With ‘Forza Horizon 3,’ Xbox One racing series sets its course
It took a while, but the “Forza Horizon” series has proven to be every bit as good as the franchise that spawned it. Slowly but surely, the spinoff to “Forza Motorsport” has found an identity of its own by pushing the locale into the spotlight and supporting that experience with a mix of high-tech visuals and quirky contests.
That vision of openworld racing has taken players to the desolate Colorado wilderness and introduced them to the gorgeous Mediterranean coast. These games offer fans a distinct space where they can compete against each other as well as explore the character of a region. Think of it as tourism from behind a joystick.
With “Forza Horizon 3,” Playground Games takes fans to Australia. As it turns out, the land Down Under is a driver’s paradise with diverse array of environ- ments. Players will encounter the Twelve Apostles along the beach, the red sands of the Outback and the dense rain forest canopy. The developers crammed in as much of the continent as they could and worked toward the region’s strengths.
Taking advantage of the terrain, the developer offers a fuller off-road experience compared to past entries. “Forza Horizon 3” boasts dune buggies, trophy trucks and other beastly vehicles that will tear through gravel roads and power through shallow streams. It highlights rally racing, a form of motor sports that goes off the beaten path as players travel from point A to point B.
“Forza Horizon 3” excels at these contests because the open world provides all sorts of obstacles. Players will be drifting through corners and plowing through creeks. They’ll be ducking beneath fallen tree trunks before punching through vineyards in the Yarra Valley. The obstacles force players to learn new skills and plan how to handle unfamiliar landscapes.
On top of this, weather conditions return along with new lighting tricks that Playground Games learned from filming on location in Australia. The team recorded hours of sky and translated how the light plays amid the clouds and terrain. Players will see a cumulonimbus that casts shadows on the ground, for example. In other events, rain will sprinkle and puddles will form on the ground, making roadways slick and affecting a car’s handling.
Not to be left out, street racing also makes up a chunk of the “Forza Horizon 3” campaign. Most of the road racing will focus on Surfers Paradise, a highrise city, and the quaint seaside town of Byron Bay. Interestingly enough, the courses built around the metropolis felt rather tame and boring while the events built around Byron Bay were more thrilling. That’s because Byron Bay tracks often had access to the beach and skirted the edge of the rain forest, creating refreshingly novel raceways.
Other than the locale, the single biggest change to “Forza Horizon 3” comes via the plot and campaign progression. In the past, a player took on the role of a rookie driver who had to work his way up to be the top racer at the Horizon Festival, but in this sequel, players find themselves as the boss of the show. The goal is to spread this mixture of the Daytona 500 and Coachella to other areas of Australia.
To do that, players have to compete in events and finish among the top. That will earn fans for the Horizon Festival, and with more popularity, new sites, competitions and options are unlocked. Players will see the impact on the world as the venues expand and grow more splashy. Air balloons will begin taking off around concerts. Fireworks will erupt at night. Meanwhile, players will sign more acts to play the festival and act as radio tunes.
Building on that boss’s theme, players now have the ability to create their own events. This feature comes in the form of Blueprint Events and Blueprint Bucket List Challenges. The events are built on a fixed track, but players can modify the conditions for the race, including the time of day, weather and class of cars. Bucket List Challenges let players be more creative by allowing them to design their own route while also setting conditions and activities.
Putting more control in players’ hands has always been a one of the franchise’s central tenets. With “Forza Horizon 3,” players can drive however they want. If they don’t want to compete, they can try their hand at livery designs and make in-game credit out of that. If art isn’t their thing, they can explore the open road and hunt for collectibles scattered throughout the world. This entry gives players many ways to immerse themselves in car culture, putting them in the driver’s seat of their own adventure. All they have to do for fun is turn on the ignition.