Forza Motorsport 3

May the Forza be with you (again)

Any racing sim worth its salt features slow lingering shots that pore over every line and detail of its cars. Forza 3 includes the best we've ever seen, focusing on the shiny, shiny, oh so shiny paintwork, sleek, desirable curves and plush leather interiors. And wheels. Round wheels what go round and round and that.

As 'the' Murray Walker stated in his PR spiel at a recent Forza 3 launch party, Turn 10's popular racing franchise is all about passion. Passion for cars, passion for international circuits, passion for the whole glamorous world of racing. And you know what? It really shines through in every aspect of Forza 3's extensive race experience.

Forza 3's heart is its career mode entitled Season Play. Split into events spread across a year (of which there are many), you generally play a set of three or four races during the week before competing in a class-based weekend event. Each car has its own performance index (PI), which changes based upon how much you upgrade your ride. So a rubbish F grade vehicle can be bolstered to E or D grade with a few pricey enhancements to boost your horsepower, reduce the weight and refine the handling.

Ideally, you'll want to optimise your car's performance based on what the grade bracket will allow since doing so will give you the edge in a race. Even so, the opponent AI will always put up a hell of a scrap, constantly jostling for position and never hesitating to dole out an aggressive shove if it means they can get ahead of you. Of course, you're free to do the same, although a forceful approach is rarely the best strategy.

In the event that you do make a mistake or get forced off the track, the rewind function (appropriately assigned to the BACK button) is an absolute godsend, enabling you to go back as far as you like to rectify momentary lapses in your quest towards racing perfection.

Dismissed by some as a cheat button, rewinding should be considered as more of a learning tool that allows you to experiment with trial and error as you attempt to pinpoint the best possible racing line through particularly taxing sections. It also eliminates the enormous frustration that comes with enduring lap after lap of hard fought racing only to spin off at the last corner, one of the genre's biggest sources of pad chucking annoyance. Purists may hate the idea of being able to correct errors at the mere touch of a button, but then you don't have to use it if you don't want to.

Forza 3 stands as the most accessible yet, granting a number of assists that can be adjusted to varying degrees in order to create your very own customised racing challenge. Essentially therefore, this iteration of Forza embraces racing fans of all kinds - from the casual player looking for quick, immediate thrills to the hardcore seeking an unforgiving, resolutely realistic simulation. It's a real crowd pleaser all round.

Even more pleasing is the dizzying array of cars that Turn 10 has managed to pack into the game. In fact there are so many, they've had to spread the whole lot across two discs, the second of which needs to be installed if you want to access everything Forza 3 has to offer. There are literally hundreds of cars to acquire all rendered in exquisite detail inside and out. This is automotive pornography at its most gratuitous - hence those long, lingering, drool-inducing shots we were detailing earlier. Forza 3 is deeply in love with each and every one of its 400 lumps of sculpted, precious metal. Obviously.

And once you've negotiated your way through the pristine, crisp white menu screens you'll fall in love with Forza 3's stunning automobiles too. Each drives with real weight, providing fantastic feedback as you navigate the corners of the many tracks included in the game. Pretty much every renowned circuit is catered for in Forza 3 from the giddy descent down Laguna Seca's serpentine corkscrew to the demanding endurance of the iconic Nurburgring. Fabricated tracks are every bit as accomplished too. Circuits such as the narrow New York street race offer a fresh challenge over the likes of Silverstone or Le Mans.

Joining the wealth of new content in Forza 3 is the ever-present marketplace, which is even simpler to use than before. Searching through the glut of user-created content is a breeze and creating your own stuff is simply a case of investing enough time. Putting together a bespoke paint job or unique tuning set up is entirely dependent upon how much you're willing to put in, but there's an enormous set of tools that are easy to get to grips with if you've the inclination. If however, you just can't be bothered, you can always use your in-game currency to purchase any number of elaborate designs, user movies or photos.

In addition to the in-depth Season Play mode, there's also Free Play, which lets you loose in the Forza 3 garage to select any car you like and thrash it around whichever course you choose. You can do a hot lap, quick race or play with a mate in splitscreen if you like too. And there's the usual array of online multiplayer options at you fingertips, which contributes to your persistent driver level that increases with each race you successfully complete. Every event you finish earns XP towards both your driver and car levels, unlocking extra races and new rides in the process. The end of almost every race grants a reward of some description, so you're always unlocking something whether it's an achievement or a shiny new car.

Turn 10 has improved upon pretty much every facet of Forza 2, buffing the sequel's bodywork to a glaringly bright sheen. The improved accessibility is cause for celebration if you're a casual racing fan - it's even possible to play Forza 3 with just the right trigger and analogue stick if that's what floats your boat - yet the game has lost none of its simulation trappings or achingly austere beauty.

Forza 3 is undoubtedly the most comprehensive in the series to date, boasting more cars than you can shake a (gear)stick at and a whole host of fantastic courses to race them on. Slickly presented throughout, Forza 3 has pure quality coursing through its high-performance engine. Make no mistake, this is currently the finest racing sim money can buy.

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By Richard Walker