Just tried Forza 3...

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Mcjoz88
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Okay, I just tried Forza 3 for the first time yesterday. My brother has an Xbox 360 and I bought him the game for Christmas. I have been happy with my copy of GT5 so far, amidst some disappointments though. But so far, I enjoy Forza 3 alot too. My brother let me create a new user on his Xbox, and then I started from the beginning in Forza.... I picked the Chevy Aveo to start with. then sold it after I won a couple cars, and bought some too...

So my first impressions of Forza 3:

I think the event calendar is a nice idea, it works well, and the event list is good too. Seems like there's a ton more single player events that GT5.

I really really like all the customization options you have for your cars. I like how you can do engine swaps, like putting a Corvette engine in a 69 Camaro. I really deeply wish we can do things such as this in GT5 eventually.

The physics of the game are pretty good in my opinion. I adapted my driving style from GT5 over to Forza very quickly. I really like the sound effects, particularly the cars sounds, like when you go over little bumps, and when you bump other cars, much more realistic compared to GT5's cardboard box kicking sound effects. The engine sounds are done quite well too.

The graphics... well, they are very good, actually. There are a lot more jagged edges in Forza, and there's a little less detail on the cars compared to GT5, but overall, very nicely done, I was surprised even. Also because every car is "premium," so to speak. Every car in Forza has an in car view, and there's no standard vs. premium debate.

I would much rather have had GT5 to be like this. Less cars, but all Premium quality.

I also like the online auction place. I wasn't able to test it myself, but from watching my brother show me, it seems like a better idea than the online dealership in GT5.

Overall, I actually think I might enjoy Forza 3 more if I had it. I am a fan of customization, and with Forza, my customization fix would probably be adequately.....uh...fixed. That was one thing I was hoping GT5 would have, more customization than the previous games in the series...

So...

this brings me to my question. I was considering buying my own Xbox 360 after having played Forza 3, but I quite enjoy my PS3 very much, what with games like LittleBigPlanet 2, Uncharted, Killzone, GT5, Motorstorm, Infamous, and Resistance being some of my favorite games and series of all time. I browsed through some of the games in the Xbox 360 library, and there wasn't a whole lot that interested me. Plus having to pay for online, which I am not a fan of, no matter if it's better or has more features or not.

So, again.... would it be worth it to purchase an Xbox 360, for the Forza games alone? I know Forza 4 is on the horizon, and while I do not know much about that game yet, I imagine it will be better, and a major competitor against GT5, so would it be worth it to spend $300 on and Xbox 360 for these games alone?

Also, is $300 the cheapest Xbox 360 slim out there? I saw the 4gb version, but I don't think 4gb is enough space.

I would very much like some help in deciding. Money is hard to come by nowadays, so what I got, I don't want to spend it if the investment will not be worth it in the long run. Thanks
 
Jump on it, you've barely scratched the surface in Forza. Lots of replay value.
Online although having to pay is smooth.

Wheels are an issue though.
Do you play GT with a wheel. If so then the only realistic option is the Fanatec which is expensive.

If you don't use a wheel in GT then using an Xbox pad IMHO is better than the DS.

Thing is with forza you get leaderboards, an option in itself which extends logetivity.
Painting and customisation too.

Get Forza ultimate edition. Lots of good DLC thrown in.
 
Buy one, you'll have serious fun. GT5 and Forza are different, but I find Forza to be more fun overall and really, isn't fun why we play video games? Not trying to knock GT5, but seeing as it's only redeeming feature to me anymore is closer to real physics....I'd rather just go drive my own car.

The 360 has some other good stuff as well. XBLA puts the PSN games to shame for the most part. Not exactly because all the games are better, but because every single one of them has a demo.

There are some gems on the console as well and I'm not talking about Halo or Gears of War. Plus, most multiplatform games run and look slightly better. To put it into perspective, I only end up using my PS3 for it's top notch exclusives, everything else is played on my 360.
 
Forza 3 is the game that GT5 should have been.
The physics maybe a little off but that's because they have to many assists.
Under the assists is a game that surpasses GT5 in every way.
All PD have done with GT5 is hand the gauntlet to turn 10 to make forza 4 the console driving game.
The forza franchise was started so that xbox had a driving game to compete with gran turismo, who ever thought that it would wipe the floor with GT.
Kaz needs to pull his head out of his A**E if and totally redesign the GT franchise to compete in todays market.
 
Older style 360s can be had extremely cheap as everyone wants the newest thing. Look around enough you can find them for around $100ish.


