Forza Motorsport 4 Review

Clarkson is making a point about car people and non-car people; he believes non-car people just can't see beyond the wires, glass, metal and rubber. They can't see the personality behind the engineering, the soul beneath the surface. It's a position Clarkson expands upon in the introductory sequence of Forza Motorsport 4; that car lovers are being marginalized in a world where practicality trumps adrenaline. A world where we're told to think of economy and the environment rather than excitement and enjoyment.

 With your first foray behind the wheel automatically muted by a suite of driving aids, the first thing you'll notice will be the improved visuals. Forza 3 was no slouch at the time but two years on and Forza 4 is a marked improvement. It's all thanks primarily to Forza 4's new image-based lighting model, which basically means the cars look perfectly seated within the game's tracks. Harsh sunlight burns bright against bodywork and cabin view is a great way to observe the shadows that dance smoothly back and forth across dashboards. It's excellent stuff.

The car models themselves are also hugely impressive. The finest aspects are reserved for the game's special Autovista models, a mode that allows you to absorb even the tiniest of details, but every car stands up to close inspection. They look as good in motion as they do static, too. The frame rate is buttery smooth and they look fantastic circulating around the game's bright and crisp tracks.