There was a lot of speculation about Forza Horizon coming into E3. What would it be? How would it play? Would it still feature customization?
While the show floor demo of Forza Horizon was limited, we did get a glimpse of what the title has to offer: the same Forza experience, including all the tuning, tweaking, and customization the series is known for per one of the reps on hand, open road racing as you dodge traffic and trade paint with other racers, and a thumping soundtrack with plenty of dubstep.
All of this is exactly what I was hoping for.
You’re not going to need to re-learn how Forza controls with Horizon, though we did attempt to play with a wireless wheel controller. I finished in 2nd for that race and game away quite surprised as to how well the controller worked, though I certainly prefer the normal 360 controller. Anyway, with my trusty controller in hand, I felt right at home, as if I was playing Forza 4 on a road course instead of a track. Yes, you heard road course; while this wasn’t, say, a dirt road course that was demoed, the trailer from Microsoft’s press conference did feature a bit of off road. And drifting. And swerving through traffic. And trading paint.
You could say that Forza Horizon is the racer that features a little bit of everything. Truth be told, you’d be right; while it may have more of an arcade feel to it, this is still a simulation racer at heart, but one that is bringing in features from all genres of racing, doing it without compromising the heart of the Forza series. Count us in when the game launches October 23rd.
