Forza Motorsport 7 (XOne) - Review
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 10 October 2017 / 6,005 Views
Just like clockwork, another Forza game arrives on Xbox consoles and PCs the world over. And yet Microsoft’s decision to split Forza into a yearly franchise hasn't been as cynical as might have been expected, with the original Forza Motorsport series continuing to target racing simulation aficionados while the Horizon spin-off series, which has actually begun to eclipse the original in many ways, appeals to those who prefer more arcadey flair to their racers. With the Motorsport half now on its 7th iteration, though, has enough been brought to the table with this entry to keep the franchise relevant, or is it starting to stagnate?
Graphically, no, Forza Motorsport 7 is just as stunning as ever. It always stuns me how much detail Turn 10 is able to pull out of the various Xbox consoles despite working on a strict two year timetable. Every car model looks next to life-like and the weather effects are stunning, especially when you’re driving in the middle of a storm and get to see the physically rendered puddles on the tracks start to take form as you make your way around the track. The HDR (should you have a HDR capable TV) also helps to bring the skies to life, with gleaming sun rays brightening up the screen. Regardless of what I have to say about the rest of the game, Forza 7 really is a fantastic sight to behold.
Unfortunately, the soundtrack that accompanies this graphical showcase, and what should in theory compliment it, is staggeringly terrible. I suppose there’s a reason the music is at 50% volume when you start up the game, and for what it’s worth, maybe you should keep it that way and listen to your own songs or just the sound effects instead.
The main career mode (Forza Driver’s cup) is split up into various different cups, with each one requiring a certain amount of points before you’re able to claim the trophy and proceed to the next cup. To gain these points, you can either take part in tournaments designed around specific vehicle classes, or take part in Forza Showcases, smaller races or challenges that have you doing new and oftentimes random things with different cars. These actually became one of my favourite parts of the main career mode; from limo bowling, to passing challenges, they added a bit of flair and excitement that provided a welcome distraction from the more standard races.
One aspect of Forza 7 that will please car fanatics is the variety of cars. Apart from the weird absence of Toyota, the more than 700 vehicles that are available to purchase and race in should be more than sufficient for anyone. The new inclusion trucks is also welcome; trying to force their massive frames around smaller tracks poses a novel challenge.
In this entry Turn 10 motivates players to collect as many of these vehicles as possible thanks to the inclusion of a new car collection mechanic. Alongside your player level there's also a car collection level, which is directly linked to the amount of cars you actively own. Based on your car collection level, your standard level rewards will increase in value, ensuring you better rewards the more you race.
There is one drawback to Forza 7’s insistence on you owning cars though - the game's freeplay mode. You see, to actually play with a car you like in freeplay, you have to buy it first, meaning some of the most sought after cars in the game (the Bugatti Veyron, Enzo Ferrari, and so on), are only available once you've earned millions of credits. That's great for those who want an enormous long-term career challenge, less so for those who just want to enter a quick race with the car of their dreams.
The new tracks are pretty nifty, and take advantage of the visual prowess and increased visual fidelity. Dubai, my new favourite track, is an unusual combination of barren desert sections interspersed with gorgeous white buildings and underground tunnels. Older tracks also make a return, and although they've been upgraded with the new graphical palette and therefore look great, those who've been playing the series for years may be disappointed by the fact that there aren't more original courses.
Forza 7 plays almost exactly the same as its predecessors. You can customise as much of the experience as you want, from allowing the car to basically drive itself, to ramping up the difficulty by removing any and all forms of assistance. One of the key changes in this entry is that the new physically rendered puddle system has a strong influence on vehicle handling and this means the tracks dynamically change during wet races.
Loot boxes, which have provoked increasing amounts of controversy in recent months in other games, raise their ugly head here too and are not a welcome addition. In Forza 7 they're called Prize Crates. On the one hand, the cards you gain from them can come with some fun benefits throughout races, and you're able to purchase them with the credits you earn in-game, not just real money. For example, the 'mods' that require you to perform X amount of good turns, or good passes, really push you to perform well in order to nab extra credits with which to buy more vehicles or Prize Crates. Unfortunately these mods and cards are expendable, meaning you won’t get any extra ones unless you buy more Prize Crates - and even then, you’re not guaranteed to get the cards you want. This element of random luck, on top of the fact that cards expire, doesn’t feel like it has a valid place in the game, but rather was cynically introduced in order to secure an additional source of revenue.
