Forza Horizon 4: A Mini Review (One Week In)

I’m a big fan of the Forza series of racing games, even more so after they finally managed to secure rights to the full Porsche range of cars and especially after Microsoft sorted it so that you could play on both Xbox and PC with a single licence and a synchronised career.

Having said that, I’ve often found the Horizon sub-series a little dull but, thankfully, not so in this iteration. I’m not going to write reams of game review, because it’s already been done to death all over the internet by people with far more experience than me. I will give you my highlighted thoughts after a week’s game play though.

For me, the biggest plus to this game is the variety of race types. If you play the Forza Motorsport series it can become quite jaded, racing the same tracks in the same event type, over and over again. No need to worry here as there are plenty of race types, events and locations, added alongside the usual open-world fare such as setting speed track records, long jump distance records, high drift scores, hunting down bonuses, searching for classic ‘barn find’ cars etc. Bespoke local radio stations (of the type made popular by games like GTA Vice City) maintain the story line immersion and the changing seasons help stop repetition.

Of course, in this game the open world environment is especially interesting as it’s set in Britain. London is conspicuous by its absence (though they obviously couldn’t do the whole country), but you do get Edinburgh as the game’s main built up urban area. For me it was interesting seeing the village of Broadway play a prominent part. It’s only 25 miles away from where I live, while the Uffington White Horse is roughly the same distance in the other direction. While it’s nice to feel local I have to take away some points for them getting the Broadway’s tower design wrong…

Anyone from another country playing the game could be conned into thinking the whole country looks like Yorkshire, with rolling fields and single track roads devoid of much traffic. But, who wants to play a game where you sit stationary, snagged in gridlocked traffic in Birmingham while rain hammers off the roof? For what it’s intended for, the environment works well.

The variety of cars is good and, although I found myself with a short-list of go-to favourites, you really need to mix it up in order to compete properly across the event types (with many of them restricting the vehicles which can be used). I tried a rally stage in a Lamborghini Aventador and, would you believe, it wasn’t really in its element.

Want something different? How about a 1958 Aston Martin DBR1? That one will set you back 10m credits – five times more than the Koenigsegg Agera RS. If you’re into classics there’s a whole host of ‘60s and ‘70s cars, especially from the likes of Chevrolet. A large roster from Ferrari is on display, although I note there’s no 812 Superfast so I expect that’ll find its way into a DLC car pack at some point. Speaking of car packs, there are 10 classic James Bond cars in one, if you’re so inclined. But if you’re looking for something really different then how about a Mercedes Unimog, a 1945 US Army jeep, or a Reliant “Del Boy” Supervan. You can even have the M12S Warthog from the Halo games

The cars’ main driving characteristics are ones which you might expect them to have and that makes it fun to try them out. Unsurprisingly, the 7.7 litre TVR Cerebra Speed 12 is a complete handful at low speeds and, while it can be rewarding, it’s a real struggle to keep it in a straight line. The aforementioned Aventador is one of my favourites to drive competitively, but it’s not all about supercars. The Escort RS Cosworth is great, as is the Cooper Works Mini. My current favourite though is the monstrous Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, because who doesn’t need 700bhp in an SUV? It smashes through everything in its path; on or off-road. I’m just glad I’m not picking up the repair bill in real life.

Moments before: "Ouch!"

It's very rewarding to win a good car in the prize spins because, I tell you, there are only so many sparkly mini skirts and leopard print shoes my avatar can wear.

Barn finds are hidden in... barns and their rough locations are announced as you progress. It's then down to you to hunt around to find them. My collection's coming on nicely.

This will not end well.

Because, why not?

Who doesn't love a classic 911 Turbo?