Finally the day has come. After two years without a delivery of the main saga finally arrives at the stores Forza Motorsport 7, the tenth installment of the saga Forza, an already consecrated saga that has given us the maximum quality in all aspects in its simulator slope as in the arcade side of the Horizon subspace.
Forza Motorsport 7 arrives to crown itself as the best and most complete console simulator, and one of the best games in the catalog of Xbox One. And it does not come only, since we could try it on Xbox One, Xbox One S, a PC of high-end and in the new and brand new Xbox One X that will hit the market in November. And in all of them the result has been more than satisfactory.
The cusp of the speed
Forza Motorsport 7 arrives at a height when it comes to driving video games. With only a couple of months of difference, Forza 7, exclusive of Xbox One, Project Cars 2, multiplatform, and Gran Turismo Sport, exclusive of Playstation 4, arrives to the market. With Project Cars 2 already in the streets we have been able to verify the enormous fidelity with the one that has moved the most demanding simulation both with control as with steering wheel and pedals.
Now it’s the turn of the Microsoft franchise and the fact is that it has all the numbers become the best driving game of the year and one of the best driving games in history. Beyond the demonstrated graphic quality seen in trailers and demos, beyond the experience and the commendable work of Turn10 to the front of the saga, the certain thing is that Forza Motorsport 7 has a numbers that frighten.
More than 700 vehicles available in the game from the best brands: Ferrari, Lamborghini, BMW, Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz, Pontiac, Bentley, Maserati, Mclaren or the game’s own ambassador, Porsche. An endless list of vehicles that fulfills the wet dream of every fan of the engine, since the selection carried out has been made from the heart of gasoline lovers. Emblematic models, great champions of the last 5 decades of motorsport among which stand out some classic Formula 1, prototypes of Le Mans and even racing trucks.
And to start shooting with all those cars the studio has made available to us 32 circuits that allows more than 200 different tracks in which to run among which stand out some classics like Brands Hatch, Nürburgring, Mugello, Daytona International, Spa Francorchamps or Monza . We will also have more modern circuits like the reformed Silverstone, Road America, Laguna Seca, Circuit de Catalunya, Circuit of the Americas or the emblematic Rio de Janeiro.
All this amount of cars and circuits could lead to a saturation in the user and to find no differences in the driving of each model. However the most striking thing about this extensive list is that all cars have been recreated faithfully and there is not only one that drives the same as the rest, achieving a unique experience with each of them and a good handful of hours of familiarization with them if we want to dominate them.
Neither does it neglect at any time the faithful recreation of the circuits, whose mapping has been taken care of to the extreme and added details and elements that were not previously. You do not have to play it in One X or PC to realize the jump that has given the graphic engine and the excellent optimization of the development team to exploit to the last drop the power of Xbox One. In fact we could say that Forza 7 is, next to Ryse and Gears of War 4, the graphical ceiling of the console at the moment.
New system of championships
The new campaign of Forza Motorsport 7 is based on a system of championships that takes us to the final test: the Forza Driver’s Cup. To reach it we must surpass the championships: Seeker, Breakout, Evolution, Domination and Masters. Each one has several series of races, with their particularities and a specific vehicle type among more than 50 categories: utilities, ultralights, sports, supercars, 4×4, trucks or Formula 1 among many others. In total there are more than 220 races to overcome to complete the main mode. We will be able to edit all type of parameters of the tests, from the difficulty of the drivats and the adjustments of conduction to the duration of the event to some restrictions of the same.
On the other hand come the mods equipables and there are prize boxes with which to get such mods. The mods put us added goals or greater difficulties to get an extra credits and experience at the end of the race, which will help us to increase our level. When leveling up we will be able to choose between several rewards: discounted cars, a number of credits or customizable items for our driver.
In addition a new category is added: there are collection levels. In this way, the more cars we have, the higher our level of collector will be. The higher our level, the greater discounts we can get in the purchase of new cars and also allow us to have access to very select vehicles, only available to the most inveterate collectors. The Pokémon concept of getting to everyone, but applied to motorsport.
Outside of the campaign we will have the option of Free game in which to edit a race completely to our liking, multiplayer career modes and various added – already classic – as a renewed Auction House, the arrival of the Forzathon to the main saga or the Competition leagues. An approach to eSports that can give a lot of play if Microsoft knows how to organize them and achieve a committed community.
