FM3 Reviews by GTP members

[Aarodynamics]

I was so excited about this game that I ran out to Best Buy and bought a new 360 Elite, MS wheel, and the game.

I was entertained for about an hour, but then I just got fed up with the ****** physics

Another thing that annoyed me beyond belief that I haven't seen mentioned here yet is the field of view (FOV). It seems like you're looking at everything out of a fisheye lense which makes judging distances very difficult and not nearly as precise.

For a comparison between GT5p and F3, I hopped in an R8 and ran Suzuka back and forth numerous times. I'm using the Logitech Driving Force GT on PS3 and the MS Wheel on F3. The accuracy and realism in GT5p was leaps and bounds better than Forza.

With that said, I give this game a huge 👎 as a racing simulator. I'm sure that it will sell very well though as it is a fun racing game for those who aren't looking for a simulator.

Tomorrow I'm going to Best Buy to return everything if they let me

 

[FyreandIce]

As an offline player only, I can only give it a 5/10.

They have added alot of good little features and stuff but have taken way to much away (like 95% of offline multiplayer) to make the game good.

Half made game by a half arsed developer...

For a comparison between GT5p and F3, I hopped in an R8 and ran Suzuka back and forth numerous times. I'm using the Logitech Driving Force GT on PS3 and the MS Wheel on F3. The accuracy and realism in GT5p was leaps and bounds better than Forza.

Stop right there.

Have you ever driven an R8 around suzuka? Provide proof please.

 

[FyreandIce]

oops, double post.

 

[Bogie 19th]

Now at driver level 11, and 350k, I am getting further into the game and starting to run some faster rides in the season. As the cars are now getting faster, and handling is becoming much improved, the game continues to get better.

I did adjust the brakes to about 60%. Now I just need to upgrade the brakes on each car. While there was some improvement, the braking is not where I want it to be. While less sensitive than it was before, it's still not entirely Race Pro quality yet.

The depth of the career, the top notch physics have really sucked me into this game more than any racing game to date.

I have some nitpicking to do though. The auction house was frustrating last night. I couldn't win an auction for the life of me. Everyone keeps winning auctions in the 0 minutes and my bid is ALWAY outbid. I just can't figure out how they keep beating me.

Sedona is growing into one of my favorite tracks. I just love the curves, the hills, bridge/tunnel, seating....just the entire environment.

Secondly, I hate the fact that if I go through and bid...and I lose, I have to go through everyone one of my bids and request my credits back. Many times it takes a long time, as it appears that this is all online, and the search results sometimes take forever.

I will post more as I get more into the season. I have been racing for what seems hours and hours now...and I am about 1% into the season? Dang this game is going to be long.

 

[Tenacious D]

Nice review. I would seriously recommend even the measly MS wheel over the controller anytime.

Same here. Okay, it's plastic and a big lapdancer, but it's actually good enough that I don't give half a thought to the pricey Fanatec.

I need to spend a bit more time with the game, been having too much fun with the livery editor the past few days, but I'll get around to it when I work my way out of the kindergarten area.

 

[TopGearFan08]

I'm going to keep it brief.

GFX

Nice, nothing special. Cockpits are a total joke in comparison to GT's.

Sound

Top notch, cant fault it 10/10.

Gameplay

Really fun to play.

Physics

Massive letdown, feels like they merged Forza2 with PGR4. Fun? Yes, Realism? lawl..

Car customization

10/10, even the least artistic person such as myself was able to create a pretty decent race livery in about 10minutes. The tuning and upgrades are also excellent and really feel like they have an impact. The real time tuning while test driving is excellent.

Overall 7/10

 

[Aarodynamics]

Stop right there.

Have you ever driven an R8 around suzuka? Provide proof please.

I don't need to have driven an R8 around Suzuka. I've been tracking/racing cars for a number of years (in Real Life®). I know what a well set up FWD, RWD, and AWD car is supposed to feel like in real life when you turn in, and track out. I also know what a 3000lb car feels like when you step on the brakes. I also know the difference of what a car feels like doing all of these things when it has r-comps vs. street tires, or race brake pads vs. sport brake pads.

