Review
Played on: Xbox One & Xbox One XReleased: 2010
This review will be kind of unique, as it's a game that's been released prior to the release of the Xbox One X, Microsoft's new and world's most powerful console. Thus, I've played it a while on my Xbox One S and then waited to play it further until my Xbox One X arrived. giving me the opportunity to compare them! It will be my only review doing this, considering I'll be playing titles on the XB1X from now on.
Last year saw the Forza franchise reach it's highest critical acclaim, with the arcade thrills that was the third Horizon series release. FH3 delivered a truly fantastic racer and gained a lot of well deserved popularity, even outside of the typical motorsport enthusiast bubble too. Read my thoughts on FH3 here.
As for the Motorsport series, the change from going from the pretty, but bare-bones launch title, FM5 to the fleshed out and huge FM6, was a big jump. FM6 was a game I put a serious amount of time into, probably one of my most played racing games in the last ten years. Lots of tracks, night and rain weather added and tons of cars. Going from FM6, and the recent FH3, was always going to need a large change to impress.
Let's take a look and see if FM7 delivers this.
How does it look on the XB1X then? The first, and most apparent, change is the extremely clean native 4K image. Gone are the jaggies and flickering on edges and objects in the distance. Fences with lots of tiny details look clean, all the way into the distance. Cars don't change their level of detail in the distance either, which is important when the viewing so much sharper into the horizon in 4K.
Homologation. It's a word you'll get familiar with in FM7, albeit it's aggressive wish to homologate your car; basically auto-tune your motor to meet a racing cup's rules. Luckily the amount of variation in leagues and racing genres make FM7's main singleplayer less forced and one-sided than FM6's. This time you can choose between lots of different cups to enter with a variety of car types within FM7's impressive 750+ cars.
It's a huge amount of cars that has been built up an added to the total number throughout Xbox One's Forza releases. These racing cups allow the player to play at their own difficulty and assist level. In other words, it's about winning cups to earn points towards unlocking new cars and even more cups to join.
The lack of awarding a player for not activating rewind, using no ABS brakes, no racing line etc. is a little disappointing though. I really liked the added bonus of extra XP for those willing to risk more for a difficult approach. The only difficulty you can earn more points in here is to adjust the A.I. level up. It's a sad omission and coupled with the forced homologation to enter a cup makes FM7 restricted in it's own way, as if adjusted towards more casual players.
The lack of awarding a player for not activating rewind, using no ABS brakes, no racing line etc. is a little disappointing though. I really liked the added bonus of extra XP for those willing to risk more for a difficult approach. The only difficulty you can earn more points in here is to adjust the A.I. level up. It's a sad omission and coupled with the forced homologation to enter a cup makes FM7 restricted in it's own way, as if adjusted towards more casual players.
I don't mind all the assists and the gradual learning curve for casuals, no please, absolutely try to get more people interested in traditional racing, but don't hamper down experienced players. They could easily have had a casual/veteran option to allow one or the other, plus rewarding players wanting to play the game more realistically.
There's a few very welcome additions outside of the varied singleplayer though, when compared to FM6; dynamic(ish) weather and new race tracks. Real life circuits that are new for this iteration is the Japanese favourite Suzuka Circuit and Italy's Mugello, plus Virginia International Raceway, which was a DLC to FM6, have been added.
Fan favourite, fantasy track, Maple Valley does a welcome comeback to the series, from way back in FM4. There's also a brand new Dubai circuit, winding it's way over deserts and into speedy motorway tunnels under Dubai Int. airport, is a beautiful looking addition. Where Prague was FM5's showcase race track, and Rio was FM6's equivalent, Dubai is FM7's showcase. All of them stunning circuits to speed around!
FM7 has a nice balance between real racing circuits and fantasy ones, plus the weather can now be partially dynamic in singeplayer races. Going from nighttime to early morning, to sunsets and that rain begins pouring down, then goes away again. It's nice additions to make a race feel varied and exciting to play after endless races. I would've liked fully dynamic weather though, and options to add any weather type to custom races. Dynamic weather is mostly locked to the singleplayer cups.
FM7 has a nice balance between real racing circuits and fantasy ones, plus the weather can now be partially dynamic in singeplayer races. Going from nighttime to early morning, to sunsets and that rain begins pouring down, then goes away again. It's nice additions to make a race feel varied and exciting to play after endless races. I would've liked fully dynamic weather though, and options to add any weather type to custom races. Dynamic weather is mostly locked to the singleplayer cups.
