I'm really blown away by the general malaise people here show towards Forza Motorsport. I personally think this is a title that could do as much for Xbox as Halo 2. I mean, I know lots of people for whom Gran Turismo is or was the deciding factor in purchasing a console. Most of the people who buy/bought a PS2 over an Xbox did so because of GTA or GT A-Spec. Now Xbox will finally have the game they need in the HUGE driving game market. If half of what they say about this game is true, Gran Turismo might as well retire until PS3. Let's review (information taken from Gamespot):

Forza Motorsport "gives Xbox gamers who are passionate about cars and racing the opportunity to own, customize, and race their favorite cars in a realistic driving simulation," revealed Microsoft Game Studios.
So they've established the game will most definitely be sim oriented, which is really the what Xbox needs right now.


...more than 60 real-world brands, including Mazda, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, and Dodge.
60 BRANDS?! That's a lot. I know Gran Turismo is going to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 400-500 cars, but there's a point where it's just too much. I think with 60 manufacturers represented you should be able to find a sweet ride.


...players can go inside the guts of their cars by adding nonstandard engines, suspensions, superchargers, and brakes. True gearheads can go one step further by tinkering with their engines' gear ratios, fuel-mapping, forced induction pressure, and ignition timing.
Now this is where it gets great. This level of tuning and tweaking is what is going to make online racing the deepest and most immersive motorsport experience on Xbox. NO 2 cars will be the same, even people driving the same model will have it tweaked differently to suit their driving style.


...detailing the exteriors by adding rims, spoilers, decals, side skirts, fender flares, air dams, and customized paint jobs.
I don't know about you guys, gut the words "Custom Paint Job" make me excited. The other stuff is in other games, but being able to customize the paint (beyond just a base coat all over the car) leaves room for some serious creativity. I read in another review, that you will be able to mix paint (photoshop style) to create your custom. It really adds a whole new gameplay mode when half the game is simply making your car what you want it to be.

As far as the game's mechanics go, Microsoft said it brought together automotive engineers and game programmers to re-create "authentic car performances." For a change, this authenticity will include damage and wear as well as heat and pressure changes that disrupt a car's suspension and aerodynamic load.
And there you have it. Simulation based gameplay, and it appears they have gone to great lengths to make it "real".

I really hope all this holds up because this game could satisfy what in my mind has been the most gaping hole on the Xbox line up. We have great RPG's, more FPS than you can shake a stick at so on so forth, but no definitive drving game. (No PGR2 is not definitive, it's a very pretty arcade game with some great online play, but I'm sick to death of racing against the same 5 cars all the time).

So far, I'm the only person who has posted their excitement about this game, I'm surprised no one else has thought to add their 2 cents. Come on people, is anyone excited about this?