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- Allen, Texas
- crispychicken49
- crispychicken49
Introduction
You may think this as being late. Well, it might be, but I needed to play every aspect of the game before reviewing it. I think a week and a half should be enough time! To make it a little bit more interesting, why don't we compare it to, I don't know, Spec II for GT5!
(DISCLAIMER: I am not going to touch on any of the faults of GT5 before Spec-II. I am going to review the game as if it just came out, with Spec-II as the original game.)
You may think this as being late. Well, it might be, but I needed to play every aspect of the game before reviewing it. I think a week and a half should be enough time! To make it a little bit more interesting, why don't we compare it to, I don't know, Spec II for GT5!
(DISCLAIMER: I am not going to touch on any of the faults of GT5 before Spec-II. I am going to review the game as if it just came out, with Spec-II as the original game.)
Singleplayer
Online is such a big thing in games today, that many times I feel the singleplayer get's overlooked. To me, the singleplayer is THE most important part. It keeps people without online services into the game, not to mention it's the basis of the game itself. That may just be me growing up with the two original Playstations, but that's not the point. Let's see how these two stack up together, shall we?
Forza4: Many things are available to explore in this game. You have things like Painting your cars up with the livery editor. Maybe your a tuning junkie, and would like to make your cars go the extra mile. Might I say, tuning has finally come into play for the first time in a singleplayer mode! In the last Forza's, you could upgrade your car, and win. Well now the AI also auto upgrade their cars too, which means if you really want to get the extra edge on the AI, try creating a setup, instead of installing a bunch of parts.
World tour mode is also a very big part of the game. Basically, you race around the world on some of the most difficult and fun tracks you'll ever race! I have a few things to note though, and they aren't exactly all that great.
Turn 10 made a HUGE deal over the Auto-advancing AI. This was a system based on skill, where the more skillful player will have harder AI than a person just trying out the game. This would be great, if it worked. What I have worked out is that, the AI update themselves, so that it may be a bit harder to actually get to the top, but once your there, it's easy to stay ahead. Get lost in traffic, or wreck and you'll be fighting for every last place you can get. It also seems to me like they got the person from Shift 2 to do the AI, which is great, but he wanted to get back at Turn 10 or something, so he made them very aggressive.
Then there's the XP system. At around level 15 or so, you have the option to get some of the fastest supercars around. Not to mention you get ranked up almost every two or three races. It seems they are preparing you for online, but I kinda want to work for the stuff, just without grinding it.
GT5 Spec-II: In this, you go through five levels of races. You have Beginner, Amatuer, Professional, Expert, and Endurance. Beginner is where you race the lower powered cars that you get at the very beginning of the game. Amatuer is where you begin to race your average sports cars, things like Camaro's, Skylines, M3's, cars like that. Professional is the supercars like Ferrari's and Lamborghini's. Expert is the LMP cars. And then you get Endurance's. This is where I think this game steps up on the Singleplayer racing. There are many great races here, but sadly, they're overshadowed by the bad.
Things like AI, some of the most uncompetitive AI I've ever seen in a racing game, ever. They just back up when you roll up on them, and they don't even fight to keep they're place.
Another gripe is the XP system. In Forza it's way too easy, and in GT5 SII, it's way too hard! At about level 30 or so, you get to the point where, even if you finish all the races in a series with gold medals and all, you may barely get to the next level. Otherwise you need to grind your way to victory, which isn't that much victory. This is of course remedied by Seasonal events and XP percentage increases, but it doesn't really help all that much.
In Forza you can paint, tune, and pretty much do anything. In GT5 SII, all you really have to do is hotlap when your bored. And that get's boring after a while. Sure you have tuning, but it's not as extensive as Forza.
Verdict: Forza has many things to do if your bored, and the great's far outshine the bad. With GT5 SII, a lot of things are wrong. It's still fun, but to me, Forza get's my vote.
Forza: 17/20
GT5 SII: 12/20
Forza4: Many things are available to explore in this game. You have things like Painting your cars up with the livery editor. Maybe your a tuning junkie, and would like to make your cars go the extra mile. Might I say, tuning has finally come into play for the first time in a singleplayer mode! In the last Forza's, you could upgrade your car, and win. Well now the AI also auto upgrade their cars too, which means if you really want to get the extra edge on the AI, try creating a setup, instead of installing a bunch of parts.
World tour mode is also a very big part of the game. Basically, you race around the world on some of the most difficult and fun tracks you'll ever race! I have a few things to note though, and they aren't exactly all that great.
Turn 10 made a HUGE deal over the Auto-advancing AI. This was a system based on skill, where the more skillful player will have harder AI than a person just trying out the game. This would be great, if it worked. What I have worked out is that, the AI update themselves, so that it may be a bit harder to actually get to the top, but once your there, it's easy to stay ahead. Get lost in traffic, or wreck and you'll be fighting for every last place you can get. It also seems to me like they got the person from Shift 2 to do the AI, which is great, but he wanted to get back at Turn 10 or something, so he made them very aggressive.
