GTPNewsWire
Contributing Writer
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This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:
This article was published by Kyle Patrick (@SlipZtrEm) on October 2nd, 2019 in the Forza Horizon 4 category.
Forza Horizon 4 One Year Later: Still the Open-World Champ
- Thread starter GTPNewsWire
- 22 comments
- 4,591 views
- 542
- United States
To me the location was the weakest point of this game. Despite having much better driving roads, the entire area didn't feel exciting at all. For the next installment, they definitely need to create their location using the style of Horizon 3. The diversity of Australia with the modern city, forest routes and outback areas made it a great place to drive around in. It also fit the whole music festival theme, unlike old school Britain. Its the main reason I love Horizon 3 far more than 4.
- 124
- London
I feel the opposite tbh, i loved the setting & this game does many things right. However, i agree that H3 was the better game overall.
For me this game has core problems with progression & motivation. There's nothing to work towards in this game, with H3 you had the festivals to unlock & build up. It gave you a continuous goal & reason for racing unlike H4, there's no story, no goal. The progression was also far better with showcases, championships (mostly missing from H4) & races in general unlocking throughout the game. With H4 everything is so front-loaded that you unlock all the showcases & races (of which there are almost half as many less then H3) within 2-3hrs.
Whilst it's probably better then it's current counterparts, it's definitely not the best Horizon game.
- 542
- United States
- 1,344
- Malaysia
- BABOBILIMBI
Is still a fantastic game but I do find that the whole playlist thing is a little annoying, the weekly task felt like home work that I need to do or else I'll miss out content that I might want it. I've sunk 500 hours into it and pretty sick of the events available in it, the entire live service dedicated to bringing in new cars but not a single new race events added that can be repeated. I should check out the new updates on the route maker.
Btw, thanks for using my screenshot in the article!
Btw, thanks for using my screenshot in the article!
HyperSpeeder
(Banned)
- 954
- Brazil
I find the progression aspect of FH3 very overrated. Actually, that's an understatement: FH3 itself is overrated.
FH4 currently has better goals to strive for than FH3. Much as I dislike locking cars behind the Playlist (especially Trials), the fact it introduces new events each week means there's always new stuff to do in the game. Granted, Playground is not the most creative studio out there when it comes to setting milestones for people to achieve, but the Playlist, as a motivation tool, is superior to FH3's Forzathon.
Building the Festivals in FH3 didn't feel like it mattered. It's been what, 2 years since I completed it, but you increased your fanbase to unlock new levels and the Festivals didn't feel any different as soon as you had Festivals in every corner of the map. Being able to buy cars at a hefty discount was certainly very useful, but, other than that, there was no discernible difference over what FH4 does.
FH3's Goliath was the worst... A great track ruined by a start/finish line in the sand.
ANNA kept pestering you in FH3 and she was impossible to deactivate. Even after 100% completion, she'd remark on how you had nothing else to do. Poor game design.
FH4 may have less events, but it has the seasons... Some tracks change drastically between each season, especially during winter. And it also has the Route Creator. With the five slots it gives you, you could increase FH4's track list by almost six times. FH3 does not have a premier Street Scene event either (Marathon), nor does it have premier Dirt and Cross Country events.
In FH4, cars are ghosted in Speed and Drift Zones, a common complaint from those who played FH3. You can also change cars for free, while you must pay a fee to do that in FH3.
With FH4, Playground structured the game around Horizon Life. So there's no A to B progression like with older FH games. You exist in the game and do whatever you want. And there's nothing wrong with it. Especially when, after the 10 hours or so of gameplay, FH3 becomes just that, but worse, since it lacks the whole "Life" aspect. And FH2 is even worse with its finale loops.
- 93
- United States
I enjoy Horizon 4 than 3 but to be honest the festival playlist is starting to feel like a chore and a reason to keep playing every week to get the new released cars. I think they really need to create some new types of events and ways to play in the future to keep the festival playlists feeling more fresh.
I think one of the big mistakes was not giving us a campaign similar to Horizon 1 which is one of the things that make that game very memorable. And I think they could make that story work with the seasons and such. Having different bosses to race as you progress through the seasons would've been very enjoyable.