Granted I'm the opposite I bought a PS3 for GT5, however I wish I had played it first but I don't see the point in selling. I have no PS3 games of desire at the moment, and I prefer the online setup of the 360 on live.
 
Can we please not start with the GT/Forza debates please? The OP didn't ask anything about comparing the two, and I'm growing tired of reading through all the BS.


To answer your question OP, yes I think a 360 is a good purchase. I bought my 360 for the Forza series, and I have to say I have certainly got my moneys worth. There is also another fantastic racing game exclusive to the 360 called Race Pro. It is actually my favorite game on the 360, with the Forza series (I like the 2nd one more than the 3rd) behind it. You will need to purchase a Gold subscription if you want to access the auction house on Forza 3 which I personally don't like, but you get a one month trial with a new purchase so you can decide if it is worth the cash.

Overall I regret my purchase of a Gold account, simply because I find the free PSN to be just as good, and I prefer the Dualshock controller over the Xbox controller, but you may come to a different conclusion.

I believe you can get a new Slim 250gb 360 without the Kinect bundle for $300 (on Amazon at least) so no need to worry about space. There may not be a whole lot of good exclusives coming for the 360 this year, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't visit the old gems the system has.
 
I played Forza on original Xbox and had a great time.

If you already have a PS3 and a decent computer I don`t believe an Xbox is a good purchase because you can get the multiplatform games on the PS3 and the `Xbox exclusives`on games for Windows on your PC. This leaves you with very few Xbox exclusives, there`s Halo and Forza and I`m not sure how much more.

I don`t own one `cause if I had both systems I`d play them all day and have no life.

If you have the time to play all the games in the world, then I guess it is a good buy. It`s online functions are smoother than PS3 but you may need to pay for that privilege. You`ll probably have to go buy a whole new racing wheel though, cause Microsoft rolls like that. (in piles of money from nickle and dime`ing people)
 
. To put it into perspective, I only end up using my PS3 for it's top notch exclusives, everything else is played on my 360.

Me too since day one. My thing is XBL is soooo worth it. The games run very well on it, but the PS3 versions have issues like COD black ops is having. Also everyone on the 360 has mics. No worries about not being able to communicate with your team in a FPS or telling someone your racing that your on their inside so they don't wreck into you.

Grab a 360, you will enjoy it. There are many good exclusives too. MASS EFFECT hits 360 first, as does most multiplatform games dlc. Its the best gaming system you can get, PS3 is a great multitasking game system, but I prefer the 360 for gaming only.👍
 
I bought a 360 just for Forza while waiting for GT5 and had great fun with it for a very long while. The only reason I am not returning it more often is that I am so used to enjoying GT5 with a wheel.
Concerning most multi-platform games, usually the 360 versions tend to be better, so there is that as well.

I would say, if you can afford it, why not?

(As a side note, I recently also ordered the newly announced XCM F1 that allows g25/27 to work with 360. If that works as advertised, we can have the best of both worlds!
 
There are a lot of exclusives on the 360 as well, but Mass Effect is no longer one of them, keep that in mind, it was said in an interview that from now on new Mass Effect titles will hit 360, PS3, and PC on the same dates.

You'd have Gears of War, Halo, Left 4 Dead, Fable to keep up with Uncharted, Killzone, Resistance, Little Big Planet. Now understand, I own a PS3 not an XBOX 360, because I've owned 2 360s and they both RROD'ed me so I went to PS3 and I have been more than pleased. Now granted, some people say their PS3 YLOD's them. Also note that I am not a COD fanboy either so I don't care about the map packs coming out on 360 before PS3. Also keep in mind that even though the G25 and G27 wheels are available for the 360 now but they don't have FFB from what I've seen. If you like downloadable games from your respective network, XBOXlive probably has a better choice, but you pay for the usage of online and you don't get bluray (if you like watching bluray movies)

Just do what you think is legit for yourself man, the systems have things that are better for each person.. It's just like the threads you read all over the place regarding Forza vs GT5, they get out of hand... And so does this topic.

I think Forza is the most interesting exclusive title that 360 has, and I can't see owning a third 360 just for that title when I can get my racing done in GT5, but it does intrigue me, pretty badly.. I'll admit. Something about owning a 1990 Mustang sounds nice :P

So you see where it goes? It's all preferance, there *honestly* isn't a better or worse system, it just depends on you.
 
Well said MCM.
Never buy a system for one game.
As much as I enjoy my xbox360, the PS3 is my first choice if I had to choose between the 2.
The PS3 range of games far exceed anything the xbox has to offer and the future lineup is extremely diverse.
 