Forza Motorsport 7 is a great addition to the Forza line-up, but while it does a lot right it's also gone into neutral or even reverse in a few instances. I couldn’t help but get the niggling feeling that I'd seen most of what it had to offer in previous entries, and the more welcome additions don't quite add enough to overcome this feeling. If you’re a car aficionado, you’ll definitely enjoy Forza 7, but you may also tire of it more quickly than any other entry in the franchise, and that's a worrying trend that I hope Turn 10 is able to come back from.
A graduate in Computing, Dan is a games developer and writer. His first game, Twixel, was released for iOS, Android, PC and Mac in 2015, with it being released on Steam November 2016. A lover of all things games, Dan has been writing for VGChartz.com for over 2 years, attending conferences and interviewing developers to get the best content for VGChartz readers. His favourite games include Asura's Wrath, S.T.A.L.K.E.R and the Halo Series.
Dan can be followed on Twitter at: @Caesoose
This review is based on a digital copy of Forza Motorsport 7 for the XOne, provided by the publisher.
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Still sounds like a solid game, but I'm yet to tire of Horizon 3 so will probably stick to that. The Motorsport 7 demo did nothing to change my mind.
Loot boxes. Freaking loot boxes in a racing game.
And of course, they bring no significant new additions but rather take things that were available in some form in prior game and wall them behind random chance in hopes of bullying you into paying more money.
You had options to modify the races in the past. The loot boxes give you that function, all be it a little more advanced. That is what I am referring to:
Apply a "night race" mod to your car before a race, for example, and you'll turn your next race from day to night—and earn 30 percent more CR on that race. An "instability" mod turns off one of the game's "driver assist" perks in exchange for a 30-percent CR boost. Some mods don't count unless you complete an objective, like pulling off two "perfect turns" in a race. Other mods simply grant a flat CR reward boost in your next race without additional requirements.
Changing the difficulty or terms of a single race in exchange for a higher CR payout will sound familiar to Forza fans, because this used to simply be a standard thing you could do whenever you wanted. Players could manually add or remove certain assists—like "driving line" marks of where you should accelerate and brake—and get more CR per race for having fewer assists. That's no longer the case. You can still adjust the assists as you see fit, but you won't be rewarded for doing so... unless you have the right mod in your inventory.
And of course they have already confirmed microtransactions you can use in place of CR are on the way. So this smacks of a deliberate sabotaging of the in game economy to try and coerce you into pumping real money into the game.
Not the worst loot crates ever, but still BS that has no place in a premium game. Much less a freaking racing game.
There already where mod cards in FM6 there where actually more mod cards in FM6 because they also had cards that gave your cars performance boost plus you could unlock a permanent mod card for each manufacturer that would give you a 60% credit boots by getting that manufacturer to max affinity. But they no longer have affinity levels for manufacturers inf FM7. That being said its actually easier to make money in FM7 then it to make money in FM6 and as a whole all the car prices are lower in FM7 compared to FM6 and whole lot lower compared to Horizon 3 the highest priced cars in FM7 are 1.5 million credits compared to 2 million in FM7 and 10 million in Horizon 3. You can still earn twice the credits per race by turning the drivatars to max difficulty level. Also those night race card mods don't work like that not all tracks have night races so you can only use them on tracks that have night races or if the current race in the career mode takes place at night. Plus before the patch today there was a money glitch that could give you a ton of money. The worst offender in racing game when it comes to micro transactions is still GT6 there are six cars that cost 20 million credits and you can buy 7 million credits for $49.99 so just to buy one of those cars using real money would cost almost cost $150.
@Nuvendil Stick to FM6 than. There is no paid loot boxes in FM7 and there completely optional.
I think too many on this site are running with something they have no idea about.
Here is a actual video about the economy in FM7 compared to other recent Forza games by a guy that actually played the game and pretty much all other Forza games. Not some youtube video made by random people that never actually played the game or any previous Forza games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcmoIvg2z_g
Also the VIP situation should be fixed with the next update next Tuesday and like before people will get twice the credits for every race they finished if they have VIP status.
I will pass on getting this. Been having a hard time getting into Forza games for a few years now anyway.
Actually in the free play mode you can rent any car that you don't own and use it but the only way to earn credits in free play is if you use a car that you actually own.
If you are ok with lootboxes(i hope no one is im definitely not) then get this game its amazing
