From GT to Forza: Is It Worth It?

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WWE907

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WWE907
Not on 360 yet
I've decided that when I get an Xbox 360, I am going to purchase Forza Motorsport 3 and 4. I've been playing Gran Turismo ever since I got my PS2 back in 2003, and I've loved it ever since. I've heard people say Forza is 10 times better than GT could ever hope to be, and I've heard others say the opposite. So what I want to know is, is it worth it? What, other than the livery editor, does Forza have that GT doesn't? Thanks for any feedback! :)
 
Dont see why you have to stick to one brand. I would say if you like cars then get it, I would also say if you like games then get it. There are going to be mixed reviews about anything, especially when your on its competitors website.

Its a very good game, and you'll spend many hours on it. Though, you are jumping in really late, so the online aspect might be lacking, especially with 5 out now.

I usually just get any game that has a car in it, good or bad, and can still find it atleast somewhat enjoyable haha.
 
I personally think Forza 4 is one of THE best simulation racers I have ever played in my life. Especially if you have friends to play online with. The community is excellent and most of F4 is designed for online. I would skip F3 and go right to F4 but that's just my opinion. On a side note, I recently rented GT6 and I am truly enjoying it.
 
Both are great series and I've enjoyed FM2-4 greatly, but kinda find it repetitive after playing 3 iterations and still no weather/daytime options and some other things that matters to me . But if you're looking for good online (#4) or you like livery editor and some other things GT doesn't deliver like engine swaps ... FM will suits you. I'd say , skip #3 and buy #4 because it has more everything (cars,tracks) and is overall more polished product :D [ still #3 got Porsches , while in #4 you'll have to buy Porsche DLC pack >15€ I think, if that matters ?]
 
GregOr1971
Both are great series and I've enjoyed FM2-4 greatly, but kinda find it repetitive after playing 3 iterations and still no weather/daytime options and some other things that matters to me . But if you're looking for good online (#4) or you like livery editor and some other things GT doesn't deliver like engine swaps ... FM will suits you. I'd say , skip #3 and buy #4 because it has more everything (cars,tracks) and is overall more polished product :D [ still #3 got Porsches , while in #4 you'll have to buy Porsche DLC pack >15€ I think, if that matters ?]
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No way, you can do engine swaps?! That's awesome!
 
Forza 4's high point is the physics. There are more tuning options in Forza overall, as more often than not most road cars can use the majority of upgrade, while GT tends to use different rules for different cars. Tuning can also be more extreme. A slow car can for example be brought up high enough to match some race cars. Tuning cars is less of a hassle with real time telemetry, and you can also change settings like ride height, etc while driving if you're in test mode.

If you have XBL you can set up custom races with the AI. For online lobbies, there are many many options for custom races, but most people use the preset lobbies which I don't like personally. Also in the online portion, you can buy custom cars and tunes from other players.

Career mode for Forza has more structure in that all races have clear rules and performance level and difficulty can be adjusted whenever you want.

I would suggest Forza, especially 4 and up, to anyone looking for a high end car simulator on consoles.
 
If someone was planning to jump-ship to FM4 for a bit, but only play it purely offline (not interested in setting-up & paying for XBL), how much would be 'missing' from the overall experience ?

I've been considering getting a 360 for Forza, Fable, a couple of other games and such, but honestly have little to no interest in hooking it up online. I have the ability, but I just want it to be about me and the game. I thoroughly enjoyed FM3 off-line on my old 360 until it RROD'd, had plenty of project cars I was constantly tweaking, highlight being a RB26-swapped 240Z with a Rat-Rod look I made with the livery editor.

I'd like to revisit that nostalgia, but the price of a 360 now is still a lil' more than what I want to pay for a handful of exclusive games, especially when my PS3 is still fine and works great for more than games.
 
