Driftster
Actually no...I was using GT4 as an example of the other end of the spectrum in terms of visuals....It's a toss off...You either get all burred or no blurred..You see what I'm saying now? Because in real life if you're going real fast and your eyes focus at one point...That one point becomes clear, but the surroundings become blurry. The X box can't tell where your eyes are focused... So it blurs everything outside of dead infront of you...however the Ps2 doesn't blur, so it doesn't have to worry about....Amar saying "the backgrounds blurry"
all you have to do to see crystal clear backgrounds is slow down and use your eyes.
the game is freaking gorgeous. maybe amar doesn't have a good tv or something.
I just bought it, and I'm thoroughly engaged. very fun, very pretty, the sound STOMPS on GT4's audio, etc. etc.
the races are extremely easy to win even on hard. but I'm at the start of the game so I'll give it time.
okay here's MY comparo from about 3 hours of playtime:
the physics seem toned down from the demo, but the tire physics are still miles ahead of GT4, and that's what really counts for me. GT4 has smoother and more realistic weight shifting, but GT4's driving experienced is too smooth and cleaned up to be engaging in all but the monster RWD cars. Forza is way more robust, and accounts for many more things that happen on track, like the colision physics and tire marks and such. GT4's sissy understeer-brake-rotate is too even and predictable to afford much fun. and since these are console sims that are supposed to straddle the line between realism and playability (that's what everyone defends GT4 with whenever someone fairly states that it's not very realistic compared to PC sims), forza is balanced nicely.
Forza, by a hair.
driving experience...I honestly have more fun in forza, because wheelspin is a factor, feedback is way better with the controller (though the DFP kicks a gamepad's ass anyday).
Forza with a controller S wins hands-down compared to GT4 with a DS2
GT4 offers a better driving experience with a DFP, so it wins this contest.
racing... haha. 1) aggressive a.i. 2) online play 3) bigger grids 4) damage 5) SOUND!
Forza is a better racing game. next question.
Graphics... forza looks great, but not real. Gt4 has more class, more direction, better lighting above all. But play them both on a nice big display (forza in 480p, GT4 in 1080i) and you can't lie to yourself about which is easier on the eyes. especially with the backgrounds. some cars look just wrong though.
for those that can live with jaggies, shimmering, bad textures, simplified geometry, and the dearth of various cool special effects like smoky burnouts, laying down rubber, working headlights, 3d wheels, full drivers for all cars, damage, etc., go with GT4.
for those that can live with a halved framerate (though entirely stable), fake-looking but pretty cars, decent but not great replays, and wierd reflections and lighting, go with Forza.
I personally prefer GT4, because it fools the eye, which is harder to achieve.
Sound...hahahahahahahahahahahaha. 5.1 digital with fantastic engine sounds. some are over the top and could have been toned down, but I'd take over-the-top above bland, synthetic and repetitive anyday. tire sounds are more useful to gameplay but have a wierd clipping effect sometimes.
though both games have awful soundtracks, forza's is 10 times awfuller. but I have a bunch of kick ass tunes set up with the amazing soundtrack editor (you gotta see how flexible this thing is! you can set them in the menus, races, loading screens...you name it!), so again, it has whatever music you choose, and adjustable volume for different sounds in the game instead of a generic "SFX" bar.
Forza. no contest.
lasting appeal...gt4 got old a month after I bought it. collectathon b-spec fest. tuning is a long process but very useful. lots of useless cars and boring tracks. time attack is where it's at. lots of replay value because of the infinite tuning and car possibilites and lots of tracks to master. but...racing is boring as hell, therefore the game loses it's luster very quickly.
I just started forza. so I can't really compare the two accurately. Like I mentioned above, the races are on the easy side so I'm a little worried about that, as well as the low number of tracks. xbox live is the trump card here, along with the customizable A.I.
not fair to decide yet.
I prefer Forza for some things, GT4 for others. They're both very good at different things, so I'm glad I have both.
excellent first effort from the forza team. 👍