I think the route creator was a fantastic idea and really helped with the replay value and its something that games like the Crew and NFS need to have if they want good endgame content. I like the idea of Horizon Live cause it had glimpses of Burnout Paradises Freeburn Challenges, but I really think they should've went much deeper with that, kinda like BP where you would have an entire online campaign with a large list of challenges to do with other players and there would be sought after rewards for completing a set aside from just getting forzathon points.
I prefer the handing on this to three driving overall feels good. The Offroad racing specifically I enjoy more than H3 but I detest the Cross Country events, and I absolutely suck at freeroam rush. lol Whoever came up with the idea to ghost the traffic when doing speedzones, and driftzones, deserves a raise cause that was frustrating doing it in H3.
All-in-all I really like FH4 and it's definitely a favorite of racers in this generation, but I do think there are things they could've done more with and really dive into to make it an all-time favorite and alothough I appreciate that they keep the updates going, I think they can add some new things to the Festival Playlists to make it feel fresh and less tedious at times.
I think one of the big mistakes was not giving us a campaign similar to Horizon 1 which is one of the things that make that game very memorable. And I think they could make that story work with the seasons and such. Having different bosses to race as you progress through the seasons would've been very enjoyable.
I think the route creator was a fantastic idea and really helped with the replay value and its something that games like the Crew and NFS need to have if they want good endgame content. I like the idea of Horizon Live cause it had glimpses of Burnout Paradises Freeburn Challenges, but I really think they should've went much deeper with that, kinda like BP where you would have an entire online campaign with a large list of challenges to do with other players and there would be sought after rewards for completing a set aside from just getting forzathon points.
I prefer the handing on this to three driving overall feels good. The Offroad racing specifically I enjoy more than H3 but I detest the Cross Country events, and I absolutely suck at freeroam rush. lol Whoever came up with the idea to ghost the traffic when doing speedzones, and driftzones, deserves a raise cause that was frustrating doing it in H3.
All-in-all I really like FH4 and it's definitely a favorite of racers in this generation, but I do think there are things they could've done more with and really dive into to make it an all-time favorite and alothough I appreciate that they keep the updates going, I think they can add some new things to the Festival Playlists to make it feel fresh and less tedious at times.
- 2,371
- Italia
- STR3LA
Definitely my favorite racer of all times. I bought the X-box for the Horizon series alone and never questioned my decision. Had a lot of good times with H2 and 3, but H4 has just the right things for my kind of gameplay. A beautiful Map, Horizon Live, Forzathon Live, Seasons, My Life, Playlist, Trial, Games, Custom Routes, Stories... everything evolved pretty good over the predecessors.
I wish the next Horizon will get a little bigger map.. the size of GTA5 would be just right for my taste. Make the festival atmosphere and progression NFS Pro Street alike and instead of playlist make it look like the Summits from the first Crew. Make an expansion similar to Calling all Units DLC and I have a perfect game.
I wish the next Horizon will get a little bigger map.. the size of GTA5 would be just right for my taste. Make the festival atmosphere and progression NFS Pro Street alike and instead of playlist make it look like the Summits from the first Crew. Make an expansion similar to Calling all Units DLC and I have a perfect game.
- 390
- Germany
Loved the game and FH4 is the best open world racer out there. It deserves every bit of those 12 million players and hopefully the success story for PG and the Horizon franchise continues. FH3 was very successful aswell and it only got added later to gamepass.
Imagine what they will do with their 2 teams (RPG, FH4) on Scarlett. FH4 looks absolutely sublime.
Imagine what they will do with their 2 teams (RPG, FH4) on Scarlett. FH4 looks absolutely sublime.
- 7
- Namsos, Norway
Honestly FH4 is a very good game. Considering a few mistakes including sounds, a few lack of details and other things. The map, well it isn't the best. FH1 and FH3 had the best maps. I would absolutely love a fiction map with an outback area, a huge forest area, mountain roads, straight highway, a 4 mile long runway and big cities in FH5. They should work on making houses with interiors you can walk in, including a garage. Maybe your private yacht.
It is possible since the Scarlett is even more powerful than a XB1X wich is the most powerful console right now.
For anybody new. That fiction map i mean it doesn't have to be real places.