The best part of offline gameplay in Forza is custom made races in my opinion. This requires XBL to use since you need to go into multiplayer to use it. So if you're avoiding online because of other players, but are willing to pay for XBL you won't miss all that much. If you're avoiding online because of cost you will be limited to Forza career and the arcade mode, which I think is 2 lap racing only. Forza career is better and more varied than GT's (except that there is no such thing as a stock event, Forza puts everything into classes which is annoying) but I don't bother with it when I can make my own races any way I want.
 
If you are passionate about racing games and plan to invest in an Xbox 360, I'd suggest you consider investing in all the Forzas, even the original Xbox version which works in compatibility mode on the 360, and play them each until you are saturated with that experience.

They all have their good points, and the old ones are very cheap entertainment.

At the end of the road, you'll have experienced the evolution for yourself.

And if you happen to be a multi-screen enthusiast, they all support triple screen setups. (You will need three old 360s of course, and three copies of the games)
 
Bopop4
Don't get 3, 4 is superior in almost all aspects apart from it lost a few test tracks.
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Considering that 3 is less than the price of the Porsche pack for 4, you're not giving up much to try it out. I picked it up the other day, new (Ultimate edition too), for $13. And I got a used copy to FM2 at the same time, for $3.

Neither of them are as good as FM4, but at that price it's kind of cool to see where the series came from. And neither of them are terrible games. Playing FM2 reminded me of playing GT3. So nostalgic... :)
 
If you're into LAN parties, FM2 supports "System Link" which supports multiplayer across your LAN with no internet connection required.

I've done this a number of times at club parties.

They took it out of FM3 and 4 allegedly because with the right hardware, you could play across the internet and fool FM2 into thinking that it was on a LAN. The story was that they were protecting Xbox Live subscription revenue. Yeah.
 
Get 3, it's very enjoyable but lacks in physics a bit. 4 has a few things left to be desired, but it really tests your tuning and driving skill. I feel that it's more realistic than GT in some aspects, but others make no sense in it... Almost no power reduction from TCS, some cars accelerating faster when adding a 150 lb cage, one car in a class being significantly slower than a car in a lower class, etc. But I own FM3 and 4, and all 6 GT games. I mainly play Forza and go to GT when I've had enough of it, so I'd say keep both. However, if you race competitively on one, don't play the other for at least a week prior. The difference in physics is TOUGH to adjust to.
 
Kurei
If someone was planning to jump-ship to FM4 for a bit, but only play it purely offline (not interested in setting-up & paying for XBL), how much would be 'missing' from the overall experience ?

I've been considering getting a 360 for Forza, Fable, a couple of other games and such, but honestly have little to no interest in hooking it up online. I have the ability, but I just want it to be about me and the game. I thoroughly enjoyed FM3 off-line on my old 360 until it RROD'd, had plenty of project cars I was constantly tweaking, highlight being a RB26-swapped 240Z with a Rat-Rod look I made with the livery editor.

I'd like to revisit that nostalgia, but the price of a 360 now is still a lil' more than what I want to pay for a handful of exclusive games, especially when my PS3 is still fine and works great for more than games.
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Provided you dedicate a small portion of your life (all us petrolheads know that isn't really true) to motoring, cars, racing...appreciating all the intoxicating thrill and beauty cars/racing bring into our lives... you're going to LOVE FM4 to death. And you need not go online in order to appreciate what T10 has to offer with iteration no. 4.

The car count is insane, the track variety is good. And even though you get just 2 lap races in Arcade mode (1 lap on the really long ones like The Ring and Kaido), you can use them as platforms to learn the AI and perhaps experiment with different cars while taking photos. Free Play/hotlappin' allows you to do as many laps as you want and IMO is an excellent way of understanding specific cars/tracks, experimenting with countless tunes or just getting a leg up on your lap times.

AI is pretty decent in Arcade more, but there are times in the Events List, where it shines and is very challenging. World Tour AI can be a joke, just so you know!

Getting an X360 just for FM4 you say?....Absolutely! You're going to get sucked in by the depth and physics, the hair-raising engine and exhaust notes, not to mention the endless tuning and livery editing options. Despite absensce of weather effects and night driving, the graphics are some of the best you'll see in a console sim.

