Forza Motorsport 4 Essentials Edition

So I got an Xbox 360 this past Christmas, and it came bundled with two games, Forza Motorsport 4 Essentials Edition and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.  I will be focusing on Forza 4 for this particular blog.  Forza Motorsport 4 Essentials Edition is a typical racing game on the Xbox 360, although it is more classified as a racing simulator.  You go from point A to point B and get in first place.  The only real difference between the Forza series and other racing games is that Forza uses real cars and real places.

Both FM4EE and FM4 features two of the three hosts from the BBC car show Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson and James May.  Both versions introduce a 'Autovista Mode' to the series which allows you to view and examine a lot of details on specific cars.  There is a difference between the original game, FM4, and the bundled version, FM4EE.  It turns out, FM4EE is not so special.  FM4 has around 500 different cars to choose from, while FM4EE only has around 320.  This is mainly because FM4 is originally a two disc game while FM4EE only has one disc.  However, you can still download packs from the Marketplace to expand your library of cars and tracks, for a price.

There is a LOT of content in either version of the game, so you won't get bored too quickly.  Now since this game is a 'racing simulator', it'll be obvious that the graphics are superb.  All the cars look great, and whether or not you have 'real simulation' turned on under the damages option, it will still look like you've trashed it.  The controls are a bit odd in my own honest opinion, you would normally only use around three or four buttons and the left stick on the controller, I only use one button: accelerate.  There are loads of different options ranging from difficulty level for the CPU to tweaking your vehicle for max performance, a bit too much to take in if you ask me.

When it boils down to it, there is basically three modes from the main menu, Career, Xbox Live and Free Play, or two single player modes and multi-player for lack of better terms.  These modes are, for the most part, self-explanatory.  I myself mainly play Career while occasionally playing around with the fastest cars that are available in Free Play.

So while it may be a fun experience, Forza Motorsport 4 Essentials Edition doesn't exactly keep me coming back.  This is mainly due to it being a racing title.  If it had more various modes, it would be better.

I give Forza Motorsport 4 Essentials Edition a Yellow Star,

              or a 3/5.                                                         A bit of trivia: They included a Delorean DMC-12.  I took it to the longest stretch of road of any course and got it up to 123 MPH and didn't travel through time.  Great Scott!