Forza Motorsport 6 Review - King Of The Road

Forza Motorsport 6 Review - King Of The Road

I am a massive simulation racing game fan and it is my most played genre.  I love chatting to my mates and enjoying a good racing game the more realistic and challenging the better as I love the drama that unfolds where you're also on that edge and unwavered concentration is a must where one wrong move could end your race.  I love this edge of your seat excitement and a close tight race is my favourite experience in all of gaming.  I buy nearly all sim racing games on release and I have been very pleased with the wealth of different options covering different forms of motorsport as I love driving all different types of cars.

This is where Forza Motorsport 6 excels.  It's a one stop shop covering just about every form of motorsport you could want.  450 cars from Formula 1, Le Mans Prototypes, Grand Touring, World Touring Cars, open wheel, supercars, standard road cars, V8 Supercars, American Trans-Am and we're not even done yet as there is a lot more still.  All from across the decades from the 1930s through to present day and even the future with the 2017  Ford GT that is lavished all over the game's cover art and will be developed in coalition with the game.  Then take anyone of these cars out on one of the game's 26 world famous race tracks with over a hundred track variations and on some supported tracks Forza 6 adds rain and night racing for the first time in the series.


As well as standard race modes and time trials there is a whole suite of fun alternative modes like car bowling on a soaking wet Top Gear Test Track power sliding all the way in a BMW M4 and more silly antics from the Top Gear television series like racing against the show's professional racing driver, The Stig and racing against the clock while trying to slalom your way through a series of cone gates.  Career Mode is vast and varied and takes you through every form of motorsport the game has to offer from small hot hatches to Formula One and everything in between with a boasted 70+ hours of gameplay.  Cars must be bought using in game currency but thankfully the unfair microtransactions of Forza Motorsport 5 are gone and is relatively easy to get new cars though with a desirable level of challenge in getting large amounts of cash.  In fact I haven't seen microtransactions rear their ugly head at any point while playing so finger's crossed they've done away with them for good.

You can rent any car in the game and use it in free play, rivals time trial or online however doing so doesn't earn you in game money but the option is there if you don't care or have time to buy cars and just want to jump straight in and choose from any of the 450 cars available.  Although you will not be able to upgrade them or tune them in any way and will be locked at their base performance levels.

The game also retains the spin to win feature from Forza Horizon 2 where you get a chance to win a large amount of cash or a new car every time you level up.  So far since getting the game on Thursday 10th September Ive got over 70 cars already, though 20 of which were exclusive DLC and loyalty rewards for playing and getting achievements in the previous Forza games.

The graphics are simply the best I've seen on the Xbox One even better than Forza 5 everything has just been buffed and polished to a shine and the level of detail in car models and environments is almost photorealistic.  That attention to detail extends to the new rain and night racing modes as well as the handling model and physics which are excellent across the board.  Racing in rain has the much touted puddles that your car aquaplane's when you go through them which adds a whole new element to racing, braking distances are longer due to loss of friction and picking your line trying to avoid them while others do the same while rain realistically pours across your windscreen and jets of rain water sprays from the others cars' tires and the cloudy atmosphere obscures your vision of the road ahead.

Night racing has the same exquisite attention to detail. Everything is black and the only light to guide you are yours and the other car's lights and trackside lighting usually just to show you where corners are but tracks like Circuit De Sarthe has a massive ferris wheel that lights up at night which is truly a sight to behold and makes for some amazing photographs using the games photo editor.  Other tracks have similar visually appealing features like this which look amazing at night when the lights come on.  Tires also have less grip at night due to the colder temperatures.  Also weather seems to have a level of dynamics to it where rain gets heavier/lighter as you go and night may start just after the sun goes down and gets darker until it's pitch black.  Its a very immersive and exhilarating experience and probably the closest currently available to the real thing however it is limited to a select number of tracks in this release it's understandable when they've put this level of detail into it.

