I have played racing sims my entire life, I own both systems, I've played nearly every racing sim available for ps1, ps2, ps3, xbox, and xbox 360 (including jp only releases of GT) I love racing sims.
If i had to apply total subjective scores to the games like every other random video game review site does I would go:
GT4 (ps2) - 9.5 for the system this was amazing. There are it's limitations i.e. damage but aside from that the realism is beyond insane for a racing sim, let alone on a console
Forza - 9.0 Great game, looks great and is a great first step for microsoft to take on the legendary namesake of rsims that is GT. Considering it is on a next gen system compared to gt4 on last gen system, it is somewhat lacking
Forza 2 - 9.5 Great lineup of tracks, cars, damage, continued improvements.
GT5:P - 9.0 - well, for being only a portion of the actual game to come this game is phenominal. With damage to come for GT5 full edition it may be the only true 10 or close to 10 most will ever experience in gaming (if you like rsims). Only reason this is lower scored than forza 2 is becasue of content limitations
GT5: no rank - NOT RELEASED
Forza 3 : no rank - NOT RELEASED
So my final analysis:
For absolute realism: GT would be my preference.
For fun: toss up, I would prolly play a round or 2 of both.
Thoughts: GT is an established, iconic name in the world of racing sims and a hit seller for the playstation brand. Forza is the new kid on the block. For any developer to put forth a game that can even compete with the established name of Gran Turismo is amazing. Full version to full version GT will probably win the battle of future releases but they have much more experience with the styling. The realism of GT is astounding though.
- my unbiased review, i am a fan of both. It comes down to realism for me both have enough content to please the masses.
Also... first post. I'm a noob :(
