According to Metacritic, FM3 stands at 92, GT5 at 84. My question is what accounts for this large difference in score.
Here is my take:
1. Least important, we all know how it goes graphics wise. Forza's environments look better than GT's for the most part. Forza also seems to be more colourful (neither a plus nor a minus, just a fact). Many have gone so far as to compare GT's environments to PS2 graphics, and although I disagree with them for the most part, the comparison is justifiable when you look at the trees, which are simply two sprites placed perpendicular to each other. It must be noted however, that they are not horrible enough to stand out and distract you during a race. In fact, I never noticed that until I actually paused the game and looked for it.
Moving on to cars, GT's premiums look better than Forza's cars. This is especially noticeable with the interior view, but even the modelling of the exterior is better with GT's cars. Standards, however, are a very mixed bag. Some of them look almost as good as Forza's models, while others look almost as bad as GT4's models.
2. Performance wise, there are claims that Forza runs smoother and has less screen tearing. To be honest, I've never noticed any drop in FPS or any screen tearing in GT5. I'm not sure where these claims come from, but even if they are true, they do not detract from gameplay. It must also be noted that GT5 is rendered at a higher resolution and has more cars on the track.
3. Physics: this is where GT5 really shines and pulls ahead of Forza. I don't think I need to say much here.
4. Damage: from the footage I've seen GT5's damage is better than Forza's. From what I've played so far, GT5's damage is nonexistent. I've heard that more damage is unlocked as you level up, so maybe someone else can comment on this... Or maybe I just drive too cleanly. ;)
However, I must note that both of these games are far behind Grid/Dirt in this category.
5. Offline: I'm extremely satisfied with GT5's career mode. There is lots of variety and events. No complaints from me here. I haven't played Forza's career mode, so maybe someone else can tell me where the difference lies.
6. Online: haven't tried online with GT5 yet, but I've heard many complaints. Forza's community features are outstanding; I have a feeling Forza's the winner in this category.
7. Miscellaneous: who the fuck approved GT5's menu system? It's atrocious and needs to load absolutely EVERYTHING. And the load times are pretty bad, but the installing the game helps a bunch. And Forza's customization is much better than GT5's. Also, Forza not supporting G25 is a big minus. Especially considering how bad the MS wheel is. And GT5 has more than twice as many cars as Forza (don't know about DLC), albeit only about 20% them are premiums.
So, going from that, I think that GT5 should have been rated at the very least as high as Forza. What gives? Is it the fact that GT is the bigger franchise and the game's been in development for so long? Feel free to make your own comparisons or add any relevant categories to my list. Is there anything I'm overlooking?