Gran Turismo isn't real life but it is leaps and bounds closer than Forza is.

 

[Terronium-12]

I'm not going to focus on a review of the entire game as all of it is absolutely positive in my opinion, a perfect 10 simply because all of the problems I've had with the past two are now gone. However, I do have a problem with the AI; they're either far too aggressive, or have no recollection or concern for where you are on the track if not both. The driving patterns are also somewhat bizarre, blocking an opponent is fine but the AI seriously takes up far too much space on the track, and again, too aggressive - too many times have I been rammed, my rear wheels clipped, or simply been crashed into while making a turn or braking. I'm not sure if it's the level I have it on or not but it's certainly something to consider.

I wouldn't call it a problem but I would call it a nuisance.

Another thing, I can't understand why people think unless a car is practically uncontrollable or requires little to no throttle while cornering it isn't realistic. Cars don't have to fly around corners to be realistic.

 

[The Outlaw]

Another thing, I can't understand why people think unless a car is practically uncontrollable or requires little to no throttle while cornering it isn't realistic. Cars don't have to fly around corners to be realistic.

The physics going into a corner are quite off and way too forgiving. Most if not all cars have no noticeable or dangerous amounts of lift throttle oversteer to even call the physics close to being realistic. And the required balance with inputs needed in real life is not there with Forza 3 unfortunately. The on power oversteer traits of the cars are fairly realistic...but that's a very simple element of physics...and probably the most obvious to the average driving enthusiast. Prolouge is much more detailed when it comes to physics at least at speeds above 50mph or so (low speed physics suck of course). But even Prolouge has it's fundamental flaws...like the rock hard tires that get overloaded way too easy with overly drastic inputs.

 

[LaBounti]

After a few more hours I notice the cars do not have great movement in replays, they don't have the suspension movement or body roll like a real car would have(CTS-V for example).

With a silver account I have to rate my "current" progress through the game a 7.9/10. The car list does not impress my much. And the track list is even more stale. With no online and long load times. I have to rate it 7.9/10. Also the Forza 2 cars are not up to par to the Forza 3 models. you can see the R8 4.2 is not has detailed as the R8 V10, The IS350 has different shapes in the body from the IS-F.

like timeattack07gt said its very easy to take turns.

Also lastly the game still, since Forza 1 when driving feels like you are simply moving the screen rather than driving a car. The wheel rotation is still unrealistic when looking at replays. Nothing to kill the game just far from perfect.

 

[Terronium-12]

I'd disagree with most of the cars been overly easy to drive or take corners with. Try taking the Enzo, the ZR1 or even the DBR9 (first three that popped in meh head) and corner hard, see where you end up.

Some of them are, I won't lie about that though...

 

[LaBounti]

Sorry no Zr1 in the standard package. And of course race cars will be more difficult to handle, should the games handling through turns only be judged by the race cars?

 

[The Outlaw]

I'd disagree with most of the cars been overly easy to drive or take corners with. Try taking the Enzo, the ZR1 or even the DBR9 (first three that popped in meh head) and corner hard, see where you end up.

Some of them are, I won't lie about that though...

None of those cars you mentioned are hard to drive Nor do they show realistic handling traits mid corner if you abruptly lift off the throttle...which makes the game and physics way too simplified. The weight transfer just doesn't seem to work all that realistically in that situation sorry to say. Entering a corner is about as simple as hitting your braking point, trailing off the brake and turning in for the apex. The physics don't penalize you much with any oversteer at all for the way you enter the corner, in regards to your smoothness with the inputs (letting off the brake, feeding steering in slowly and carefully, etc) . Regardless of what you do the rear always seems to maintain unrealistic amounts of traction and stability...which is a huge flaw to anyone who knows vehicle physics.

The 993 GT2 is basically a death trap for all but the best drivers in real life. In the game you can basically punch the throttle mid corner and abruptly lift off without worrying one bit over having a moment...do this in real life and you would be stacked up in the tire wall from massive snap oversteer that you could only control with the throttle The car does seem to show a bit of oversteer entering a corner when you do carry to much brake and steering input into the corner, but it doesn't penalize you nearly to the extreme in the way it would in real life.

