So...worth buying?

Forza Horizon Legacy Horizon FH3 Discussion
1

Hi all, hoping you can help me with a bit of a dilemma.

I downloaded the demo, short-lived for a 16GB download but enjoyable. My main issue with Forza titles has been for some time that the new games are only ever slightly re-hashed versions of the game it replaces, usually with less content initially and ultimately with lots of very-chargable DLC. FH3 definitely looks shinier, but the demo didn’t really show whether there were any fundamental changes to the gameplay and customisation, the latter of which being particularly dated.

So for those of you who have made the move to purchase the full game, was it worth it over FH2? Is the customisation a match/improvement over something like NFS?

I know I’ll probably get biased answers, but appreciate any input.

2

It’s definitely feeling like a different game.

I try to imagine “I’m on Forza Horizon 2, this isn’t a new game” and it just doesn’t trick my mind like other games can. It 100% feels and looks like a brand new game, take my word for it. The buildings and roads are as good detail as the cars, unlike FH2 where the buildings are from a GameCube and the cars are Next Gen.

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3

I bought the Ultimate Edition for $140, Ive played a bit of Horizon 2 a fair bit of Forza 6, I run Assetto Corsa and P Cars, I’ve bought stacks of games over the years, this is the most addictive game I’ve bought besides Doom. I have to litterally keep saying to myself, stop, stop youre getting too tired.

Not everyone is going to feel this way, but im pretty hard to please with games, and this pleases me.

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4

That’s encouraging to read, thanks for that. My biggest gripe was with the customisation, is it vastly different in FH3?

5

Its definitely worth it, the blueprints alone was a feature I love, no more doing the same races forcing me with the same AI like FH2 did but now I can do an offroad race in D class cars if I wanted. The car list is also awesome and theres car packs which will have even more, overall you’ll spend alot of time with it and it sure is worth the price.

Regarding customization its much better, widebody kits and blowers and few extra additions in some cars as well which werent available in FH2, new rims etc.

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6

300% a better game. Far more customisation of events, you can race not only by car type but by region, by decade etc, it’s lush. Cars are in full Forzavista, there’s a ton of them, the map is enormous and varied and so open it’s glorious. You have a festival to run and fans to attract by day and street races and pink slips to claim by night. There’s so much to do and it’s all ridiculously fun. If you liked FH2, you’ll love this.

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7

I found just from playing the demo it feels like a much better game than 2. I cannot wait for tomorrow :slight_smile:

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To me there is No Comparison to the Older Games, The Map seems as Exciting as Forza Horizon 1 was with a HUGE Graphics increase, FH2 didnt live up to the Playability for Me, This one will Keep me Happy for a While!

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9

No comparison to horizon 2 which was held back by the 360. Map is Skyrim huge tons of stuff to do , enormous car diversity and customization and those graphics oh my god. I could go on forever but it wouldn’t be enough. I bought the ultimate edition back in June and I’ve been playing non stop since Friday.

2 Likes
10

In short: yes.

The demo gave you a perfect impression of the looks and performance of the release game but lacked the possibilities you’re giving in the finished game. You can follow the Horizon races or create your custom race and championship on your favorite cars and classes - you’re the manager!

Customizations have been upgraded with widebody kits and custom blowers for a good score of cars - and the cars and forzavista are on level with FM6 now. Cross country really feels great now (hated it in FH2), especially in bouncy buggies.

The landscape is the most versatile of the three titles: shore, rain forest, city, outback, lush country sites. The emphasis they put in the sky should be mentioned too. When you play for a long time you really start to appreciate the changing weather, sky and lighting - they spent some good time with this and it really pays off. It feels and looks rather natural and breathes some life into the game.

3 Likes
11

The game is great. I’ve logged about 34 hours since pre-release… I just couldn’t stop. I like that it caters to however you want to play. You don’t like how the suggested race is setup? Cool, blueprint one you do like. Also, have to say that the physics for rally style driving feel much improved over FH2/SI. If you feel like you didn’t get enough dirt roads last time you’re in for a treat.

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12

Fantastic game and well worth a buy. Came at a good time to get over the disappointment of the Titanfall 2 Tech Test as well.

13

Yes I’d buy it if I was you. It doesn’t have all the customization options lime NFS underground but it appears to me that there are more options available than in any other Forza game.

It’s also a pretty fun game overall, so there’s that.

14

Its definitely worth buying, but with the point in mind that there are things which should be fixed, like screen stuttering, bad FFB on logitech wheel etc.

