Forza Motorsport 5 First Look (Xbox One)

Developer Turn 10 Studios transformed Forza Motorsport into a special franchise.

The studio turned a corner with each release, with Forza Motorsport 3 taking advantage of the Xbox 360 hardware. This continued with the monumental Forza Motorsport 4, proving the series could hold its own against Sony’s Gran Turismo.  

With Xbox One debuting this Fall, Turn 10 is hard at work on Forza Motorsport 5. The game looks gorgeous, but there’s more to it than attention-grabbing visuals. The development team wants players to feel like they’re behind the wheel. Driving a red Pagani Huayra never looked or felt this good as you turn a corner in Prague with the sunlight glimmering off this exotic ride.  

Turn 10 also made the experience more natural than its predecessors.  Utilizing the Xbox One controller and its built-in rotors, you can sense the rumble around every corner or the impact of slamming into a wall if you don’t properly judge a drift.  No matter which car you’re in control of, it almost resembles the real thing in terms of weight and handling.  

Forza Motorsport 5 will also come with multiple challenges to complete, powered by Xbox One’s cloud technology. Turn 10’s new Driveatar feature lets you connect with human and computer-controlled opponents to access new racing circuits, direct challenges and heated rivalries. The more races you successfully complete, the more circuits open up and the more your car collection expands.

If you’re up for challenging friends on a similar skill level, there’s Forza 5’s Smart Match system. As expected, the level of competition increases as your skills improve. Although we didn’t see this in action, the feature should add value to the game.

As for available rides, the demo had excellent vehicles to choose from.  Along with the cherry red Pagani, we also had access to a McLaren P1 and a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, and also got a peek at the Indy Cars and the F1 model tied in with the forthcoming racing film Rush; expect plenty more vehicles, both on the disc and through digital download.

Customization is another huge aspect of Forza 5, as you’ll be able to adjust everything from paint jobs to decals to tweaking your ride’s performance through parts and tires.  If you don’t like the way something feels, change it.  Who knows?  It could make all the difference in a first place win resulting in sponsorships and car parts.

Autovista, a Kinect-powered feature from the last Forza Motorsport game, also makes a return under the name Forzavista. Although Turn 10 didn’t reveal features for this mode, popular series Top Gear will factor heavily into challenges, cars and the ability to ride around the show’s infamous test track with mysterious racer Stig in tow. 

We’ve only seen the beginning of what Forza Motorsport 5 has to offer.  In the following months, we’ll have more hands-on impressions as well as racing strategies and a car preview.  Buckle up – the next generation of racing is upon us.

Forza Motorsport 5 will release this year for Xbox One.