Downloaded the Demo and played it a bit last night.

Impressions:

Graphics - MEH
Realism - megaMEH
Load Times - HORRIBLE

I was REALLY looking forward to this game. Played an internal version of it a few months ago that was a lot of fun. Now it looks cell-shaded and corny. And the load times were fucking terrible. EVERY SCREEN takes 10 seconds minimum to load. There's just no damn excuse for that.

10/19/2009 12:14:54 PM

played the demo...was not pleased at all.

the graphics for the track surroundings were especially underwhelming.

10/19/2009 12:17:51 PM

reminded me of GT5 prologue for PS3 which goes along with everything you guys just said.

now here is hoping that i feel this way because it is just a demo and having more tracks/cars will change that in the full version.

I tried the demo out a few weeks ago and haven't tried it since day 1.

10/19/2009 2:18:54 PM

soon many of you will learn that the demo is not a "work in progress", it is the final game nerfed to hell for a short play period

you will get exactly what you saw in the demo

10/19/2009 4:48:53 PM

thank you captain obvious. But no one was expecting the full game to have better graphics. We are (i am at least) hoping that by having the full content will make up for the disappointment in a GT5 look a like demo.

Do not confuse demo with beta. kthx

[Edited on October 19, 2009 at 5:07 PM. Reason : .]

10/19/2009 5:07:34 PM

Quote :

"Played an internal version of it a few months ago that was a lot of fun."

made me lol

10/19/2009 5:35:07 PM

^why? It was on a small tv in a dark room and I only got to play for a couple of minutes. It could be that on an HDTV, it just doesn't look at good. Or maybe the cars/events will make a difference.

Quote :

"reminded me of GT5 prologue for PS3 which goes along with everything you guys just said."

GT5 is infinitely better, as a demo. If you are trying to build a "sim"-like driving game, then realism should be paramount. GT5 gets it right both on the visuals, and on the physics. Other than GTR2, it's the best sim experience I've had.

Forza just seems... cartoony in both aspects. Felt like I was driving a slot car, and the entire look of the game just feels more arcade than sim. Love the menu/ui design and style, but how the fuck do you justify 10 second load times for the MENUS, which have no 3d at all in them?

I'll probably buy it just because it's cheap at the company store, but I'm not too excited at the prospects.

10/20/2009 3:48:37 PM

Quote :

"GT5 is infinitely better, as a demo. If you are trying to build a "sim"-like driving game, then realism should be paramount. GT5 gets it right both on the visuals, and on the physics. Other than GTR2, it's the best sim experience I've had."

wait what? I'm talking Gran Turismo 5...because it seems like you are thinking of some thing else. GT5 on the PS3 feels almost like a toon shader was used in some instances, the realism is as awful as its always been in the GT series. It's way too arcady for me. Nothing in terms of realism thats in GTR2 and Forza series. Forza 2 definitely had the realism aspect down. (And yes I own GT5)

10/20/2009 3:56:33 PM

I played the internal version of halo 4. gfx were ok but multiplayer was laggy

10/20/2009 5:37:02 PM

played an internal verssion of final fantasy xx graphix were pretty good but the realism wasnt there at all they were all speaking japanese

10/20/2009 5:48:01 PM

played an internal version of smb12; mario looks fake and luigi is kind of gay

10/20/2009 6:01:11 PM

Quote :

"wait what? I'm talking Gran Turismo 5...because it seems like you are thinking of some thing else. GT5 on the PS3 feels almost like a toon shader was used in some instances, the realism is as awful as its always been in the GT series. It's way too arcady for me. Nothing in terms of realism thats in GTR2 and Forza series. Forza 2 definitely had the realism aspect down. (And yes I own GT5) "

Agree with you completely on Forza2. GT5 though looks pretty damn spot on to me (at least in comparison to Forza3). The car interiors are gorgeous and accurate, and the tracks are pretty well detailed.

*shrug*

10/20/2009 6:47:39 PM

It still feels very arcadeish though but I'm comparing it to forza 2. Forza 3 demo felt just like GT5 which in terms of control which is why I was let down although the GT3 in the demo felt more like Forza 2 once you turned off all the assists. I'll probably still end up buying it anyway once I'm done with Dirt 2 just like I bought GT5 prologue.

10/20/2009 7:03:53 PM

In Stores Now . . .

10/27/2009 5:04:05 PM

on a tangent, i'm gonna grab dirt 2 for free here in a few weeks (yay promotions!)

10/27/2009 5:06:24 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iDTXYA_9nQ

amazing..

10/28/2009 1:31:21 AM

Forza 3 felt way too...... easy?


I dunno. After playing Forza 2 (which was insane hard for me), Forza 3 was a little TOO arcade-y.

10/28/2009 9:18:18 AM

Quote :

"the ps3 will destroy the 360 just face it. Right? now the ps3 is way more capable with its hardware but unfrotunatly because of the 360's crappy graphics companies like EA simply dont have the time or resources to make games on the ps3 look as good as they should be. But look at the new Uncharted 2. Its simply amazing and this is one of the few games to fully take advantage of the ps3. Its only becasue microsoft rushed to get the 360 out before the ps3 that the 360 is a standard game platform."

EL OH EL...from the youtube video comments.

