Forza Horizon First Impression

We got some great hands on time with Forza Horizon and got to chat with Jon Knoles from Turn 10 Studios this past week as Xbox Canada held a preview for media.

First impressions of Forza Horizon: this is not Forza. Thankfully this is not Forza 5 and I sincerely hope the developers build Forza 5 as an extension of Forza 4 and not Horizon.

Forza Horizon feels a lot like “Test Drive” or “Need for Speed” and almost even like the “Grid” franchises. Granted the Forza physics are still present but something just feels off… when cruising around in the free world you definitely get the sense of an arcade racing game instead of the simulator that we all know Forza for.

The music has quite a mood change as Turn 10 Studios really emphasized the desire to really put drivers in the seat of the festival and experience a thrilling soundtrack familiar with those on the actual circuit.

The good:
Horizon will allow non-car enthusiasts and non-Forza lovers to turn to the franchise and play a game that is fun to play and not as serious.
Past Forza players will enjoy the fact that when Forza Horizon loads for the first time it will find their Forza 4 saved game file and import all of the vehicles and vinyl groups (awesome for those who have spent countless hours playing Forza 4 like myself)

The bad:
It seems there is only one location on the map where the main “Festival” is; where you can purchase vehicles, upgrade, paint and race. The problem with this is that you need to drive to this location without the option to jump to it or “fast drive” unless you are a certain distance away. The simulation damage aspect of Forza has also been removed which is a bit disappointing to me. When I race with my friends we race with simulation damage to enforce responsible driving. Now there is only cosmetic damage and it seems as though the number of cars available is much less than in Forza 4 (although this could be unlocked from further game play).

Look for my full review in the near future as we await our review copy. In the meantime go check out the demo on Xbox Live. Forza Horizon is available for purchase on October 23 for $59.99 MSRP.

In the meantime, there is a wealth of videos below to keep you busy. Also stay tuned, Xbox Canada has filmed a new trailer that pair a Mercedes up with an Aston as they take over the streets of Toronto! It is sure to go viral.

Official Gameplay Trailer: 

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpJpzFT8lGg&hd=1

Behind the Scenes Part #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MrjVNjXEPI&hd=1

Behind the Scenes Part #2

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbhl89foMQc&hd=1

Behind the Scenes Part #3

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VO5un9Q6Oc&hd=1

For complete track list and cars added check the list below:

[spoiler]