15

Screen Stuttering? I haven’t noticed any issues like that with either of my XBOne S boxes.

16

I can completely understand what you are saying.

FM6 was a complete and utter disappointment in the long run. It’s not even remotely as good or realistic as a real racing sim and it felt completely the same as FM5. It should have been called FM5.1 or even FM5.01 for that matter. Apart from leagues was there anything even slightly new? I don’t even remember so it must not have been worth it. Yeah there were new maps and new cars but the core gameplay was just copy/paste FM5.

FH3 however is a completely different ballgame. At it’s core it is basically the exact same type of gameplay as FH2. If you don’t like FH2 you probably won’t like FH3. But, unlike FM6 compared to FM5 there is an abundance of nifty extra new features such as blueprints, drone camera, outstanding graphics thanks to these skies and shades, the AH, storefront, hire and fire drivatars, 4 festival locations to upgrade in the order you choose, HE edition cars, a promising Forzathon, horns, convoys, a brand new and twice as big map, drift zones and danger jumps, more barn finds (yay!), buggies as a new and great fun vehicle class, races where you don’t have to win so you can set a challenging difficulty level, skill songs, … the list really goes on an on. And then I have not even tried multiplayer because the singleplayer is already so addictive and fun. FH3 deserves to be named FH3 and certainly not FH2.1.

I’m hearing extremely positive feedback from everywhere, reviews, twitter streams, my friends on XBox. So, if you like FH2, then get it!

BTW if you don’t like the expensive DLCs and expansion packs you can always ignore those. The game ships with over 350 cars so that is already plenty to go by and most likely more cars than you will ever need.

Comparing my FM6 experience with FH3 I would say Turn 10 is the developer that sits back and cashes in every 2 years without any real innovation. 3D puddles? Seriously… At least Playground games is bursting with innovation, that much is very evident if you look at FH3 with FH2 background knowledge. I know both companies are involved in FH3 but I don’t think many PG devs are involved in the FM series. And it shows, lol.

my 2 cents

1 Like
17

Topic: Improvements

FH3 brings the return of many features lost in older games (such as the separate arch for street races, auction house, and plenty more that I am yet to even try), as well as a bunch of new ones never-before-seen in any Forza game. The map is skyrim levels of awesome, there is hidden stuff everywhere and a ton of stuff to do. You won’t get all of it from the demo or even from your first two hours of play, a lot of your abilities get unlocked over time as well as the things to do on the map.

Some things to note from my first 10 hours, Horizon blueprint lets you essentially set up any kind of race class you want (custom car lists, restrictions, etc) and lets you essentially build your campaign. You can decide which festivals get an upgrade, which means that the events and content in the area will expand 10-fold. Even the starting festival (Byron Bay) can be upgraded significantly, getting physical changes on the map as well as more events and races.

Convoys are new and interesting, you can essentially honk at up to 4(?) NPCs and have them follow you around the map. There is some unstableness to them as they can’t correctly predict where you are going which means they tend to hit you if you suddenly decide to go offroad, but they do well in terms of following your GPS or staying behind you if you explore.

There is a whole lot more than that but you will have to play it for yourself to find out. Nothing about FH3 is a let-down and it has just about every Forza beat in terms of replay value and content.

Topic: Customization

It doesn’t have all of the visual customization NFS has, but it’s an improvement over the last Forza games with the bodykits (which are actually mix-matchable to a degree on some cars, believe it or not). As usual, it still blows NFS out of the water in terms of performance customization.

Don’t let the widebody presets fool you, you can still customize it all manually via custom upgrade.

18

At first I played the demo and though “meh”, but I did get the UE and it’s a must buy (the game).

It’s been lots of fun, it’s pretty good. Some things here or there are rehashed, similar, or strange but I think it will end up providing lots of enjoyable game time.

19

Thanks for all the responses on this, in particular the detailed replies. Appreciate the effort you guys have put into them. I’ll definitely pick it up on your recommendations. I did enjoy FH2 and was let down by NFS in everything other than the customisation. Seems games have still got a way to go before they reach the levels of customisation that games like Tokyo Extreme Racer offered back on the original Playstation all those years ago!

Are there any changes to the photo mode system? Seems like a potentially great and unique resource that is under-utilised. In fact, planning real shoots on Forza has always been part of my workflow. It doesn’t seem on the face of it that it would be such a stretch to start introducing lighting etc.

20

I don’t have the game yet, but the only one thing that seemed like a let down was how small the city areas were compared to the more rural/country, at least by looking at the map.