Story:
No story per se, there is a career mode. Career mode is broken down to multi-month seasons. In those seasons Forza will give you three selections for racing series, one for your current car, one for more track variety, and one for a different car class. Additionally every two weeks game time you race one race in a championship series. I actually like the season mode, it gives some good choices. But don't feel you have to stick to it. This is one of the elements for the causual gamer, though as a core gamer I like this touch in that it make career mode seem more like an actual career. While you can follow the season mode if you want, you can go your own way if you don't like the choices given. Just go into event select and all the events you have unlocked are available for you to choose from right there.
Control:
This is where Turn 10 put in a good amount of thought and effort. Control can be as easy as gas an steering or as difficult as gas, clutch, brake, gear shifting and steering. And that's before we get into damage, wear & tear, AI levels, and other driving assists. Those people that had a specific control scheme in Forza 2 can setup the same control scheme in Forza 3. I myself normally have all assists except anti-lock brakes off, automatic transmission, and braking lines only on. The choices all can be either be tailored to your style or simply select easy, medium, or hard and Forza 3 will make the choices for you.
I tried the "one-button" style for one race. As someone that drives closer to realistic in the game it took a little getting used to. The auto-brake was a little unexpected at first, but worked pretty flawlessly.
In the end whatever your choice for control, Forza has added an item that makes the game, well, easier for everyone. The unlimited rewind button. Usable only in the single player game the rewind button is usable at any time in the race to fix a "mistake." Took a turn wrong and ended up off the track, rewind. Crashed into another car or wall, rewind. Another car crashed into you, rewind. It's very helpful and as you get better at the game you'll find yourself using it less and less.
Gameplay:
For those that have played Forza 2 in the past you will notice some slight change to the cars in the way they drive. This is the improvements Turn 10 made to the the handling, making it more realistic. I was used to it within a few races. The game AI is as aggressive/non-aggressive as Forza 2 and it also can be adjusted. In fact almost anything can be adjusted if it too hard or too easy.
Speaking of adjusting the more advanced players will find all of their favorite upgrading and tuning is still there. Again here Turn 10 has made it easy for casual players with suggested upgrades. With Forza 2 I kind of guessed and built my cars well hit or miss. I have pretty much completely used the suggested upgrades. I did do one car on my own. Interestingly after upgrading the car I tried to use the suggested upgrades option for it in the same class, it wouldn't let me.
The tuning brings me to another element they have added, the Storefront. The Storefront expands the Auction House for Tuners and Artists. Tuners can now sell their tuning setups and Artists can sell their paint jobs or vinyl groups for in game money. Looking for a little more performance, check the storefront. Looking for a wild paintjob, check the storefront.
Graphics and Sound:
Graphic you'd be hard pressed to find better. Boasting at least 10 times the polygons if not more, Forza 3 is just drop dead beautiful. Easily blowing away Forza 2. Audio each car was sampled so each one sounds like it should. I am a little so-so on the music chosen for menus, it's very different from what Forza 2 had.
Overall:
Forza Motorsport has since it's introduction been compared to the granddaddy of racing sims, Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo. Truth be told I am a Gran Turismo fan. Turn 10 has really come a long way from it's first Forza on the original Xbox. While I thought Forza 2 was somewhat comparable to Gran Turismo, now Forza 3 is pretty much on par, and in some ways surpassed Gran Turismo. If Turn 10 keeps the quality up like this I suspect the racing sim fans will be the biggest winners no matter what system they choose. Turn 10 has pushed Gran Turismo developer, Polyphony Digital, to include damage, and Polyphony Digital has pushed Turn 10 to create a quality, beautiful game. Clocking in with over 400 fully customizable cars from 50 manufacturers and over 100 race tracks from around the world, Forza Motorsport gets a perfect 5 out of 5 from me. It's a must buy if you like any kind of racing game. It was totally worth the wait.
Forza Motorsport 3 is rated E for Everyone