As an owner of a gaming PC, 360 and PS3 go for it TC. Spend more time with your brother's one if you have to get more feel for the 360.I enjoy both of my consoles AND my pc. I do not have a wheel and GT5 is not worth investing in one but the 360 controller works great with shooters and racing games.

Side note, as far as shooters go rather its mouse + KB, 360 pad or DS3 it doesn't matter to me. Killzone, Gears or Counter Strike.
 
I've had a first launch 360 and it crapped out on me just late of 2010, killed it when forza was released. Like others said 360 has it's advantages and downsides, but if you want good competitions for FPS games and the rest 360 would be ideal. Plus repairs on them are cheap. Official MS repair is only $100 or you can pay someone $50-$80 to do a home repair. As of writing this I am currently on my 2nd xbox and I regret letting my live expire :(
 
Well, like I said, I browsed the Xbox 360 library of games. I probably didn't see every single game the system has, but from what I saw, there weren't but a few that I might be interested in. And with the reliability of the Xbox compared to the PS3, I just don't know if it would be worth it. I've taken into consideration the advice given in this topic, but in the end, I just don't think it would be a wise decision to spend $300-$350 for the system and one game.

I am quite happy with my PS3 at the moment. I never once had to return it or have it repaired. I even still have the original box. I got the 80gb launch version(came with original Motorstorm game) of the PS3, the fat one with the memory card reader, 4 usb ports, PS2 backwards compatibility, etc, and it has never once let me down. It's runs just as good as it did on day one.

I've been trying out my brother's Xbox 360 the last couple days, and while I do enjoy Forza 3 very much, I just don't feel like it would be wise to buy the system for just one or two games. I also have a decent gaming computer, so if I really did want to play a Microsoft exclusive game, I'd probably prefer to play it on my PC anyway, since it would have better performance/graphics than the Xbox version.

So while I thank you all for your advice and everything, I think I'm just going to stick with my PS3, and GT5(here's hoping the next update brings more to the table than the remote B-Spec racing!), along with the many other exclusives the PS3 has that I enjoy. If I would buy an Xbox 360, I'd also want to buy a charging base/rechargeable battery packs, an HDMI splitter, and probably an extra controller, which would bring the cost upwards of $400, and then I'd want to get the 12 month gold subscription to Xbox Live, which is another $60 or so.... All that for maybe two or three games...

So yeah, unless I could find some extremely great deal on an Xbox 360 slim, then I think I'm going to pass...

Thanks again though. I really appreciate the responses and advice. If I really do want to play Forza 3, I could always just play it on my brother's system for now...
 
im going to wait until forza 4 comes out and see how it goes, then play it on the missuses xbox360!
 
I think it would be worth it for Forza 4 alone. I have always been a Gran Turismo fan and as such have only ever owned a PS3, but GT5 has inspired me to move on.

I've only played Forza 3 briefly but loved it. If T10 can improve on FM3 a little bit in every area, it will be an awesome game and I will be buying it
 
I just played forza 3 on my sons xbox and I also like the calendar of events. i did noticed that you never have to hit the brakes in the game because of the driving line. I am guessing this is something you can turn off. Also, not to fond of the rewind feature. Takes the fun out of correcting screw ups the natural way. Although, Forza 3 has some really good cars that GT5 does not. Some of the tracks in Forza are also really cool. 50/50 for me.
 
I just played forza 3 on my sons xbox and I also like the calendar of events. i did noticed that you never have to hit the brakes in the game because of the driving line. I am guessing this is something you can turn off. Also, not to fond of the rewind feature. Takes the fun out of correcting screw ups the natural way. Although, Forza 3 has some really good cars that GT5 does not. Some of the tracks in Forza are also really cool. 50/50 for me.

Both games are a must own if you have both consoles. You can completely turn off the driving line or just have it show braking points, and you may want to see if your son has assists like auto braking on. As far as rewind its a self control feature, I only use it in very long races if something major happens at the end that puts me too far back for a decent finish and that is rarely.
 
As much as I enjoy GT5 and forza3, it would appear that forza3 is the game that got most things right. The devs know the hardware and its capabilities.
GT5 is nothing more than a more cars, 1080p, 3D showcase. The problem with that, is the fact that the hardware struggles.
I imagine PD knew what they were doing until sony came in and stated that 3D and 1080p were a must no matter what.
I can't wait to see what forza4 does but to be honest, I don't think we will see more cars on the track without sacrifices on the track and car detail.
Alot of people fail to see what both games do right and it is worth owning both if you have both consoles.
I think the developers are trying achieve very different things with their own game.
Remember turn10 don't want the forza franchise to be seen as a gran turismo wannabe.
And that's GTs biggest failing, complacency!
 