Multiplayer for early access Ultimate Edition owners is limited to a handful of modes at the moment so I'll follow up in a few weeks time once it's fully out and I've sufficiently tested it but what is there has been very quick to find a room and plays lag free and runs as smooth as in single player.  The new league mode also isn't in full effect yet obviously due to the game not officially released yet but there is a few modes there to try it out and everything works perfectly well and racing in them improves or decreases your ranking depending on your own performance and sportsman's conduct or the lack of when it comes to bumping other cars on purpose to pass them.

Forza Motorsport 6 is quite simply the best, most stunning racing simulation I have ever played and the amount of content on offer here represents fantastic value with hundreds of hours and a huge variety of modes to keep you invested.  Lots of options to tailor the game to your liking with different difficulties,  driving assists to suit all skill levels from new players to returning fans, a number of controller options and then there is the Forzavista car viewer, photo modes, livery editor, customise your car's spoilers, body kits and alloy wheels with the ability to create your own or download someone else's.  I had a go at the livery editor and it is much easier to create one than previous games which I never bothered trying myself because it looked so complex but I found the one in Forza 6 to be much more palatable.

The AI or Drivatars silly name or not are excellent and far better than 5 and Horizon 2 already but again they will be even better and more varied once the game officially launches.  They have provided me with close challenging races and passing them is a much more considered game of cat and mouse between you and if you make a mistake and hit the other car you'll take each other out of the race and vice versa as the AI do make human errors which only adds to the experience.

It's a must have for serious racing sim fans and if you're on the fence I'd recommend you at least give it a go and if you need help with assists and settings I'd be more than happy to help either messages on here or on Xbox Live.  There is a substantial demo available for free download on Xbox Live which gives you a fair idea of what you'd be getting.


Overall I'd give the game 10/10 though subject to change depending on the multiplayer which I am ever wary of in this current generation and it is impossible to tell at this point how reliable it may or may not be but based purely on the overall quality and wide and varied suite of single player content available it is excellent value for money and the drivatar system makes racing against AI worthwhile and presents as close as I've seen to racing against real people for better or for worse they present a very human challenge being good enough to give you a close race but are not infallible and still make mistakes or have accidents with you or other AIs that makes it a very involved and immersive experience.

Forza Motorsport 6 is the truer sequel to Forza Motorsport 4 with a similar level of quality, technical achievement and sheer amount of content offering enough variety for anyone who enjoys racing games to keep them interested across any skill level or age group with enough options that even people who normally only play arcade racers and find sims too taxing Forza has always had something for everyone apart from 5 which had the limitation of being a launch title for a brand new console but Forza Motorsport 6 is the real deal and returns the series to pole position for sim racing on consoles just in time to celebrate the series' 10th anniversary.  

10/10 candles on the anniversary cake for the team at Turn 10 Studios and Forza Motorsport 6.

Big Angry Dad82(gamertag)

Nice work mate. I always enjoy your enthusiasm for racers. It makes for a good read.

I got Forza 5 at Launch but it just didn't grab me at all, and I know it's a different type of racer, being more arcadey but I've just started playing Drive Club on the PS4 and am finding that really good so far. The weather effects are stunning. Anyway, sounds like Turn10 have gotten back on track (guffaw) with Forza 6. The TV ad is stunning.

I think Forza 5 was a bit if a shambles at launch I didn't get XO til last October and I love it now they've fixed the microtransactions so you don't need them and added a lot of new cars and tracks as free DLC. 6 is the real deal though makes Forza 5 look like the demo or prologue version of it.

Nice review mate I've decided to hold off on this one until I get more of forsaken 5 completed

Great review mate, really looking forward to getting this

Good work mate I will add some images as it really needs a banner etc

Nice review mate.

Was looking forward to playing this tonight, but good old Amazon have dispatched it with another order, so there is no way the postman will attempt to deliver that......off to the sorting office tomorrow to pick it up I guess

The online for this is madness, literally carnage!

You need to get away from the pack quick and stay away.

Normally you get hit on all the first three corners as 24 racers is alot, then its about trying to claw back positions.

No penalties for corner cutting or smashing the guy in front off or using him as your brake.

Kill or be killed.

Going to finish Horizon 2 before getting this, it sounds good though.