It is possible since the Scarlett is even more powerful than a XB1X wich is the most powerful console right now.
For anybody new. That fiction map i mean it doesn't have to be real places.
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- 319
- Canada
- Stormer248
- Phendrax248
Agreed, diversity is key with making the landscape memorable and enjoyable. FH4 has plenty of great driving roads, but in my view, the bulk of the map is just too samey. If playground decided to make a completely fictitious "wonders of the world" location in FH5 that sources biomes and cities from around the globe, I would have no issues with that. Its not like their previous maps were ever geographically correct to begin with. All that really matters is ensuring that the locations blend well.
- 9,818
- Denmark
This is a strange game for me. Nowadays I always have to force myself to play it, because I'm kinda fed up with it in many ways, but it's hard not to admire its qualities when I play it at least once every week. It will be one of those racing games people will talk about decades from now.
- 307
- United Kingdom
They missed a trick for me not including a classic house music station. As Britain had a massive rave scene in the late 80s with teens driving all over the countryside looking for illegal raves!
Yeah I'd love a fictional map like that, could really bring an Outrun feel to the game. Also agree about interiors, the game feels a little shallow at times in those regards to me after playing the Test Drive games.
- 2,115
- Sunderland
- 7
- Namsos, Norway
I know. But they haven't brought the game yet. But big cities i mean like the size of Nice, Surfers Paradise and Edinbourgh
HyperSpeeder
(Banned)
- 954
- Brazil
FH3 misuses its diversity.
Outback was great... but it also was a bunch of nothing. The airport, the mines and a bunch of dunes. There's a crevice north of Coober Pedy but almost no reason to ever go there.
Byron Bay has the beach, but you almost don't see it, it's dumped into the southeastern corner of the map and no reason to ever go there. It also pales next to Ambleside, which looks absolutely beautiful in Summer and especially Spring.
Yarra Valley is a pretty generic forest... I'm sure there's some reused assets from it in FH4. It offers... banana fields, I guess?
Finally, Surfers Paradise, which is the least charming city among all the cities ever featured in Horizon. It's just a typical modern coastal city. Nowhere near as vibrant as Nice-Masséna, nor as historic as Edinburgh and Castelletto. There's also a beach there but you don't get to drive on it, presumably because it's crowded and the NPCs are made of concrete.
FH4 has less variation among its regions, and Playground is aware of it... That's why they introduced the seasons, which add enough spice to the game's more homogeneous landscape.
I still think FH2 has the best map in Xbox One-era Horizon and it didn't need deserts and rainforests to do its magic.
- 2
- Australia
Eh, I think FH4 is by far the weakest and most backwards Horizon title ever. The car classes are awful. It’s too claustrophobic and squished together. I mean look at them, there are too many cars per class. The R1, R2, R3, S, A etc system in FH1 is much more balanced.
The multiplayer is a joke sorry. Too laggy, not enjoyable and the ranked system is broken. Even now you still can’t use all car classes. The multiplayer was literally perfect in FH1, why public custom lobbies were ever removed in FH2 and replaced with adventure modes is totally beyond me. This game also has removed so many features from previous titles. Things like selling cars in the garage, Horizon promo etc just makes it worse. The expansions are also disappointing. Neither one has added anything new or exciting to gameplay. Every expansion in previous Horizon games has added something new and different that affects driving (off-road for the first time, snow, insane loops, nos etc), fortune island and LEGO fail here. Just a repeat of fh3 single player.
While there have been a few things the devs have done right this game, it literally feels so far backwards. It feels like a fortnite game with lazy multiplayer, the same repetitive recycled content and rubbish car classes and expansions. It’s kinda turned me off the Horizon series tbh. I don’t even think the devs know what they are doing tbh, one of them even said FH3 was the first game in the series to have street races in a livestream LMAO like have you even played Horizon 1??
FH1 is still by far the best Horizon game in my opinion. Best and most engaging single player (Progression and bosses), easily best multiplayer (most freedom ever with public custom Motorsport styles lobbies), best road layout, best soundtrack and best atmosphere. It felt like I was at an actual car festival racing to achieve something rather than racing for the sake of racing. The devs need to go back and play to realise how much they have gone wrong. If FH5 is anything like 4 I probably won’t purchase it.