The physics are really my only gripe of FM3...everything else about the game is wonderful with many aspects that I find much better than Prolouge But the problem for me is that the physics are the most important part of a racing game...and FM3 is a let down in its simplicity

 

[Terronium-12]

None of those cars you mentioned are hard to drive Nor do they show realistic handling traits mid corner if you abruptly lift off the throttle...which makes the game and physics way too simplified. The weight transfer juts doesn't seem to work all that realistically in that situation sorry to say. Entering a corner is about as simple as hitting your braking point, trailing off the brake and turning in for the apex. The physics don't penalize you much with any oversteer at all for the way you enter the corner, in regards to your smoothness with the inputs (letting off the brake, feed steering in slowly and carefully, etc) . Regardless of what you do the rear always seems to maintain unrealistic amounts of traction and stability...which is a huge flaw to anyone who knows vehicle physics.

The 993 GT2 is basically a death trap for all but the best drivers in real life. In the game you can basically punch the throttle mid corner and abruptly lift off without worrying one bit over having a moment...do this in real life and you would be stacked up in the tire wall from massive snap oversteer that you could only control with the throttle The car does seem to show a bit of oversteer entering a corner when you do carry to much brake and steering input into the corner, but it doesn't penalize younearly to the extreme in the way it would in real life. There is only a bit of trail oversteer which is way easier to manage than it would in real life.

Ah. I see the point you're making now. Originally, I misunderstood and took it for something else. How? Who are you asking?

The game does have too much of a grip mechanic, kind of like GT4. That's the price we pay when developers want to attract more (usually stupid) buyers. Never happens to a PC game. Why? It's a niche crowd, and that's more of a positive then the negative people usually dawn upon. Try driving the R10, it feels like a goddamn F1 car...too much grip and it brakes like nothing I've ever seen before, I mean with LMPs you can break really late into corners anyway but I doubt even the real R10 brakes that well.

...I also find it 'almost' impossible to powerslide or even drift the Scuderia unless I flick it or use the e-brake.

 

[The Outlaw]

Ah. I see the point you're making now. Originally, I misunderstood and took it for something else. How? Who are you asking?

The game does have too much of a grip mechanic, kind of like GT4. That's the price we pay when developers want to attract more (usually stupid) buyers. Never happens to a PC game. Why? It's a niche crowd, and that's more of a positive then the negative people usually dawn upon.

I completely agree

Try driving the R10, it feels like a goddamn F1 car...too much grip and it brakes like nothing I've ever seen before, I mean with LMPs you can break really late into corners anyway but I doubt even the real R10 brakes that well.

Well the current LMP cars aren't really too far off F1 cars in terms of performance, at least on higher speed circuits where weight is less of a factor and downforce is more crucial. The Acura LMP1 car is capable of 5g's lateral acceleration (inline with a F1 car) and I doubt the R10 is too far off of that mark. I would say the braking potential of the R10 in FM3 is a fairly realistic representation of the capabilities of the real car 👍

...I also find it 'almost' impossible to powerslide or even drift the Scuderia unless I flick it or use the e-brake.

...

 

[MustangSVT]

I drove the Acura LMP1 car in the game and it's like you said, it feels like an F1 car, but I'm pretty sure that some of these modern prototypes (Peugeot 908, Acura LMP1, maybe the Audi R10 and R15) have high downforce levels. I mean, look at last year at Le Mans (2008). I believe Peugeot set a qualifying lap where their average speed was something like 247km/h. What are the LMP cars setting on Le Mans in Forza? If it's setting much faster than 3:20, then they do have too much grip, if not, then it's in the ballpark.

 

[Terronium-12]

I'll check and see. 👍

Anyone who's said Turn 10 doesn't pay much attention to detail, or isn't as anal about detail as PD is, try this - play with Peugeot 207 S, in the cockpit you'll notice the camera that's used for live feeds (yes, it bounces, too).

Know what it does?

