I've posted this on Forzamotorsport.net:
So, I've downloaded and played the demo for a bit - and a wee bit of FM4, too, in order to drive a stock Evo for comparison's sake.
And with all due respect, I don't get the whole "OMG PREORDER CANCELLED!!!!11one" comments. Sure, there is a difference, but I'd say that it's nowhere near as dramatic as some folks on here make it out to be. At least not as far as the driving physics are concerned, in my opinion - with all assists off in both games, obviously.
So, some observations:
1) FH feels A LOT like FM4, just somewhat grippier. The Evo X with Sport Tyres feels quite close to the one in FH, as long as they're being driven in the same way. In general, I'd say that FH isn't quite as good as FM4, as far as driving physics are concerned, but it's definitely better than any other opeen world racing game I've played so far. By far. You know, with recent games like NFS: Shift 2 that pass as 'Sims', the huge backlash on here seems utterly moronic. Because, even compared to these kind of games, FH's physics don't seem bad at all. And, even though this might provoke some folks: I'd say that the Evo still feels more alive than most cars in, say, Gran Turismo 5.
So, is it as good as good as FM4? No, not really. But still darn good, especially for what it is.
2) Depending on how you're driving, the game might feel more or less arcade-like to you. Collisions are towned down considerably, which, I think, is the biggest difference between the two games. As such, you've got the option to either slam into a guard rail and abuse the forgiving crash physics to actually be faster than you would've been by driving cleanly. Don't do so, though, and it already feels less arcadey. It's up to you to abuse the 'simplified' crash physics or try to drive as cleanly as you would in FM4. Well, I suppose that it's somewhat inconvenient to have to stick to self-imposed limitations, but that's what I'm going to do.
TL;DR: Drive arcadey, feel arcadey.
3) The 30FPS feel rather smooth. Better than a fluctuating 60FPS, but I've been saying so for a while and in regard to other games. The graphics, in general, seem to be a notch below FM4 - which is to be expected, given that there's quite a bit more going on on the screen at all times. However, the scenery is pretty spectecular. The lighting is ok, worse than FM4, better than FM3. And, well, driving at night doesn't look as good as it did in Gran Turismo 5 or NFS: Shift 2. However, it's still very good for an open world game.
So, yeah, graphics are decent. Not breathtakingly beautiful in comparison to circuit racers, but the scenery will make up for that.
4) Well, the sound isn't bad. I somewhat like the music selection, but prefer the radio to be off, actually. The engine sounds are pretty muffled, though, but I'll have to mess with the audio settings anyways. Same with the HUD options, though. Not much to say here, though.
So, to summarize, I'm happy with Forza Horizon. It's not as simmy as FM4, but definitely more simmy than any other open world game I'vee played to date. It's even more simmy than some games that like to call themselves a 'simulation' of sorts. It's definitely more about having fun than about replicating reality, but it still does the letter well enough to feel 'authentic'.
I went into the demo with some relatively high expectations. And yes, I did indeed hope that the game would feel 100% like FM4. It's more around the 85% mark, but given that other open world racers would come in at about 40%, at best, that doesn't seem half bad. But, then again, I've not been excited for Horizon because I want to drive my cars at a 10/10 pace with perfectly realistic physics, but because I want to drive and enjoy myself in a very scenic environment, an environment that FM4 isn't able to provide me with.
So, is FH perfect? No. Is Horizon better than I expected? No. Is it as good as I hoped it would be? No. Is it still good enough that I can see myself putting 300 hours into it, just because it's fun to play it? Yes, absolutely. The physics not being 100% of FM4 ensures I'll be playing both games, just to get the best out of both worlds. Which I would've done, anyways, as FM4 offers things that FH doesn't, and vice versa.
In short, Forza Horizon doesn't seem like a replacement for FM4 or FM5. But it seems like a valuable and enjoyable additon to the franchise. Whether that's enough is up to everybody to decide for themselves. I'll say this, though: If you expected FM4 levels of quality in every single aspect of the game, with no compromises due to the utter scope of it, that's not the game's fault.
I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands on the full game.
)