As much as I enjoy GT5 and forza3, it would appear that forza3 is the game that got most things right. The devs know the hardware and its capabilities.
GT5 is nothing more than a more cars, 1080p, 3D showcase. The problem with that, is the fact that the hardware struggles.
I imagine PD knew what they were doing until sony came in and stated that 3D and 1080p were a must no matter what.
I can't wait to see what forza4 does but to be honest, I don't think we will see more cars on the track without sacrifices on the track and car detail.
Alot of people fail to see what both games do right and it is worth owning both if you have both consoles.
I think the developers are trying achieve very different things with their own game.
Remember turn10 don't want the forza franchise to be seen as a gran turismo wannabe.
And that's GTs biggest failing, complacency!

Whats the point of 16 cars on track if you can pass 9 of them in the first corner? At least in Forza the Ai will try too overtake you if you make the slightest mistake (Rossi is a beast also M.muller). So 8 cars is just fine as long as the AI are worthy opponents.👍
 
I just played forza 3 on my sons xbox and I also like the calendar of events. i did noticed that you never have to hit the brakes in the game because of the driving line. I am guessing this is something you can turn off. Also, not to fond of the rewind feature. Takes the fun out of correcting screw ups the natural way. Although, Forza 3 has some really good cars that GT5 does not. Some of the tracks in Forza are also really cool. 50/50 for me.

As previously mentioned, your son has autobrake switched on. The driving line is just a guidline, and you don't have to use the rewind feature :)

Here's to hoping Shift 2 and FM4 can raise the bar.
 
I know this is a little off topic...in my own topic....but..

How is that game GRID? Is it about on par with NFS: Shift? Should I just wait for Shift 2 and check that game out, or would either GRID or Shift 1 be worth it to try now? Steam has GRID for $15 for PC, and Shift for around the same price... Plus I think there's a way I'd be able to use my PS3 controller to play either of those... Which is more worth it, or would it be better to wait for Shift 2?
 
Grid's great fun. It depends on how much of a sim you want as it isn't really up there with Forza and GT in that regard.
Its exciting though, especially from the cockpit and has a great damage system, but you'll find it lacking in content after a while.
No Nordschliefe either unfortunately...

As for Shift 1.. Its a decent enough game with great graphics. No it's not a proper sim, but it's good fun from the cockpit.
I didn't like certain features like some races having stupid objectives such as 'spin out 4 opponents'.. Things like that have no place in a racing game imo.
The AI can be complete A-holes in later events too.

I found both games had a better racing atmosphere, a more visceral feel and more excitement on track than either FM3 or GT5.
Obviously, GT5 and FM3 are a bit more realistic and have more content.

If you can spare the cash, why not grab either or both while you're waiting for Shift 2?:)
 
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So, again.... would it be worth it to purchase an Xbox 360, for the Forza games alone? I know Forza 4 is on the horizon, and while I do not know much about that game yet, I imagine it will be better, and a major competitor against GT5, so would it be worth it to spend $300 on and Xbox 360 for these games alone?

Also, is $300 the cheapest Xbox 360 slim out there? I saw the 4gb version, but I don't think 4gb is enough space.

I would very much like some help in deciding. Money is hard to come by nowadays, so what I got, I don't want to spend it if the investment will not be worth it in the long run. Thanks

I bought a 360 just for Forza 3 after GT5 didn't fully satisfy me. Forza has been well worth the purchase of an Xbox. It's a racing game for car guys. It really does expose all of GT5's shortcomings.

I bought a 4gb 360 and Forza 3 Ultimate Collection ($230 total). Then I bought a 60gb aftermarket hard drive from Amazon ($50 shipped). I went with the smaller aftermarket hard drive because I'll never need more space than that because my PS3's are my main entertainment systems.

I never thought I'd buy an Xbox (PS3 is still better IMO), but Forza 3 is so worth it! And Gears of War 3 is right around the corner, then Forza 4. Maybe I'll find a reason to play GT5 again, but I don't see why. Maybe just for photo mode.
 
Whats the point of 16 cars on track if you can pass 9 of them in the first corner? At least in Forza the Ai will try too overtake you if you make the slightest mistake (Rossi is a beast also M.muller). So 8 cars is just fine as long as the AI are worthy opponents.👍
Online, mistakes are more costly, having the track feel less empty. In both games I usually ends up racing against the leading AI. IMO Fm3 AI is not that great either. I doubt there are many fm3 fans who wouldn't like to race 9- 16 players online.
 
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