Xbox One/Xbox One S vs. Xbox One X
It would only be fair to have a comparison of consoles here, since I've played the game on both systems. Firstly, FM7 on the One/One S benefits from getting an anti-aliasing solution applied, carried over from the Horizon series. Jaggies appear less harsh and the picture gets a softer look. Grass density and texture quality though, seems to be somewhat downgraded, if we go all the way back to FM5. I'm guessing its just a matter of priorities, nothing you'll notice when racing. FM7 is otherwise a fantastic looking title on the stock hardware and impressively has dynamic weather while maintaining that rock solid 1080p@60fps.How does it look on the XB1X then? The first, and most apparent, change is the extremely clean native 4K image. Gone are the jaggies and flickering on edges and objects in the distance. Fences with lots of tiny details look clean, all the way into the distance. Cars don't change their level of detail in the distance either, which is important when the viewing so much sharper into the horizon in 4K.
There's also a higher texture setting, making all the environments and road surfaces look more detailed and sharp. Grass effects are boosted too. The lighting just shines better in 4K, allowing for tiny details like reflections on various surfaces seem more pronounced. Best example of this is how all the small individual stones in the tarmac reflect.
So, it's all about the sharpness and cleaner picture, especially in the tiny details. In 1080p they just blur into each other, in 4K they shine individually. Everything from the tarmac beneath your car, to rich of details like the cockpit with outstanding detail to material surfaces.
So, it's all about the sharpness and cleaner picture, especially in the tiny details. In 1080p they just blur into each other, in 4K they shine individually. Everything from the tarmac beneath your car, to rich of details like the cockpit with outstanding detail to material surfaces.
Going back to the game review, regardless of system
When it comes to it's downsides, my opinions come down to slight franchise fatigue. I've played so much FM6 and FH3, that FM7 doesn't have the chance to engage me as much. Sure, this is the version to go for if you have none of the previous Motorsport titles on your XB1. Plus, it's a great showcase for your shiny new XB1X and 4K TV, but otherwise, it's more of the same if you played a ton of FM6. If you're still own a One/One S console, then there isn't so much here for you.Missing stuff like a coop option for singleplayer tournaments, custom number plates or custom built championships from FH3, disappoints me too. I would've enjoyed being able to activate a pro setup to the singleplayer modes, allowing me build cars from scratch myself. Focusing on choosing the right parts to tune out the most of a standard car, rather than be forced into homologation.
I'd also have appreciated more new cars, previously not seen in Motorsport or Horizon releases, but I guess they are locked away in DLC car packs. They might all be small complaints, but as a eager Forza player, they're ones I wish they'd took into consideration. Oh, and I need to mention the loading: it's terrible. Although it's slightly faster on the XB1X, they're just so long!
The most obvious jump from FM6 to FM7 will be on the XB1X version, however, it still offers a nice racing package for those on One/One S platforms. The added AA helps keep it looking anti-aliased and the new tracks and dynamic weather are a welcome sight.
The most obvious jump from FM6 to FM7 will be on the XB1X version, however, it still offers a nice racing package for those on One/One S platforms. The added AA helps keep it looking anti-aliased and the new tracks and dynamic weather are a welcome sight.
The jump in resolution, draw distance and texture quality though, make the XB1X version the most desirable for console owners. It gives it a technical jump from FM6 too, while the standard version doesn't do this as much, though this is expected being the third game on the same hardware.
FM6 was going to be a hard game to surpass, thus dampening my excitement a little for FM7. It's by no means worse compared to FM6, in fact, I'd recommend this over it any day. But it doesn't feel like a significant jump, other than the extra technical improvements the XB1X brings to the table.
FM6 was going to be a hard game to surpass, thus dampening my excitement a little for FM7. It's by no means worse compared to FM6, in fact, I'd recommend this over it any day. But it doesn't feel like a significant jump, other than the extra technical improvements the XB1X brings to the table.
A must-have for new X owners, for sure. I mean, it's a beautiful looking, native 4K game, running at 60fps locked! Which is mighty impressive when looking at the competition, like Project Cars 2 or Gran Turismo Sport. But for One/One S owners, there are cheaper alternatives you look at older Forza releases.
