Graphics (Polygon count size does matter!): For starters, Turn 10's re-rendered every single vehicle, ripping the graphics engine down and building it back up. And the results are simply staggering. Cars are up from Forza 3's 400,000 polygons to over one million polygons per car. They've added real-light changes like blooming and lens flares help make the cars look like they're really in the environment. Turn 10 is achieving in real-time at 60 frames per second what was once something Pixar needed weeks to render. Just take a look through the gorgeous shots in the gallery to the left to see what I mean.
Physics Engine (Kick the tires and light the fires!): Not only has Turn 10 rebuilt the physics engine from scratch, they've also tried to address one of the most glaring problems with Forza 3, the tires. That's why, for enthusiasts anyway, the most important addition to the game is going to be the tire physics. Thanks to a partnership with Pirelli, Turn 10 has completely redone the modeling for tire dynamics. The tire company let them inside their testing system to give the game a soup-to-nuts data download and allow them to directly input it into the game. That means that when you turn off all the nanny systems, and you're in a car fitted with a set of racing slicks, and you push down the accelerator a touch too hard, you'll slip and slide in the most realistic way I've ever experienced. I found out embarrassingly first-hand in a simulator the perils of such a setup on a ham-fisted and lead-footed auto journalist. But it's so brilliantly realistic you can't not be excited at the prospect of turning off the nanny systems and letting loose some tire-shredding burnouts on a digital skidpad. Or, in my case, skidding into walls on an all-new track that Forza tried to build to be the best driving road on Earth. Set in the Swiss Alps with three to five different ribbons, it's certainly intimidating. It's also beautiful to look at.
Kinect (Somehow we find a Kinect-ion is made!): There's three ways to use the Xbox 360 Kinect motion action camera system and the best way to conceptualize why both of them exist is to think of them as being for three different types of people. One, a sort of gimmick-y mode called "Autovista Mode," is a system for "bringing the automotive experience to life." You can walk around a car in a virtual showroom, crouch down to look at the details, or open the doors and hood using the power of Kinect. The coolest part of that feature is there's a heavy integration with Top Gear — Jeremy Clarkson has a soliloquy on each of the cars in Autovista Mode.
The second, is what I like to call "frat boy" mode — imagine a fraternity house where you have the game set up and everyone's taking turns to play each other — a la Goldeneye from back when I went to school. Basically, you stick your hands out and grab a virtual wheel as you sit on the couch with your friends and family — and thanks to auto-acceleration and auto-braking — there's no controller required. That also means there's no controller to accidentally drop beer on. It's an easy way to play with friends with no muss or fuss.
The third feature is really for the hardcore gamers and hardcore enthusiasts. You can truly immerse yourself in the game with Kinect Head Tracking, which pans the camera view based on how you naturally look into the corners when you're hard charging. There's even a fourth integration that I didn't try that can take advantage of Kinect voice control to easily navigate the game's menus.
Community (Because car guys are social little bitches!): One of the coolest new community features is the ability to create a guild-like car club and then recruit your friends — or, really, the best of the best — and have the ultimate dream team of drivers, tuners and painters from the "Forza" community. Within each club you'll be able to share your custom cars and then, if you're interested, use them to dominate the other clubs. A second feature is an all-new Rivals Mode that lets you play against your friends whether they're online or not in a variety of different game types. Basically, you'd race against a "ghost" version of them, chasing or leading your opponent's ghost around the track.
Now combine those features with access to cars from over 80 manufacturers — more than any other racing game.
With the number of manufacturers Forza comes to the table with, it turns the game into something more — almost a quintessential experiential automotive game. You can have access to cars and manufacturers you'd never be able to afford or touch in real life, whenever and however you want them. Who cares what a car magazine says when you can walk around the Ferrari 458 Italia yourself, pop the hood, slip inside, shut the door, hear Jeremy Clarkson talk about it and then drive it yourself against your friend.
And that's exactly why I'm more excited for Forza Motorsport 4 than I've ever been for a driving game. Not only does it look to be brilliant, it might even help save car culture. I'm all for it. Even if I am worried it'll put me out of business.