It can "transmit" during the game, as in you can actually cycle to the camera's POV (yes, it still bounces. ). Granted you're not seeing the camera through the windshield, no, it acts as it's own proprietary view...but the effect is still there. Turn 10 may not as anal but they're definitely getting anal about attention to detail.

Massive kudos.

 

[FyreandIce]

I don't need to have driven an R8 around Suzuka. I've been tracking/racing cars for a number of years (in Real Life®). I know what a well set up FWD, RWD, and AWD car is supposed to feel like in real life when you turn in, and track out. I also know what a 3000lb car feels like when you step on the brakes. I also know the difference of what a car feels like doing all of these things when it has r-comps vs. street tires, or race brake pads vs. sport brake pads.

Gran Turismo isn't real life but it is leaps and bounds closer than Forza is.

Sigh, thats like sayin " I drove an old land rover over a hill so I now know exactly how an EVO X or LP640 will handle around the Nurburgring"

Until you have driven the exact same car in both games and in real life and on the same track, you CANNOT compare which is more realistic.

 

[Bogie 19th]

The physics going into a corner are quite off and way too forgiving. Most if not all cars have no noticeable or dangerous amounts of lift throttle oversteer to even call the physics close to being realistic. And the required balance with inputs needed in real life is not there with Forza 3 unfortunately. The on power oversteer traits of the cars are fairly realistic...but that's a very simple element of physics...and probably the most obvious to the average driving enthusiast. Prolouge is much more detailed when it comes to physics at least at speeds above 50mph or so (low speed physics suck of course).

So far, at 6% through the game, and on expert settings now, I have had the exact opposite experience. The physics going into a corner are dang close to real, and the detail of physics above 60 are almost as good as Race Pro, which holds the best on console right now IMO. I was actually getting a bit frustrated with both the oversteer and understeer last night, then realized I again was running the wrong line. However, I was running the wrong line because I have been struggling with an overly aggressive AI.

However, I was driving a Veyron at 200mph+ on the High Speed Ring, and for some reason that particular car was smooth as ice, and as you passed the walls of the ring, it looked like you were going about 40mph. I didn't get the same impression when driving the ZR1 at that speed on the same track though. Sounds like a bug to me

None of those cars you mentioned are hard to drive Nor do they show realistic handling traits mid corner if you abruptly lift off the throttle...which makes the game and physics way too simplified. The weight transfer just doesn't seem to work all that realistically in that situation sorry to say. Entering a corner is about as simple as hitting your braking point, trailing off the brake and turning in for the apex. The physics don't penalize you much with any oversteer at all for the way you enter the corner, in regards to your smoothness with the inputs (letting off the brake, feeding steering in slowly and carefully, etc) . Regardless of what you do the rear always seems to maintain unrealistic amounts of traction and stability...which is a huge flaw to anyone who knows vehicle physics.

The 993 GT2 is basically a death trap for all but the best drivers in real life. In the game you can basically punch the throttle mid corner and abruptly lift off without worrying one bit over having a moment...do this in real life and you would be stacked up in the tire wall from massive snap oversteer that you could only control with the throttle The car does seem to show a bit of oversteer entering a corner when you do carry to much brake and steering input into the corner, but it doesn't penalize you nearly to the extreme in the way it would in real life.

The physics are really my only gripe of FM3...everything else about the game is wonderful with many aspects that I find much better than Prolouge But the problem for me is that the physics are the most important part of a racing game...and FM3 is a let down in its simplicity

Knock on wood that I haven't had any of the above issues.

The game does have too much of a grip mechanic, kind of like GT4.

Well, we were complaining LOUD and CLEAR back when FM2 was out that the cars didn't weight enough on the track, and didn't have enough grip. Every car was like driving on a butter coated track around the entire track, and each car felt like they were made out of balsa wood. I personally am glad they fixed that problem this time around.

 

[KSaiyu]

I gotta say, I haven't spun out once in a race/hotlapping on my own. From racing with other cars, yes but never into a spin. I've ended up understeering off when I've pushed too hard but it doesn't matter if I snap off the throttle in a '90s MR2, Evora or BMW M5 I haven't ever lost a slide. Obviously I'm not balls to the wall pushing but I checked on some leaderboards after the races and they end up top 50 times so it's at least close to the cars limits.

