When I see a new Forza game, I always compare it Forza 4 because to me, Forza 4 will always remain the defined pinnacle of the series. Not counting the Horizon games since that’s it’s own separate thing. The first Forza game I played was Forza 2 on Xbox 360, then I played Forza 4 which I still think is amazing and possibly one of the best racing games you can find on the 360 (minus a few small issues here and there). But since Forza 5 came out, I was a bit shocked and furious by how much content was gone and the career was revamped when you compare it to Forza 4 and Gran Turismo 6 which was released that same year. Now you can make the excuse that it’s a launch title, but still, when you make a sequel to a critically received game and you can’t build upon the foundations of that, that’s lazy game design. Forza 6 was an immediate turn off for me mainly because of how the career mode was presented. This is my in-depth analysis on Forza 7 and what I think about the game on the whole.
The career this time around is centered around the Forza Drivers Cup. Which I can say is an improvement from the career mode in the last game in that we now have a career centered around the driver and not over preaching on car culture. And it’s certainly better than Forza 6’s career mode which is still the worst career mode you can have in a racing game, and I don’t see how anybody can say that’s a great career. Anyway, the career is made of five championships with different divisions in each of them. The divisions range from hatchbacks, to classic muscle cars, old school race cars. While I like the For example, you can start driving in hatchbacks, muscle cars, or race cars right away. Call me a purist, but I like it when games have you start from the very bottom and you have to work your way up to the top. The first four games understood this philosophy, and Gran Turismo already has that established since 1998. There are no factory spec events, no car family events, no engine based events, or speedway events or anything of that nature. I always enjoyed the speedway events in Forza 4, and one of my favorite experiences was speeding down the Indy Motor Speedway in a Plymouth Cuda. Now, I can’t get the same experience here. Other events include racing head to head against drivers like Ken Block, as well as Autocross events. But those are few and far between. I want to compare this to a career mode in another game, say, Project CARS. In that game you can start anywhere you want. Either as an amatuer driver trying to work their way through the ranks, in the middle of the season, or a champion trying to hold on to his title. During the game, you’ll receive news feeds of your accomplishments, and even get sponsors.
Forza 7 boast over 700 cars this time. I’m all for a big car list but there is a divide between quantity and quality. A deeper look into the car list show that most of the cars are duplicates of each other with different paint schemes, and there are bonus cars which are duplicates of existing cars with varying bonuses, much like Horizon Edition cars in Horizon 3. The roster itself looks alright but some cars I question why they’re included, and while it’s nice to see off-road vehicles here this time around, I can’t help but think they feel unnecessary considering that there are no off-road track in the game. So that 700+ number is a bit misleading. But now cars are locked behind collector tiers, and the only way to reach another tier is to buy cars to build your collector’s score. Now I dislike this system for two reasons. One, I don’t like how players are forced to buy cars they don’t want or care to get the cars they do want, and two, it restricts the player’s choice on picking what they want. Now you can make the assumption that earlier games like this had the same concept where most cars out of the player’s grasp early on, but was dependent on how much money you have and are willing to spend. Again, Gran Turismo understood this in 1998.
The track list now includes returning tracks Suzuka, Mugello, and Maple Valley, but still no Fujimi Kaido. But now tracks have dynamic day-to-night and weather. However not all tracks have night and weather, and the ones that do the dynamic aspect feels scripted. Honestly, I like fantasy tracks more than real world tracks because they look more appealing. Which is why like the aforementioned Fujimi Kaido and Rio, than say, Spa or Road Atlanta.
Now a new feature this time around is that you now have a driver avatar and can choose the driver’s gender which is a nice touch, but the driver him or herself does nothing but stand around during selection screens and is only there for visual’s sake. You change your driver’s outfit however that’s only cosmetic, and it’s not like you can see other players’ drivers since you’ll be racing most of the time.