10/28/2009 9:39:54 AM

The only thing I like about the new game is the rewind button.

No more crashing at lap 14/15.

10/28/2009 12:01:01 PM

^You...you like race car games? Maybe we can be friends afterall

Personally I'm waiting for GT5, March '10 right? ( )

10/28/2009 3:19:07 PM

I'm conflicted... parts of it are ridiculously awesome improvements while other parts are a tremendous let down and a step back... they actually balance out into an "it's ok"... I'm astounded that they would release certain features worse than the previous version... but being able to flip your car over and then rewind and avoid it 10 minutes into a race is an AWESOME improvement albeit a slight on the realism

a passable next step for the franchise overall… (in reality I’ll be playing until the sun comes up on the east coast)

So for myself having played the previous versions a LOT and having experience staying on the track it took a little while to hit anything knew that was dynamic... I.e. there were new lame cars and new tracks that I didn't really care about... then there was the new interface that I didn't really like (AT ALL)... Also I had to choose between moderately easy (medium) opponents and challenging opponents that I couldn't beat every time... Wanting to unlock things in the game I chose the moderate opponents I can beat with minimal effort and planning... Anyways, after 4 hours I finally got to a NEW track with NEW cars that was fast and challenging and FUN... They took one of my favorite tracks (New York) and made it WAY harder in places where it was actually kind of boring... That's where I had to stop playing last night...

I need an upgrade matrix for the cars, a better laid out career path (I don't like the calender) and there should be a freaking option to upgrade/downgrade your current car directly from the event selection screen so you can make your car compliant without having to exit through 4 screens... I haven't used it yet, but the event matrix does seem like it will be cooler than the previous way of laying out the levels... TBD

I DO like the new physics and wrecks... I DESTROYED a mustang several times in NY... but the rewind only goes so far, so if you're sitting there in awe of your wreck and stunned that that just happened you might not be able to rewind far enough to get around it... I think I'll get used to this but I've had to restart 2 races now while 6-8 minutes in because I was too impressed with the wreck and how it transpired to remember to back up quickly... Venturing of track now provides an experience I would think is more like real life...

The graphics I might need to get the HDMI cable b/c my VGA connector draws blue over the bottom part of my LCD... in general I guess I was expecting the cars to be even better than forza2, but it looks like they put a LOT more attention into the fine details than making the cars any more realistic...

No pole positioning... If I'm number 1 in a series I should be in pole instead of having to start at 6th... or at LEAST give me a pole lap to set things up with... I'm SICK of beating my way to the front bashing into the other cars to get there when by racing standards I should be there.

The "quick upgrade" thing is just terrible... it picks really really crappy upgrades that are FAR from the best choices available. Fortunately you can look at the parts it has picked and scoff... MAYBE they do some sort of performance evaluation matrix... but I NEVER like what they choose.

When awarded a new car... they just go through a picture slide show of it... you can't rotate the view and they don't show you the spec's AT ALL... Forza 2 did this way better... why on EARTH did they change to this???

The cars awarded seem funny at times... you win a Lotus Exige for winning the Vauxhall challenge...???

LOVE being able to drive off the track and not just thrown off b/c I'm not playing by the rules... the physics dictate what will happen not game rules... love it

LOVE being able to rewind... but seems like there should be a penalty for it like in GRID... I dunno, mixed feelings on that b/c I also was PAINED by re-racing 10 minute races in forza 2 when I would screw up on the last lap

Done with work for the week thanks to forced time off... Will be playing all night... more to come... thus far I'm rating it only on par with forza2... I don't regret buying it... but it's not world changing, life altering, end all be all I perhaps was hoping for...

10/30/2009 12:07:04 AM

Quote :

"No pole positioning... If I'm number 1 in a series I should be in pole instead of having to start at 6th... or at LEAST give me a pole lap to set things up with... I'm SICK of beating my way to the front bashing into the other cars to get there when by racing standards I should be there."

Couldn't agree more. I hate having to bumper car to the front everryyyyyyyyy single race.


Why is the 1995 civic si hatchback locked?

10/30/2009 12:14:52 AM

they stole the rewind thing from Dirt2

10/30/2009 12:16:05 AM

just wanted yall to see this -- it's a friend's setup

http://www.flickr.com/photos/coderkev/4071397591/

11/3/2009 12:45:04 PM

Okay so I've been playing this for a week or so.

God damn it's so much better than the demo experience. The only thing that holds it back from being truly top-notch is the upgrades. I was pretty disappointed with the adjustability metrics. For instance on the rear wing, why do you set the downforce rather than the angle? And having no choices for wing or splitter styles, no venturi underbelly parts, and weight reduction that is totally arbitrary all make the customization pretty lackluster.

On the plus side, the driving experience is awesome. Turning off the assists, hard difficulty really feels like a pretty true test of driver skill. Ordering the fanatec wheel and g25 pedals is on my christmas list. I think this game will be a beast with a true clutch system.

11/12/2009 12:34:45 PM

I, too, utterly love this game. I'm not the best driver, but I am amazed by all of the effects which you can manipulate with the replay and camera system. I have so much fun looking through the storefronts at some of the artwork which people have created.

11/12/2009 1:10:09 PM