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 Im enjoying it but not as much as i did 7, in some ways anyway, well the single player, i think ive not had a big enough gap from playing something similar as i was playing GT about once a week till quite recently, and i need to be in the right mood to play something like this, which im not sure i am, and the single player doesnt really feature racing cars which i much prefer, although the normal cars in this handle pretty well so its not been too bad there. The single player seems pretty good im just not that into it and for some reason want to finish it. i have played a bit online with a friend and done a little rivals stuff both those i enjoyed a lot more than the single player mode. the AI seems slightly better than in 7 from what i remember but still pretty crap like it is in most racing games. Ive had some crashes on xbox. it doesnt throw cars at you like some previous forza games, i quite like having cars thrown at me. Although not had any money problems, been able to buy the next car i need no problem. Would have liked to be able to buy more racing cars though. In rivals or online you seem to be able to just lend any cars you need. the car upgrade system that i still think is stupid has caused me zero problems so far in the actual game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nag Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 There's been a patch on this drastically dropping level requirements for car upgraded... think all upgrades are unlocked by level 25 now, with tire compounds unlocking at level 3... that'll make huge difference. I've not played a huge amount but I'm still enjoying the single player, I've done the qualifying series in multi which was fun but don't really get the whole timed aspect of the qualifying/practice in the next set... having to basically practice for up to half an hour before the race begins is a substantial time commitment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandsomeDead Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 I'm playing it now. I'm simultaneously having a really good time and getting a bit frustrated. It's just the long races so early. I don't mind 6 or 7 lap races in a series of 5 but to pretty much open with that is a bit much. And you have to qualify. While I'm getting used to things I wish it was more like the previous games where you just do a load of low stakes 3 lap races and build up to longer ones. It's also Forza 3 I last seriously played a game like this too. But I'm currently flinging around an '87 Sierra Cosworth so that's fun. Someone who lived near me had one of these when I was a little kid. I was obsessed with it so 7 y/o is still having a hoot still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nag Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 1 hour ago, HandsomeDead said: And you have to qualify. You can skip it... but you'll lose a load of car XP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmmark Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 7 lap races are long? 😅 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandsomeDead Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 Dude, I can finish a whole run of Outrun 2 in what it takes to do 7 laps of this. It's long enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmmark Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 I do know what you mean especially if you’re in the lead after two laps. I usually start default 12th but I think I’m going to start knocking me back a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandsomeDead Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 I've done quite a few from right at the back because extra money and I am trying to get better at overtaking since it penalises you for doing it Gran Turismo 2 style. It's not difficult, the back row are really bad but that's also the problem. They take up the best racing lines while being slow as hell. Learning to cleanly find alternative lines has been interesting if frustrating. I think even in earlier Forza games you could mostly just shunt people out of the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craymen Edge Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 I just started this afternoon. So many unskippable cinematics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now