Cheers maing! I were you, I'd spend zero time pondering over this - you're missing out on one of the BEST driving sims in console history "FORZA MOTORSPORT 4".... !
 
Speedster911
Provided you dedicate a small portion of your life (all us petrolheads know that isn't really true) to motoring, cars, racing...appreciating all the intoxicating thrill and beauty cars/racing bring into our lives... you're going to LOVE FM4 to death. And you need not go online in order to appreciate what T10 has to offer with iteration no. 4.

The car count is insane, the track variety is good. And even though you get just 2 lap races in Arcade mode (1 lap on the really long ones like The Ring and Kaido), you can use them as platforms to learn the AI and perhaps experiment with different cars while taking photos. Free Play/hotlappin' allows you to do as many laps as you want and IMO is an excellent way of understanding specific cars/tracks, experimenting with countless tunes or just getting a leg up on your lap times.

AI is pretty decent in Arcade more, but there are times in the Events List, where it shines and is very challenging. World Tour AI can be a joke, just so you know!

Getting an X360 just for FM4 you say?....Absolutely! You're going to get sucked in by the depth and physics, the hair-raising engine and exhaust notes, not to mention the endless tuning and livery editing options. Despite absensce of weather effects and night driving, the graphics are some of the best you'll see in a console sim.

Cheers maing! I were you, I'd spend zero time pondering over this - you're missing out on one of the BEST driving sims in console history "FORZA MOTORSPORT 4".... !
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Agreed! It's really a great game overall. Not necessarily better than GT, just different. I thoroughly enjoy both for different reasons. And if you want to know any good cars just view the leaderboards on the website or ask around on the forums! I'd be happy to help with that as well, I love doing good times with underdog cars no one knows about.
 
Hm, I am seriously thinking about getting FM 4 too. To be honest, I am a bit bored from GT6 atm. And I really liked a few splitscreen spins I made with a friend. My girlfriend has an Xbox, so I just need the game. Not planning to get XBL tough.
 
If anyone is considering getting XBL for Forza that does not have it yet you can sign up and get a free month of gold when you finish making your Xbox account, so it's worth a try! The online features aren't necessary, but I use them quite often myself so they're worth checking out if you can.
 
Cherokee
Hm, I am seriously thinking about getting FM 4 too. To be honest, I am a bit bored from GT6 atm. And I really liked a few splitscreen spins I made with a friend. My girlfriend has an Xbox, so I just need the game. Not planning to get XBL tough.
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Get it.. GET IT!

Do the following, even though it varies from person to person:

* Keep motion effects off
* Adjust deadzones (zero for all insides, max for outsides)
* All assists off
* Do not use man w/clutch unless using a wheel/pedal combo!
* Crank difficulty way up and enjoy the experience!

Happy motoring ye petrolhead!
 
Speedster911
Get it.. GET IT!

Do the following, even though it varies from person to person:

* Keep motion effects off
* Adjust deadzones (zero for all insides, max for outsides)
* All assists off
* Do not use man w/clutch unless using a wheel/pedal combo!
* Crank difficulty way up and enjoy the experience!

Happy motoring ye petrolhead!
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I wouldn't quite agree with points 3 and 4. Keep on your driving line and TCS especially in higher class until you're used to it. And manual w/ clutch is much faster even with a controller. Just swap the e-brake and clutch buttons in the options so the clutch is the A button.
 
^^ Yeah man, I tried all possible combos with the man w/clutch on controller... it just feels and sounds wierd; the downshifts that is. As I mentioned in another post, the downshifts just sound and feel funny.. upshifts still sound and react to inputs like they should.

I believe the OP is a sim racing vet, so I think he should be able to do without driving line and TCS just fine.
 
Even leaderboard guys (such as myself) use those assists on some cars and tracks, especially in higher classes. Of course there are also racing series which disallow such assists which are fun when hot lapping loses its appeal (quite often).
 
