DDT-TypeS

This is an ultra quick glimpse to this included demo game with my copy of OXM.

I'm still playing as I type this out...
I know ya'll been waiting for this game especially the GRAPHICS.
I am an ultra loyal GT series FAN. I bought the PS2 for one game only: GT3.

Initial response to the graphics in FORZA DEMO:

GT4 will own this bitch hard. GT3 already owns this bitch period. Actually, PGR1 kicks its ass. What do I mean by that vulgaric slam? Well, the "pov" sports 4 options. In car has 2 options (medium and low view) and outside car views include normal behind and then far behind. NONE of the mode EXCEPT for the in car ULTRA LOW P.O.V. comes close to the actual speedo reading. I go 90mph in the 350z and it looks as if I'm going 30 mph. NO JOKE. The graphics are ULGY in comparison to GT3. I can READ the damn EMBLEM (350z) on the PS2's GT3 and yet even on this 21" monitor (480p) I cannot read the 350z emblem clearly at all. The aliasing is really bad in this game (well, it is in 720x480p). Anyway, cannot comment yet on the gameplay but so far, I really dig the physics. It's really legit compared to GT3, much much harder to learn. The car is pretty realistic however i have never driven a 350z yet (in real life). There's about 11 cars to choose from in the demo including some ferraris and some DTM type cars.

Ok, more on this later..back to playing.

Did I mention the graphics sucks? It really doesn't give you a sense of speed whatsoever. I will have to say the graphics in GT3 alone is killing this game. The 30fps seems very weak for this genre and I really don't dig the aliasing. Yes, your tire marks stay on the track but who gives a fuck about that? I'm too busy trying to steer my ride.

Graphics so far: D+

DDT-TypeS

Damange in this game demo has no effect on HANDLING, SPEED, car physics at all. Even the FUEL METER DOES NOTHING. I ran around the track over 20minutes in time and the gas metere did not go down at all. This is a 360 Modena with a fuel economy of 12mpg. I don't see what the point of the gas meter is for in this demo. Also, I crashed the 360 modena probably over 20 times doing 120mph into a wall, and the result is below. It doesn't do anything to the handling/characteristic of the car after you smash it up 20 times into a wall. Mainly for the pleasure of looking at car damage. I don't see what the point of damage is when it does nothing to your cars physics. This is suppose to be the ultimate simulator, but I guess not in the demo. I cannot knock on this demo too much but if the graphics engine is anything like what I have seen in the demo, then I believe GT4 will win. Just looking at GT3 is way more pleasing than in this game. The models are "plastic" like and they "float" on the tracks. Really not good BUT there is some good about this game. The physics is pretty close to GT3. So if you like GT3, then you may like this game minus the graphics. I cannot believe this is XBOX graphics. UGLY!

I snapped some 480p shots:

DDT-TypeS

Forgot to mention, the 30fps really isn't that bad...but it's pretty lame considering I just booted up GT3 and I played this forza demo, side by side, oh my, GT3 destroys Forza demo in the graphics dept. The cars in GT3 feels so "weighted" as if they are real cars somehow. These cars in the demo really feel lame as if they are weightless and I really cannot get a good sense of 120mph because it feels like I'm going 30mph.

I'm definitely going to buy GT4 even without Online play, I think it's a real winner. I just don't see how this forza game can match up graphically (but this is still a demo and we have about 4 months to go). I doubt they will change the graphics engine so I think the final will probably be the same as this demo version.

<sigh>, I really wanted this game to rock, but we'll have to wait and see the final product. It doesn't look all that promising with this lame demo. The track available to race on is Laguna Seca.

NOVAwhiteTypeS

i can see all the badging on the cars just fine on my tv w/ the HD kit. did you notice that this is just a 'demo'? personally i think the attention to detail is far greater than gt3 . but i'll have to wait till the final release to make any judgements

DDT-TypeS

you can see the emblems, just that the graphics aren't that great..especially with the framerate in this genre, coming from GT3, it really does not give you a real fluid sense of driving simulation.

As for "this is a just a demo", if you noticed that CONKER: Live and Reloaded is also a demo but look at the graphics and gameplay in that demo game. If you checked out Star Wars battle front, another wonderful demo showcase. I want to see how the final version of FORZA will be like, but judging from this "demo", my views on this game is "mediocre simulation" at best (graphics/gameplay combined)

cusdaddy

I've been playing the demo over my TV with the HD kit.. I think Forza looks great. Better than GT3 IMO. It looks extra blurry on your display. I can see the emblems fine on my TV.

cusdaddy

This info about Forza came from a recent interview from one of the developers.. This online component sounds sweet!

What else are you implementing on the online side?

Kiki Wolfkill: We've nailed all the usual stuff - everything you do while you're signed in will be reflected in a leaderboard somewhere and your stats will be constantly tracked. On top of that we're really keen to focus on the idea of a racing community. We have Car Clubs, which are effectively clans of up to 100 drivers. You can think of it almost as a race team.

Anything you can do in single-player you'll be able to do within your Car Club, so you'll have guys who are really skilled with upgrades and tuning, guys who are really skilled at customising cars with our decals and liveries, and the guys who are great at racing all working together within the team. Then there's the online economy feeding into that, with people trading upgrades, mechanical setups, decals and cars.