It's a little disappointing since pushing for leaderboards in the game is seemingly all a battle against understeer (at least in the classes up to B) and it reduces a lot of the cars to feeling like they are clones with more or less grip than one another. I've tried putting in diffs, overloading cars with power compared to grip yet still the results are the same. Particularly annoying since something I was looking forward to was driving the stock classic cars around Amalfi/Fujimi and comparing differences. To be honest when I drove the GTA around Amalfi, save for the cockpit view and sound I wouldn't know it was any different to my tuned MR2.

 

[Bogie 19th]

I think I have spent more time facing backwards than forwards in my ZR1 when hotlapping

 

[Terronium-12]

Well, we were complaining LOUD and CLEAR back when FM2 was out that the cars didn't weight enough on the track, and didn't have enough grip. Every car was like driving on a butter coated track around the entire track, and each car felt like they were made out of balsa wood. I personally am glad they fixed that problem this time around.

Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely giddy (yes, giddy) that every car in FM3 doesn't want to snap into a dirt patch or crash into a wall, that slight miscalculation (to some extent) of the physics annoyed the living pis out of me. The thing I'm really complaining about here is that we all pay for developers wanting to attract a broader demographic, other than those of the hardcore nature; with that comes ease of use and a bunch of plain "black and white" hints. Should FM had been one of Microsoft's PC titles that broadened demographic would have been fingered off and the physics would have been improved to more of a natural as opposed to the semi-neutrally realistic aspect we're faced with now - GT5 is going to suffer the exact same fate.

 

[Bogie 19th]

Should FM had been one of Microsoft's PC titles

Thank god it didn't. I wouldn't be playing it

 

[Terronium-12]

Thank god it didn't. I wouldn't be playing it

Not much of a PC gamer I take it?

 

[Bogie 19th]

Not much of a PC gamer I take it?

No, not really. Granted, I run Macs at home. But even then, I just prefer to throw a disc in and sit in my home theater area and jam. I just use my computers to browse the web.

For the record, I am NOT saying PC gaming sucks or anything. It's just that I personally am not interested in PC gaming. I know that MILLIONS love PC gaming.

 

[Terronium-12]

No, not really. Granted, I run Macs at home. But even then, I just prefer to throw a disc in and sit in my home theater area and jam. I just use my computers to browse the web.

For the record, I am NOT saying PC gaming sucks or anything. It's just that I personally am not interested in PC gaming. I know that MILLIONS love PC gaming.

Understandable. The thing I love/hate most about computers is the constant (and I do mean constant) one-ups in tech. You buy a Core 2 Quad one day, and then six months later there's a Core 10 Octo.

Paraphrasing, of course.

 

[vr6wantsr20det]

I do agree with the easier physics comment. It does seem anyone with decent knowledge of the track and racing games in general will have no problem beating the AI and winning races. I bought the 911 Turbo Gt2 (MR) version and thought it would suffer from lift-off throttle oversteer but none of that happens, it grips and just tears up the course. I am playing with a controller so i feel i can't give a fair comparison or opinion on the physics, wish i could pony up for the Fanatec and see what this game really has to offer or lacks. I do enjoy it with the gamepad, but i bought the game more for Drifting and the car customization which is still fun and enjoyable with the gamepad. Love drifting and hitting the clipping points and setting up/linking the next turn. I am enjoying the racing and just breezing through the campaign mode (medium difficulty), but i'm mainly doing it to get more money and buy/customize all the drift cars i can get my hands on. Even with the controller compared to GT5p (normally use G25 but tried controller a few times) but Forza 3 definitely has an easier physics engine. I have all aids off, manual shifting (no clutch it's a hassel with the gamepad), only thing i have on is the Braking line to learn some of the courses i don't know. With the porsche gt2 it has soo much grip i can hit e-bake if i get understeer, and i FLOOR it, i can barely keep the back end around, it gains traction very quickly (car is bone stock, no upgrades). I know the engine is in the rear so the extra weight over the tires helps grip but with that much power i should be able to be tail-happy all over the track if i wanted/needed to. Fun game overall, i wasn't expecting too much so i am happy with it.