While the servers will not open until next week, browsing the options we have in the menu we can see how the best ideas of the sagas have been joined Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon to get a platform where it is the community that participates and generates content. A great idea that dynamizes our progression and exponentially increases the duration of the game. As soon as the servers are online we will analyze their performance and report potential surprises.
Feel the asphalt in your hands
If something characterizes the saga Forza is the exquisiteness of its control. Actually in this aspect is where less innovation, in fact the control scheme, the engine of physical and damage is almost identical to that seen in Forza Motorsport 6. However it should be noted that this time has been applied such level of detail to more of 700 different vehicles and that in all of them there are noticeable differences in control. Within the same category we will find very different cars in your driving depending on weight, traction, engine layout or even the battle differences – wheelbase – of the car.
Everything affects the driving and these effects are increased exponentially when the rain arrive. It is commendable the level of detail put in the climatic effects since if we increase the passage of time and play with variable climatology we will be able to appreciate as the rain comes and goes, and as it dries to different speed depending on the time of day that is and of the ambient temperature. In fact, they only need to create a motor to simulate the wind on the track so that they can say that a perfect simulation has taken place.
Also it is remarkable the loss of adhesion when we leave the track and we tread grass, earth or simply asphalt that has not accumulated rubber. In the first slip, in the second you stop in dry and in the third the car seems to go on a skating rink. Errors are expensive, but it is these small details that, together, magnify a work of such caliber.
Graphic marvel on all platforms
One of the most remarkable aspects of Forza Motorsport 7 is its graphic optimization. For someone with some knowledge of computer engineering is a real technical prodigy seen on the screen, and that goes for all platforms that can run Forza Motorsport 7.
On Xbox One and Xbox One S works with a stunning smoothness at 1080p and 60fps. If it is true that at some point in the agglomeration of cars we have noticed some downturns, especially with the trucks because of their high polygonal load, but we have no doubt that those small faults will be corrected quickly via patches, as happened with the previous delivery of the saga.
In Windows 10 we have been pleasantly surprised by the performance, something unexpected after the disastrous ports to the Windows Store of Forza 6 Apex and Forza Horizon 3. Microsoft engineers have learned from their mistakes and Forza Motorsport 7 arrives very well optimized, achieving 1080p and 60fps rocky with almost all options in Alto with a team of GTX 970, i7 4790K and 16GB Ram.
And in the jewel of the crown, Xbox One X, performance is also fabulous. Although the console has not yet been released, thanks to Microsoft Spain we have been able to test first-hand the current version of Forza Motorsport 7 on the new Microsoft console. The truth is that a server runs out of words when it comes to defining Forza 7 in One X. The huge quality of all graphic effects, how the dimming light of a dusk bathes the wet asphalt, how raindrops are diluted in the windshield due to high speeds, how from the top of Le Source you can see the path of Spa Francorchamps winding through the trees … Any graphic wonder that can not be expressed in words, should be seen in first person running on an Xbox One X. The best thing of all is that the build we tested was not the definitive one, Turn10 still has a month to continue squeezing the potential of the new Microsoft console and we have no doubt that the result will improve substantially.
Forza Motorsport 7 rises with victory
They have not failed. They’ve never really done that. Turn10 Studios brings us what is undoubtedly the king of simulation. A light simulation, or «simcade» as many nickname it, but certainly an intermediate point that achieves the greatest of virtues, balancing in the balance the requirement of the simulators and the immediacy of the arcades, leaving to the consumer the configuration which you prefer as far as simulation is concerned.
All this supported on four fundamental pillars; a huge amount of content that puts in our hands 700 cars, 200 circuits and almost a dozen game modes. An overwhelming graphic section that squeezes the power of Xbox One to the max and shows us what Xbox One X is capable of, as well as excellent PC optimization. Third is the identity mark of the saga; an exquisite gameplay as challenging as addictive that will keep us glued to the controls for hundreds of hours both online and offline thanks to the innovative IA Drivatars, which is exceeded once again. Finally, an online community like few that allows us to run in fully configurable events as well as interact in the auction house, where the smartest always wins. Sum up the fun challenges of Forzathon and the inclusion of leagues focused on eSports.
Forza Motorsport 7 is a round, complete, precious and almost infinite game. A gift for lovers of motorsport and a lesson to the video game industry. The king is back.
