As much as I wanted to like Forza 7, I just couldn’t do it. I discovered the franchise back when Forza 3 launched and I absolutely loved it! Forza 4 was even better. My career caused me to end up on the opposite side of the country from my closest friends, and these Forza games were a perfect way for us to stay connected. Night after night we would set up private lobbies, fill them up with carefully selected AI cars of various skill levels to fill out the grid, and race for hours. It was a blast! It was cool to be able to put the faster tier AI cars in our lobbies so they’d be more challenging to race against. The slower AI cars served as lappers during some of our longer races. Successfully negotiating around them was critical in those instances were victory came down to the last few inches. The rudimentary championship point system from back in the day was just icing on the cake. So much fun!
Of course with the introduction of Forza 5, the private lobbies became more restricted. For whatever reason, you could only add a few AI cars to your lobbies, and as a result, the fun and immersion factors were greatly degraded. We chalked it up to the chaos surrounding the new console release and moved on. Two years later, we automatically ordered Forza 6 assuming the customized lobby features would be back in place. Why wouldn’t they be? It just makes sense! Wrong again. I got completely away from Forza and any related hype for a couple more years, and then on blind faith alone, decided to purchase the digital Ultimate Edition of Forza 7 via the Xbox store. Big mistake! Not only were private lobbies essentially eliminated all together, so was the car PI, along with nearly everything else that made Forza Forza to me. The classy music/presentation was replaced by blaring, generic guitar music and twerky, over caffeinated driver models wearing ridiculous driving suits! Then there was the mod boxes, the nonsensical (Hip?) UI, and, well, you know the rest. Anyway, I figured since I’d spent the money, I’d at least try to get some single player enjoyment out of the game. It was nice to have Suzuka back, and the car collisions along with certain other sound effects were definitely improved. The weather effects were a novelty for a while, but eventually I started to notice how ugly parts of the game were. I’ve heard others say that during a race, there’s no time to look around at the decreased track and scenery detail. I had time to notice, but maybe that’s just me. One thing I can’t possibly understand, is how someone can’t notice how simple and bland the AI car models have become. It was shocking! Out of curiosity, I popped Forza 6 in and did a quick race at Laguna Seca. Next, I did the same race in Forza 7. Forza 6 looked so much better than 7 in nearly every area, it almost seems as though it was produced by a different studio. It was astonishing! To make matters worse, I was experiencing frame rate issues and system crashes. (Xbox One-S) I’d never had these problems with a Forza game before. I understand that larger grids, dynamic weather, and other GPU intensive features can make compromises in other areas unavoidable. Are things like driving suits, Forza Vista, 24 car grids, Mod boxes, and 700 plus in game cars really more important than new tracks, and solid, FUN, versatile gameplay? I fully accept I may be in the minority on this, but I’ve never understood Turn 10s obsession with Forza Vista. If I want to see the inside of a Honda Civic in all it’s glorious detail, I’ll go out to the garage and get in mine! As for the race car interiors, I’m more than happy to take a quick peak from inside the cockpit while I’m racing. I don’t mean to step on Forza Vista fans’ toes, but it just seems like the time and resources could be better utilized elsewhere. I thought about waiting to see if patches came out to resolve some things, but the fact is, Turn 10 is taking the franchise in what they believe is a younger, hipper, more accessible direction. They aren’t turning back either. Who knows. Maybe from a business standpoint, they’re right. I’m sorry if I sound bitter. I’m also sorry this was so long, but man I miss the good times I used to have with these games! For you guys that enjoy the way the series is going, more power to you. Enjoy. It’s just not for me though.
On a more positive note, I voiced these complaints (as well as concerns about the VIP misrepresentation) to a Microsoft support rep through their chat service and they refunded my $107.99 without hesitation. I suspect there have been many similar complaints. Regardless, that was definitely a classy thing to do and they kept me as a future customer because of it. Kudos to Microsoft Support!