👍

 

[FoolKiller]

OK, last night my friend had gotten the game from Gamefly and invited myself and another PS3 only friend over for some pizza, beer, and Forza.

Of course, the host has never been a big sim racing type fan and considers the Forza and GT games to be too much effort. This quickly became obvious. Anyway, he set it to Easy difficulty with the driving line on. We switched drivers each race and were doing the season mode. The most powerful car we drove was the 2005 NSX (I think we made it through a season and a half, about 3 and half hours of playing straight). We only used a controller. This information is what I am basing my review on.


Graphics: These are OK. Some tracks I would think look as good or better than GT, and others I felt were kind of meh at best. Cars were decent, definitely better than most racing games, but not what I was hoping for between hype and playing Prologue. My friend who doesn't play GT even mentioned that they were a bit less than he was expecting.

Physics: It took me a second to adjust, but once I got the handle of it the game was fairly simple to control. I was way more aggressive going into turns than I should have been able to do, but as I said, my friend put it on easy mode. My friend had to run about three races before he could start to win, while the other two of us were winning immediately. The driving line seemed way off too.

AI: It seemed too easy to beat, but we were still early in the game. At times they would get physically aggressive when fighting for the line, but their ability (or lack of) to drive fast was a bit disappointing.

Damage: I question why people demand visual damage from games if this is what we get. The mechanical damage is fine. Having my car pull to the left because I overcooked a turn and hit a wall on the front left corner is expected. This is a sign that this could be much more flushed out in a fuller experience. But the front of the car looked like noting more than the radiator should have been affected, if that. And rear ending an AI car extremely hard and having the front of mine just blackened seems odd. Visually I was unimpressed, but nothing I have seen in realistic racing games has left me impressed. This isn't anything against Forza though, but just me asking "What's the point?"

Overall: If I had no Gran Turismo to play this would be the racing game to get. It is definitely better than Shift and didn't have me ready to strangle the AI programmers the way Ferrari Challenge did. But I personally prefer the interface and layout of GT (a schedule seems odd if you are switching between classes and cars all the time) and think that Forza 3 is just lacking a bit on the main elements of the game. Forza does add nice details to make the game have more of a fast and fun feel, but it is a touch too much when I feel like I am flying in a low class car and then realize I have barely hit 100mph. This is a great game no doubt, but it will not replace GT as my favorite. It will make me look more at the feasibility of getting a 360 soon. There are a lot of improvements over the past two games.

Score: 8.5/10 with the understanding that I have a lot more to explore in the game and the knowledge that my friend had it nearly set on stupid mode. With all that this is the first Forza title I actually want to own.

 

[Joey D]

Forza is pretty awesome. This is how I pretty much view it right now:

Pros:

• Diversity of cars, I love being able to jump from a Fiesta to a Range Rover to a LeMans car.
• Tuning and customisation, building ridiculous car combos is pretty epic.
• The interface.
• The Store Front, it makes getting certain things much easier. I wanted a Michigan license plate the other night so I just searched it and got one.
• Attention to detail in the cars, the MINI shows a working clock and fuel gauge.
• Entertainment value
• Physics
• Fantasy tracks
• Menus music

Meh

• Season calender
• Online play
• Race diversity
• Race music

Cons

• Load times
• Rim selection
• Body kit Selection
• No vinyls on the glass
• Focus on "faster" cars

Overall I think it's probably a 8.5/10 which is excellent. I really hope the GT series really steps up its game because it has a lot to compete with here.

 

[LaBounti]

See my 7.9/10 isn't so bad then. My minuses are mostly on the game being locked away if you don't pay for it. I dont see collection cars as a feature since i ignored many of the cars in Forza2 and they are all back. The Physics were not factored into it since its easier to drive than say Shift or GT5P when you push cars and break late. under steer is unseen in low powered fwd cars.