Forza Motorsport 6

Editor's Notes

Digital Standard Xbox One version reviewed. Standard Xbox One controller used for both single player and multiplayer. Notes on multiplayer can be found in the Replay section.

Introduction

One of the biggest names in racing games and in platform exclusives is none other than 'Forza,' and this year sees the release of 'Forza Motorsport 6.' Billed as the "biggest game" in 'Forza' history, 'Forza Motorsport 6' promises several firsts for the preeminent racer. It's the first core 'Forza' title to feature wet-weather and nighttime racing, and this time out, the cover star is the lovely 2015 Ford GT.

Nearly every one of 'Forza 6's promised features is an extension of the series' strengths. There are more cars, more tracks, more racers and more ways to play offline and online as well as more ways to personalize each and every Forzavista car.

'Forza 6' has an excellent pedigree spread between Turn 10 and Microsoft, but the game also follows last year's excellent 'Forza Horizon 2' and 'Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious.'

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

The Xbox One Era

It's been 10 years since the original 'Forza Motorsport' debuted on the original Xbox, and the current Xbox One era sees 'Forza' as an almost automatic buy for Xbox One owners and a series to envy for non- Xbox One owning racing fans. This is thanks is no small part to the joyful openworld racer that is 'Forza Horizon 2.'

'Forza Motorsport 5' is a technically brilliant game, full of quality racing. Unfortunately, the Xbox One launch title was marred by the twin-heads of limited content and aggressive content-gating, which was paired with a tendency by the game to recommend paid DLC (and VIP membership). Several post-release updates and free DLC offerings helped smooth the game over, but for this 'Forza' veteran, 'Forza 5' was a misstep. I was left feeling like the career mode was too often returning to the same tracks, and that far too many cars were locked as DLC .

Forza Motrosport 6

In contrast, 'Forza Motorsport 6' is a return to form. Once through the game's introduction, a wealth of cars, tracks, and modes become available. As a racing game fan and a car-lover, this is the exact kind of feeling I want from a racing title. The rating and division of cars by Power Index continues to drastically affect everything in game (for better and for worse), but when getting down to a specific class or PI, or something more fun like the categorical "Tracks Toys," there are lots of choices. Choosing the car and arguing its worth on track is the payoff, and what a payoff.

One area that Turn 10 likes to emphasize is that of the in-game physics. Ever present in the game is the feel of the tires gripping (or slipping) on the track. Reacting and planning for those physics is the essence of the gameplay, and 'Forza 6' once again presents this in a way that veteran racers can dig into while new players can expect a reasonable learning curve. Understanding how nuanced the physics are in the ForzaTech engine starts with different cars on different tracks, different tires, yes, even the different weather options.

Beyond the different cars, the depth comes from the game's ability to let the player scale towards the simulation difficulty/settings and to get waste-deep in the weeds of the tuning. As with previous entries, however, there is still a limit. For instance, traction control is still binary.

Honestly though, while a certain consistent stubbornness carries over from previous 'Forza' games, the feel of the tracks in 'Forza 6,' the feel of each different bit of tarmac, dirt, grass, rumble strip, and so on is such that I never want to go back to 'Forza 5.'

Likewise, while 'Forza 6' can appear to be stodgy compared with other racing titles, some of the variety present in 'Forza Horizon 2' has crept in. The career progression, which focuses on a vague of sense of racing as organized academically through the Stories of Motorsport, isn't bursting with innovation.

The general narrative tidbits are both of a high-production value and a mix of stilted and near satirical sound bites.

As in other parts of the game, each race ends with a delivery of credits (for buying cars and mod packs), XP (for driver level), and manufacturer affinity.

Spins

Whenever a new driver level is reached, a reward spin in earned. Through these spins, the player will pick up credits, a mod pack, or a new car. As the prizes available can vary greatly one spin to the next, the reward sequence is more engaging and the simple mini-game remains fun time after time.

Sometimes there is only one car that can be won, other times there can be four cars in the mix, and the values of the cars are all over the place. In my first few levels, I was able to pick up a few million in credits and several six digit credit price cars.

Mods

For use in single player only, 'Forza 6' offers players Mods. These Mods come in card packs, and are either one-time race Boosts, continuing perks (represented as a Crew bonus), or a special restriction (Dare).

Only one of each for Dares and Crew can be used per race, so there is no stacking. With the Crew bonuses, which affect the weight, power, grip, etc. of the car, specific cards can yield an extra bonus for specific tracks. Right off, I hated the mods. Then, due to the joy of opening card packs, I loved them, but ultimately, they are harmless. I rarely bothered with the consumable boosts; they tend to cost more credits than they can earn back. I used Dares (like no driving line) that suited how I drove anyway. Once I obtained a really good Super Rare Crew card, I rarely felt the need to switch it out.

Showcases

More impactful is the game's way of peppering the career mode with Showcases. These Showcases are unlocked progressively (presumable by Driver level), but are always available to play.

Many of the Showcases (Overtake, Autcross, ShootOut, Race the Stig) will be familiar, but others, like the historic ones are a real treat. There is some refinement which makes for unique challenges (almost like the Bucket List in 'FH2'). I was surprised by the lack of point to point racing, but also not surprised to find in the Overtake Showcases that the Rewind function often disappears under odd circumstances.

Nighttime & Wet-weather

That's pretty much how I feel about the nighttime and wet-weather racing. These variations have been implemented with a strong emphasis on the difference in physics in play. (Nighttime racing features colder tires.) Frankly, the wet-weather racing in 'Forza 6' reminds of the idea that 'Top Gear' had to do all test laps on a wet track in order to produce the most consistent results. (This idea proved horribly impractical.) The wet-weather is implemented visually (more on that later) and through two big changes. As expected, the tracks are more slick, and different cars handle this better. The other aspect is standing water in puddles and sloughs. These pockets are fixed in place and can feel like something from a cart-racing title whenever the AI squeezes my car that way. The idea would seem to be to disrupt the normalcy of a driving line, and indeed the extra element is both fun and annoying.

Take Silverstone; there is a huge puddle on the left side of the track just before a huge bend on the right, and I had learn the hard way to chicane around the puddle or else tumble into the bend. 

Because there are only a small selection of wet-weather and nighttime track variations, the inclusion and characteristics feel very safe. They do a good job of adding some variance to a straightforward genre title, but I also think they are a good seed for the series going forward.

Microsoft is happy to tell players that 'Forza 6' includes 460 Forzavista cars (all of the cars in 'Forza 6' can be viewed in the lush Forzavista mode), and this indeed is just one of the numbers that reflects what the game is about. The Drivatar system, which continues to take in more player data, is easily one of the best things going in going, if less novel after nearly two years.

Players can not only pick from one of the half dozen difficulty settings for the Drivatars, but there is even a special Limit Aggression setting. I'm so used to the AI's wild temper that I prefer to leave the Aggression in place.