The multiplayer is a joke sorry. Too laggy, not enjoyable and the ranked system is broken. Even now you still can’t use all car classes. The multiplayer was literally perfect in FH1, why public custom lobbies were ever removed in FH2 and replaced with adventure modes is totally beyond me. This game also has removed so many features from previous titles. Things like selling cars in the garage, Horizon promo etc just makes it worse. The expansions are also disappointing. Neither one has added anything new or exciting to gameplay. Every expansion in previous Horizon games has added something new and different that affects driving (off-road for the first time, snow, insane loops, nos etc), fortune island and LEGO fail here. Just a repeat of fh3 single player.
While there have been a few things the devs have done right this game, it literally feels so far backwards. It feels like a fortnite game with lazy multiplayer, the same repetitive recycled content and rubbish car classes and expansions. It’s kinda turned me off the Horizon series tbh. I don’t even think the devs know what they are doing tbh, one of them even said FH3 was the first game in the series to have street races in a livestream LMAO like have you even played Horizon 1??
FH1 is still by far the best Horizon game in my opinion. Best and most engaging single player (Progression and bosses), easily best multiplayer (most freedom ever with public custom Motorsport styles lobbies), best road layout, best soundtrack and best atmosphere. It felt like I was at an actual car festival racing to achieve something rather than racing for the sake of racing. The devs need to go back and play to realise how much they have gone wrong. If FH5 is anything like 4 I probably won’t purchase it.
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- 9,818
- Denmark
I agree with many of your points, but purely from gameplay point of view I think it's one of the most enjoyable driving experiences of this console generation, and the world is pretty good at capturing atmospheres that draw you in. Incentives to play will, however, crumble when the monthly season playlists end. I sort of dread the day when I finalize my car collection and realize there's nothing left to play for.
- 2
- Australia
Yeah, on it’s own this game is okay but the biggest issues for me is that compared to its predecessors especially 1 it’s just too far backwards. Big step in the wrong direction. The car classes are the biggest weakness for me personally. A big strength is the driving physics, and the map isn’t too bad but could have been better in my opinion.
- 4,038
- United States
Wow, I feel exactly opposite with everything you wrote. I haven't had an issue with the car count per class, though the overall number of cars in the game is more than anyone needs.
I haven't had any lag issues with multiplayer, so it very well could be your connection? I have a regular group of 12 guys that get together and it's usually smooth as silk unless Xbox Live goes down. I do miss the public lobbies though. That needs to return. I love the expansions and feel they add much more than previous games. I also love the seasons, which is literally game changing year round. I do wish the maps were somehow integrated though instead of loading.
FH4 is indeed the best one so far, but my god they need to dump the avatars/emotes/dancing/clothing ********.
- 319
- Canada
- Stormer248
- Phendrax248
I haven't played FH1-FH3, and am not asking for a FH3 2.0 map. Just one with more variation than what FH4 offers. It doesn't have to be some tropical surfers paradise. It could be a downsized rendition of Europe, China, or South America.
With FH4, I enjoy the entire eastern half of the map. I love the beach, the wind farms, Edinburgh, old airport, and all the very narrow roads in between. It's the western half of the map that I try to avoid, particularly the south west around the festival site. The forest has a lot to offer, even in spite of it's annoying ninety degree corners in the south half; but everything south of the forest is just empty fields and long roads that are neither satisfying for top speed nor agility. Furthermore, the lake to the west is just wasted space in every season aside from winter. It looks pretty to drive past, but I'd rather the space actually be usable. A second city or PROPER tarmac mountain roads (not like the road in the northwest) could have been a better substitute.
As far as the seasons go, I've become numb to it. Only winter ever stands out, and usually not for good reasons. Spring and Fall contrast visually, but are identical in all other aspects, and Summer just feels like a worse version of spring. No snow capped mountain peaks, less foliage in bloom, and less precipitation.
Overall FH4 doesn't have a bad map, there's a lot I enjoy about it. I just want to see more variation in the next game, along with a significant size increase to blend the biomes as realistically as possible. I don't want it to be like NFS Rivals where you go from snowy mountains to desert canyons in a split second.
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