I actually wasn't even going to download the demo at first. Not much of a Forza fan. Then after trying to stomach some Vampire Diaries on Netflix, I gave in.
The intro with the kids racing and crap was kind of trying too hard to draw some kind of competitive emotion out of me. I loved the Forza Horizon 2 intro though. Could have been due to the hot girls dancing around that got me pumped.
After that, the game grabs a hold of you and shows you the ropes. The whole feel is actually pretty warming and doesn't make you feel overwhelmed on how to play the game.
I chose the Subabru and it let me choose skins I could have for free, just like in FH2. Afterwards, I was thrown in the cockpit. I played around for a bit with the first person views. Now, what I don't like about over the hood first person view is when you have car art. The art looks pixelated. Happened in FH2 and it happens here. The driving feels good and the sense of speed is presented pretty well. I really hate first person view in driving games, its hard to tell where the side of your car is. I eventually panned out to third person and felt more comfortable.
Now, the true test begins. Can a Forza game actually win me over? Driving Sims have always been so boring to me. Arcady games like FH2 have been my forte. I try to play the game like FH2, where the breaks don't exist to me. So far I'm doing really good. I'm taking all the turns without any problems. Then the drifting God awakens in me. My drifts start to suck. Hey wait, my rear break lights keep coming on and my finger hasn't even once touched the breaks. Then I realized the demo was set to easy and break assist was on. Well that sucks, I thought I was awesome there for a bit. So far, even with all the handicaps, the handling of the cars feel better than FH2.
Then came the night race. The night environment gave a different feel as well. The tires didn't grab as well and I had to adjust to turns. The light effects were nice. From the headlights to the lighting around the track.
The Indy race was next. Wow, the sense of speed was freaking amazing. It made the track's straightaways so short. I don't know what it was about the track, but it felt like sharp razors cutting at my eyes. Maybe the car was going so fast that the road and the fences looked rough. But damn, it felt good driving. Then I looked at the crowd and laughed.
Now comes the rain. Only the in cockpit view is when it really effects your vision. The rain drops and wipers do their work. Once you jump to the front or back of the car, you pretty much turn into an outdoor camera. You get hit with the occasional rain drops, nothing to really hamper your vision. I'm used to how FH2 rain feels and how it controls on the road and the dirt. The rain here has so many variables and it's fucking awesome. It doesn't feel as flat and uniform across the same type of surface, like it does in FH2. The track has dips and puddles form up on some parts, with different variations of water on other parts. I thought I could play the track like FH2, boy was I wrong. As soon as you hit a puddle , you car loses traction on those wheels as your car gets lifted up by the water impact. If you go off the track and get in the dirt, your tires feel like they are digging into the mud. Your speed and control takes a big impact and you are likely to spin out. The gameplay is so good for the rain. It's awesome for a sim like this, but I would probably hate it for a Horizon game. As far as visuals, the rain looks good in first person view. The car does look like it's floating on the road in a higher 3rd person view though.
It's actually fun for a track racing game. As all track racers, it will probably get boring to me quicker than an open world racer. Will probably get this when it's cheaper. And with all that said, can't wait for Forza Horizon 3. Forza Horizon 2 is still the best racing game ever!