Really?? Man oh MAN is Forza fun without TCS on even the most high powered cars! Just keep motion effects off so the movement doesn't throw you off around corners *funny FOV and perspective the faster you go*
 
No doubt it's fun, I'll drive 1000+ HP cars with no TCS, it's just easier and arguably quicker for lap times to use it because it doesn't limit your power like it should. But the motion effects are awful... My C 9 looks like it's hitting warp speed on Indy when it's on!
 
With the cost of a 360 being what it is there's no reason not to try. FM4 is a pretty good game. Physics wise it's ok. I think the physics shine in some of the lower classes and production cars. Especially FWD. There's plenty to do. Rivals mode is a great for earning cash and competing with your friends. There's is car club support. However it's pretty lame in that it only counts the top time from each club for the rankings. Which turns it into a one man gang "team". But there is a shared garage where you can share cars. And of course the storefront and auction house. FM4 is definitely the best one to play right now just due to the fact that it's the most active. But it's got warts too. If you get into LB racing, be prepared to fork out for considerable amounts of DLC. Some of the faster builds are still pretty ridiculous as always. Online is a travesty. Dirty drivers everywhere so unless you have alot of friends online finding a clean race is a miracle. "It's fun listening to other people playing Forza" has become one of my favorite sayings when I join in a party chat of people playing FM4 online. It's always the same mixture of cursing and complaining no matter who is in the party.

Unless you're just a massive fan of AWD I'd skip FM3. Personally, I felt FM3 had the best feeling physics. But it was done in by engine/drivetrain swaps and a horrible PI system that ended up making ridiculous AWD Vipers and Exige's on drag tires the dominant cars and the fact that T10 decided to gut most of FM2's online features.

FM2 IMO was the best of all the Forza's. To me it still stands as the benchmark for what a online racing game should contain. The only thing it was lacking was the 5 person car club structure from FM1 and it would have been perfection. Physics people who care more about the math going on inside the box than they do what it feels like on track will talk it down. But honestly, as someone who's probably turned hundreds of thousands of total laps on various Forza games, they're not all that far off from what they use now in FM5. T10 isn't like PD always tinkering with their physics engine. They tweak it a touch from release to release but there is always that Forza "feel". Where FM2 really shines is it's online features" Online connectivity is in every aspect of the game. There's leaderboards for each career event as well as exhibition and time trial modes all with full leaderboard support. Then there's the hotlap leaderboards for each class. Which has a total rollup of all the classes on each track. All that stuff still works to this day. Online lobbies still work, although it's a bit sparse as the game is old but still a lobby or two going when I log on every now and then. They did take down the server that ran the auction house, tournaments and car gifting.
 
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Well said. Unless you're willing to go to extremes for car builds (drag tires, massive power with short stock gears) that trick the PI system then search for leagues that have balanced builds for set lists of cars for a series. I highly recommend TORA. In fact we're going to be doing the 12 Hours of Sebring tonorrow, head over to the site to watch the live stream if you like!
 
If it's ultra realistic physics and an engaging driving experience you want, get 4. If you don't want to waste time with in-depth tuning or don't know how to tune at all, consider purchasing 3. If you want that raw, PC sim-esque motorsport experience, then go for 2, if you can still find it.
 
I can only concur with what most are saying here 👍; FM4 will open your eyes to what a modern day racing / car collecting game should be about, if you are only used to the GT series (which seems stuck somewhere in 2005 still)...

Only after you see the cars on offer, the customization options and how smart the whole game has been put together feature wise (offline and online), you start to realize just how incompetent PD have become.

Oh and one tip; DO NOT FORGET TO PUT ON SIMULATION STEERING!
 
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I wouldn't say PD is incompetent per se, but it's almost as if each company is trying to trump the other on their respective shortcomings and forgetting everything else.
 
Harmonic
I wouldn't say PD is incompetent per se, but it's almost as if each company is trying to trump the other on their respective shortcomings and forgetting everything else.
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So which shortcomings of FM4 does PD trump on with GT6? I can only think of the day/weather changes whereas the other way around you can check a whole list with "improved" :)
 

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