Gameplay wise, the handling is top quality. That I can’t deny. I’m not simulation expert I’m more of a casual when it comes to games like this, but all I can say is that the driving is, alright. Just alright. One thing however that I can’t let slide is that there are no more bonuses for turning off assists. I can’t understand for the life of me, why they think that’s a good idea. In previous games, turning off assists motivates to turn more off to get that bigger payout. Now there is no reason to turn off assists since to benefit to it other than how you want to drive. If that’s the case, you might as well leave all assists on, set the difficulty to super easy and just hold down gas until to you win. Not very fun now, is it? Another thing to touch on is that the upgrade feature, something that’s been around since the first Forza, has been made nearly pointless due to the homologation system. All cars have been upgraded by default and if you try upgrading it further beyond it’s recommended specs, you’re immediately out of the class and division you’re trying to race in. This is something that has been bothering me since Forza 4. Why include the option when you’re car is going to be upgraded for you. Going back to Forza 2 for a minute. In that game, whenever you enter an event, there is always bound to be an opponent who will have a higher performance index than you. Which means the only way to compete is to upgrade your car. It makes upgrading not a gimmick, but an incentive. Need I bring up Gran Turismo again? Another small thing to touch on is that you can’t restart the race while pausing the game. Why?
The soundtrack is meh for the most part. Not to say it’s bad, there are some tracks which I find catchy. The soundtrack in Forza 7 has a rockabilly feel to it. Which I already said is catchy, however I think the soundtrack makes for good menu music. Not racing music. I put the music so I can music during racing, and the music felt out of place when I’m racing. There are some games of the top of my head which I think have the best soundtracks in racing games which are Ridge Racer Type 4, the first four Need for Speed games, Burnout 3, Grid 1 and 2 (only when it occurs), Gran Turismo 1, and Forza 4. Personally, I think music in racing games can work when used in the right circumstances. Forza 5 has mainly orchestral soundtrack which is alright but can be out of place in some races. It’s like buying for groceries while the Dark Knight’s soundtrack is playing in the background. Forza 6 also has an orchestral soundtrack but with some techno-synth here and there. But like Forza 5, the soundtrack can be out of place in some races. The soundtrack is alright when in the menus, but also out of place when you’re racing.
The reward for leveling isn’t, for lack of a better word, good. The way it works is whenever you reach a new level, you can from one of three rewards. Either more credits, a car, or driver gear. The only reason you’d want more credits is to buy more cars so you get the next collector’s tier or spend them on prize crates which I’ll touch on shortly. The car rewards isn’t even free just discounted, and the driver gear is only there for again, visual’s sake. Give me Forza 4’s leveling system anyday.
Now, we get to the loot boxes. I’m just gonna come out and say it. I hate loot boxes in games. This is now becoming an ongoing trend in games now. Halo, Call of Duty, Destiny, the list goes on. Now Forza decides to jump on the bandwagon as well with Prize Crates. Inside these Prize Crates, are mods that were introduced in Forza 6, but also a car, and driver gear. Mods include better braking, and better starting position, as well as bonuses such as increased payout and XP which replaced the credit bonuses from the assists. But mods have a limited use meaning if you used the mod that number of times, it’s gone. So you spend credits on more crates to get more mods, but you won’t have enough to buy another car to raise your collector’s score. It’s an endless cycle. And some cars and driver gear can only be found in these Prize Crates, and the chance of obtaining one is complete random. This is what I don’t like about this system. Why hide items behind luck? This is why I don’t like the prize spins in the Horizon games and Forza 6. It’s just as bad as waiting through timers or being forced to pay for microtransactions in free to play games. Wasn’t Battlefront 2 the last straw for this kind of practice? I swear, if I see another game with this loot box bull I’m gonna rip my eyes out!
Now, to answer the question, does this game top Forza 4? No. And I don’t think any current Forza game will for right now. Heck, I dare say that Gran Turismo 1 is better than this. Call me old fashioned, but it’s true. Again, this is not a bad game, and there doesn’t seem to be a defined bad Forza game. Yet. But this left a lot to be desired. It seems to me that whenever Turn 10 take a step forward, at the same time they make two steps back. They still don’t seem to get what makes the first four games special in the first place. Honestly, if I was working at Turn 10, and I was working on the next Forza game, I’d show everyone what to add in, and what to take out. Like, I’m not asking for much, what I wanted was a Forza 4 experience with Project CARS’s career mode. This makes me want to go back and play Forza 4. Which I don’t understand why it still isn’t backwards compatible. If Grid 2 and Horizon 1 be backwards compatible, I don’t see why the main Forza series can’t. So what’s holding them back? I stopped playing Forza 7 after about 20 minutes because I couldn’t take the repetitiveness. I wanted to love this game. I really do. In fact, Forza is what made me buy an Xbox in the first place. However, I just can’t. If there is a Forza Motorsport 8 soon, and it will have the same streamlined, monetization nonsense, I’m ditching this series. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a long way to reach level 50 on my 360.
