It’s been a while since I did one of these, so if I seem a little rusty then bare with me.

For years the Gran Turismo franchise has ruled the scene of racing games and its culture. Since it’s first incarnation hit the Playstation in 1997, the driving game genre as a whole has been revolutionised.  A whole host of simulation racers such as GTR, Live For Speed and rFactor, as well as obsolete console gems like Enthusia, can all in some way trace their inspiration and their motivation thanks to GT and the father of it all, Kazunori Yamauchi.

But for a few years now, the “Real Driving Simulator” has had some competition. This has come in the form of Dan Greenawalt and Turn 10 Studios with their version of virtual motoring nirvana, Forza Motorsport. The first two titles were well received, even though they did have their flaws. But now there’s a new one. Forza Motorsport 3 is here and there’s not a GT game in sight. Well, not yet anyway. That’s to hopefully come soon. But it’s Forza we’re here to concentrate on, so let’s get cracking.

This game has taken Dan and the T10 boys 2 years to develop. Compare this with Gran Turismo 5, which is now coming up to the end of its 5th year in development and you could probably tell which of the two teams have worked more efficiently. The end result brings up over 400 cars and 100 different circuit layouts in total across some 20 odd locations. They range from the confined cobble streets and winding tarmac twists of the Amalfi coast to the mountain passes of a fictional Japanese road called Fujimi Kaido, and all the way to legendary race tracks such as the Circuit de La Sarthe at Le Mans, France and the mighty Nurburgring Nordschleife nestled deep in the Eifel mountains, concealed by a mass of forest and hills.

Vehicle wise, there’s plenty to choose from and keep every petrolhead happy. Your traditional Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and McLarens are here, as is the Bugatti Veyron. There are purpose built Le Mans prototypes, classic muscle cars, JDM cars perfect for tuning. All the way down the automotive scale this game goes right down to small domestic cars such as the Mini Cooper, Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris. There’s a car in this game for everyone. The best thing is all of them have been accurately recreated, with working gauges inside and realistic interiors for that authentic feel.

Let’s now focus on some of the main parts in a game review, and in particular a game of this genre. First of all – graphics. You have to admit this game looks gorgeous. Yes, some will argue that at the moment GT5 and GT5 Prologue looks more realistic and I would agree to an extent. But with FM3 everything seems to have more colour and is more vibrant and vivid. The main menu scene, which shows a camera panning round the car at certain angles, shows off the incredible amount of detail in these car models. Every headlight, every wheelnut, every wing mirror, every line and curve in the bodywork has been accurately and authentically recreated in game. The visuals are a step forward from FM2, where they seems to have a bit of cel shading in some ways. That’s kind of what it felt and looked like in a way.

What about physics? Well, again they are a step up from the 2nd incarnation. This time, they did some major re-development, mainly in tyre physics. They now feature tyre deformation and tyre flex, which realistically recreates the way a tyre moves and stretches around the wheel rim under acceleration, braking and through the corners. To make sure they got it right, T10 worked with tyre technicians from Michelin and also engineers from McLaren in order to get the data just right. My opinion is that they certainly have done a good job. Switch to one of the many replay cameras near the wheel and you can evidently see the rubber moving across the rim. Also, I find that when trying to drift or powerslide, it feels as though the cars is more planted which helps when trying to control a car whilst it’s going sideways. FM2 felt like you were kind of on a knife-edge when trying to drift, but in this game it does feel better. You can hold long slides at 45 degrees provided you know how to balance the countersteering and throttle, with the brake and handbrake all thrown in for good measure. All the cars have a unique feel to each other too. Muscle cars will feel big, heavy and cumbersome while the Le Mans racers will feel nimble, precise and sharp. FM3 really does a great job in distinguishing each car’s own characteristics.

On to sounds, now. As they have done with their other games, T10 used a dyno to record the engine notes of the cars. Again, they are a step up from FM2’s. A Skyline sounds more like a Skyline with its gruff inline 6 cylinder. The Corvette C6.R does sounds more raspy and aggressive. The Toyota GT-One sounds almost pitch perfect and I love the way they’ve got its blow-off valve spot on, as well as the engine’s tendency to sound like it’s stuttering when under acceleration. V8s sound authentic and rough, while the heavenly V12 roar of the Ferrari FXX, along with the awesome gear change sounds makes the hairs on the back of your next stand on end.

I’m gonna split this up into two parts before this gets too big. Stay tuned for part deux…

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