Then there's the XP system. At around level 15 or so, you have the option to get some of the fastest supercars around. Not to mention you get ranked up almost every two or three races. It seems they are preparing you for online, but I kinda want to work for the stuff, just without grinding it.
GT5 Spec-II: In this, you go through five levels of races. You have Beginner, Amatuer, Professional, Expert, and Endurance. Beginner is where you race the lower powered cars that you get at the very beginning of the game. Amatuer is where you begin to race your average sports cars, things like Camaro's, Skylines, M3's, cars like that. Professional is the supercars like Ferrari's and Lamborghini's. Expert is the LMP cars. And then you get Endurance's. This is where I think this game steps up on the Singleplayer racing. There are many great races here, but sadly, they're overshadowed by the bad.
Things like AI, some of the most uncompetitive AI I've ever seen in a racing game, ever. They just back up when you roll up on them, and they don't even fight to keep they're place.
Another gripe is the XP system. In Forza it's way too easy, and in GT5 SII, it's way too hard! At about level 30 or so, you get to the point where, even if you finish all the races in a series with gold medals and all, you may barely get to the next level. Otherwise you need to grind your way to victory, which isn't that much victory. This is of course remedied by Seasonal events and XP percentage increases, but it doesn't really help all that much.
In Forza you can paint, tune, and pretty much do anything. In GT5 SII, all you really have to do is hotlap when your bored. And that get's boring after a while. Sure you have tuning, but it's not as extensive as Forza.
Verdict: Forza has many things to do if your bored, and the great's far outshine the bad. With GT5 SII, a lot of things are wrong. It's still fun, but to me, Forza get's my vote.
Forza: 17/20
GT5 SII: 12/20
Multiplayer
Forza: Wow, you can really tell this game was made for multiplayer. A balanced PI system makes for very close racing, not to mention you can race with the AI online. And when you can choose AI difficulty, it's even better! You have many things like Top Gear Soccer, Forza Le Mans (My personal favorite), tag, virus, and regular Circuit Racing. One downside is that when you setup an online racing series, qualifying doesn't work, and your forced to tell everyone the place they qualified in, just a minor gripe however.
GT5 SII: Another pretty good feature, yet it isn't very well rounded. Certainly not as good as Forza's. One thing I like though is looking through lists of matches you can join. In Forza you search and find a match, and the only say you have is which gametype you go into.
Vedict: I feel both have something to take from each other. GT5 SII is more like traditional racing, and Forza has traditional racing, and fun mini-games to go along. I'm with Forza on this one though.
Forza: 19/10
GT5 SPII:18/20
GT5 SII: Another pretty good feature, yet it isn't very well rounded. Certainly not as good as Forza's. One thing I like though is looking through lists of matches you can join. In Forza you search and find a match, and the only say you have is which gametype you go into.
Vedict: I feel both have something to take from each other. GT5 SII is more like traditional racing, and Forza has traditional racing, and fun mini-games to go along. I'm with Forza on this one though.
Forza: 19/10
GT5 SPII:18/20
Physics
Forza: You can feel a huge difference between FM4 and FM3. The new tire model is great, and you can feel every change the car encounters on the track. Tuning has a more larger advantage then previous installments. If you don't have a good tune setup, don't expect to win. Still, there are a lot of things that could be done better. A NTM doesn't exactly mean the greatest physics around, but it is a great start.
GT5 SII: I think this games get's overall physics right. Sure it doesn't have advanced tire physics, but you can really tell the changing in suspension as you go over bumps. The Nurburgring is a great example of this. If you have a soft suspension setup then your car will be very touchy on this track.
Verdict:I admit, my original verdict was slightly in favor of GT5, however, in order to provide an accurate review, I must test both games equally, I apologize. Here are the reworked scores.
Forza: 18/20
GT5 SII: 15/20
GT5 SII: I think this games get's overall physics right. Sure it doesn't have advanced tire physics, but you can really tell the changing in suspension as you go over bumps. The Nurburgring is a great example of this. If you have a soft suspension setup then your car will be very touchy on this track.
Verdict:I admit, my original verdict was slightly in favor of GT5, however, in order to provide an accurate review, I must test both games equally, I apologize. Here are the reworked scores.
Forza: 18/20
GT5 SII: 15/20
Graphics
Forza: In FM4 Turn 10 used a thing called Image Based Lighting, or IBL for short. It's some of the greatest lighting in a video game I've ever seen. Doesn't really look perfectly realistic, but it sure does look beautiful! Now, one thing I must mention, is that it's smooth as well. Well, kinda. The mirror's slightly vary in FPS from time to time, but the game runs smoothly with no tears or FPS variations at all, a huge plus.