Forza Horizon Track List

Station	Track	Artist
Horizon Bass Arena	Levels (Skrillex Mix)	Avicii
Horizon Bass Arena	Reckless (With Your Love)	Azari & III
Horizon Bass Arena	Cinema (Skrillex Remix)	Benny Benassi
Horizon Bass Arena	Blind Faith (feat. Liam Bailey)	Chase & Status
Horizon Bass Arena	Hot Mess (feat Elly Jackson)   (Duck Sauce Mix)	Chromeo
Horizon Bass Arena	Encore	Digitalism
Horizon Bass Arena	The Power (feat. Dizzee Rascal)	DJ Fresh
Horizon Bass Arena	Silicone Lube	Feed Me
Horizon Bass Arena	Lies (Alex Metric Remix)	Fenech-Soler
Horizon Bass Arena	Icarus	Madeon
Horizon Bass Arena	Show Me A Sign	Modestep
Horizon Bass Arena	Lick The Rainbow	Mord Fustang
Horizon Bass Arena	Remanence (Junior Remix)	Mr Magnetik
Horizon Bass Arena	Me & You	Nero
Horizon Bass Arena	Reaching Out (Fred Falke Remix)	Nero
Horizon Bass Arena	Blue Monday	New Order
Horizon Bass Arena	Language	Porter Robinson
Horizon Bass Arena	Everyday (Netsky VIP Remix)	Rusko
Horizon Bass Arena	Somebody to Love (Sigma Remix)	Rusko
Horizon Bass Arena	The Hope	Scuba
Horizon Bass Arena	Bass 4	The Hacker
Horizon Bass Arena	Illmerica (Extended Version)	Wolfgang Gartner
Horizon Pulse	Need You Now	Cut Copy
Horizon Pulse	Awake	Electric Guest
Horizon Pulse	Walking on a Dream	Empire of the Sun
Horizon Pulse	Iron Deer Dream (Chad Valley   Remix)	Fixers
Horizon Pulse	Don’t Stop (Colour on the Walls)	Foster The People
Horizon Pulse	Hawaiian Air	Friendly Fires
Horizon Pulse	Hurting	Friendly Fires
Horizon Pulse	No Love	Hooray for Earth
Horizon Pulse	Over & Over	Hot Chip
Horizon Pulse	Black, White and Blue	Ladyhawke
Horizon Pulse	Let Me Go	Maverick Sabre
Horizon Pulse	Paddling Out	Miike Snow
Horizon Pulse	Life is Life (Yuksek Remix)	Noah and the Whale
Horizon Pulse	Take A Walk	Passion Pit
Horizon Pulse	1901	Phoenix
Horizon Pulse	Bom Bom	Sam and the Womp
Horizon Pulse	Disparate Youth	Santigold
Horizon Pulse	Spirit of the Night	Tesla Boy
Horizon Pulse	Pelican	The Maccabees
Horizon Pulse	Punching in a Dream	The Naked & Famous
Horizon Pulse	Aroused	Tom Vek
Horizon Pulse	Something Good Can Work (The   Twelves Remix)	Two Door Cinema Club
Horizon Pulse	Yeah Yeah	Willy Moon
Horizon Rocks	R U Mine	Arctic Monkeys
Horizon Rocks	Lonely Boy	Black Keys
Horizon Rocks	The Infected	Four Year Strong
Horizon Rocks	Back of your Neck	Howler
Horizon Rocks	Give It Up	LCD Soundsystem
Horizon Rocks	Bring Em Down	Lostprophets
Horizon Rocks	We Bring An Arsenal	Lostprophets
Horizon Rocks	Teenager	Mona
Horizon Rocks	Animal	Neon Trees
Horizon Rocks	Wildfire, Smoke & Doom	Pulled Apart By Horses
Horizon Rocks	Lazy Eye	Silversun Pickups
Horizon Rocks	Surrender	The Duke Spirit
Horizon Rocks	Away from Here	The Enemy
Horizon Rocks	Had Enough	The Enemy
Horizon Rocks	Hate To Say I Told You	The Hives
Horizon Rocks	She Bangs The Drums	The Stone Roses
Horizon Rocks	Rock n Roll Queen	The Subways
Horizon Rocks	Motoring	TOY
Horizon Rocks	Bug	Wavves
Horizon Rocks	Farewell to the Fairground	White Lies
Horizon Rocks	Bite My Tongue (feat. Oli Sykes)	You Me At Six
Horizon Rocks	Get Away	Yuck

More Forza Horizon Cars Announced: This week, Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios announced additional cars in its ongoing rollout of cars for Forza Horizon, which will be available starting on Oct. 23. Three brand new cars to the Forza universe were included in the rollout, including the 2012 Infiniti IPL G Coupe, the 2012 Eagle Speedster, and the 2009 Lamborghini Reventón Roadster. The most recently announced cars:

• 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe
• 1966 Ford GT40 MkII
• 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge
• 1971 Nissan Skyline 2000GT
• 1981 BMW M1
• 1983 Audi Sport quattro
• 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTi
• 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500
• 1988 Lamborghini Countach LP500 QV
• 1991 BMW M3
• 1995 Volkswagen Corrado VR6
• 2002 Nissan Skyline GTR V-Spec
• 2005 Honda NSX-R GT
• 2008 BMW M3

• 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
• 2009 Lamborghini Reventón Roadster
• 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR-X
• 2012 BMW M5
• 2012 Eagle Speedster
• 2012 Hennessey Venom GT
• 2012 Infiniti IPL G Coupe