GT5 SII: Graphics on the game are outstanding. I said Forza's are more beautiful than realistic, and I think I'll say GT's are more Realistic than beautiful. At times you will think your looking at real life video. I think the game shines in the Overcast weather. However, the amount of skips in FPS and tearing is way too much. When these things happen you will quickly realize that your looking at a video game, and that shouldn't happen.
Verdict: I would give GT the upperhand if it wasn't for the crappy glitches they allowed in the game. For something from the 21st Century, it sure doesn't look like it. When it looks good though, it looks good. For that, here's the scores.
Forza: 17/20
GT5 SII: 17/20
GT5 SII: Graphics on the game are outstanding. I said Forza's are more beautiful than realistic, and I think I'll say GT's are more Realistic than beautiful. At times you will think your looking at real life video. I think the game shines in the Overcast weather. However, the amount of skips in FPS and tearing is way too much. When these things happen you will quickly realize that your looking at a video game, and that shouldn't happen.
Verdict: I would give GT the upperhand if it wasn't for the crappy glitches they allowed in the game. For something from the 21st Century, it sure doesn't look like it. When it looks good though, it looks good. For that, here's the scores.
Forza: 17/20
GT5 SII: 17/20
Gameplay
This is what makes, or breaks a game. How well all this stuff comes together is what it's all about. You can easily give a game perfect scores on all those things above, but if it come together like a bunch of dollar store plastic, then the game could fail. Here we go, this is going to be a good one!
Forza: All these features tie into each other. The game feels connected to itself perfectly. All of the cars look good. And they especially got the list right. You have more car's that have something to do with Motoring history. The tracks are more fun, and they picked the best of the real world tracks. In the multiplayer you have rivals, which is the most addicting thing in video game history, then you have car clubs, and all sorts of stuff you can't get enough of. To me, it feels like a more well rounded game. The sounds in this game are also hugely spectacular. You let off the gas and you'll here the gunshot sound of backfire. Go off course and you'll here the ground crunching under your tires. Bounce of the rev-limiter and your engine will crackle. Just amazing!
GT5 SII: Though the features are great, they don't seem integrated well. The graphics are good, until you find out that there are only about 200 or so cars that look good. All the features seem put there to distract the bad things, which isn't what features are for. 800 of the cars are last generation models. They may have cockpits, but only about 30 have some which are worth viewing. It feels like a distraction rather than something you want to look at. To put is simply, the sounds in this game either sound like an: A-Roomba, or B-Super Skyline.
Verdict: I'm sorry, but GT just can't stand against Forza right now. Both games are great, but one is just better overall. No chance here, just not possible. I forgot to mention sounds. Here are the reworked scores.
Forza: 20/20
GT5 SII: 8/20
Overall:
Forza: 91/100
GT5 SII: 70/100
Forza is a clear winner here. They're both good games, but one is better. I hope you enjoyed my review! This is crispy, signing off!
(DO NOT turn this into a flame war. This is simply my opinion. All flame comments, or arguments because someone has a different opinion, will be reported and asked to be deleted. No questions asked.)
Forza: All these features tie into each other. The game feels connected to itself perfectly. All of the cars look good. And they especially got the list right. You have more car's that have something to do with Motoring history. The tracks are more fun, and they picked the best of the real world tracks. In the multiplayer you have rivals, which is the most addicting thing in video game history, then you have car clubs, and all sorts of stuff you can't get enough of. To me, it feels like a more well rounded game. The sounds in this game are also hugely spectacular. You let off the gas and you'll here the gunshot sound of backfire. Go off course and you'll here the ground crunching under your tires. Bounce of the rev-limiter and your engine will crackle. Just amazing!
GT5 SII: Though the features are great, they don't seem integrated well. The graphics are good, until you find out that there are only about 200 or so cars that look good. All the features seem put there to distract the bad things, which isn't what features are for. 800 of the cars are last generation models. They may have cockpits, but only about 30 have some which are worth viewing. It feels like a distraction rather than something you want to look at. To put is simply, the sounds in this game either sound like an: A-Roomba, or B-Super Skyline.
Verdict: I'm sorry, but GT just can't stand against Forza right now. Both games are great, but one is just better overall. No chance here, just not possible. I forgot to mention sounds. Here are the reworked scores.
Forza: 20/20
GT5 SII: 8/20
Overall:
Forza: 91/100
GT5 SII: 70/100
Forza is a clear winner here. They're both good games, but one is better. I hope you enjoyed my review! This is crispy, signing off!
(DO NOT turn this into a flame war. This is simply my opinion. All flame comments, or arguments because someone has a different opinion, will be reported and asked to be deleted. No questions asked.)
