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Silly season is approaching, and there is no greater indication of that than a glowing credit card resulting from a glut of game purchases that in the end leaves us frustrated simply because we can’t play them all at once. One such hotly anticipated title is the latest Forza offering from Turn 10, building on the massive success of its predecessor Forza Motorsport 2. The problem with success is that it’s like rain, too much can sometimes be as bad as too little. There has been a decent turnaround time in all of the Forza titles with all 3 iterations of the franchise occurring between releases of GT4 and still yet to be released GT5, but this gap in the market doesn’t alleviate any of the pressure on Turn 10 to deliver what has become a console shifting title. Not only is there the ever present malevolent threat of GT5 and its die hard following waiting to rub copious amounts of salt into the slightest of wounds, but there is also their own fan base which is sizable and largely of the same vague opinion, the same… but better. The truth is that you can’t improve on greatness without changing it, and now that Turn 10 have finally released Forza Motorsport 3, which is arguably one of the most anticipated titles of 2009, those questions are finally answered. Is it the same as Forza Motorsport 2? No. Is it better? Yes.

Forza 3 has seen several changes across the board with one of the most apparent being the introduction of seasons in the career mode. There are over 200 races available in a season, and you don’t get to race them all the first time round. Races are distributed throughout a season and you only get to see the races whose restrictions you meet. When you access a race event, you get three choices. To race in an event in your currently selected car, to race in an event that another car in your garage qualifies for, or to buy a new car to race in an entirely different racing class. This does not mean that you miss races, quite the opposite. From the main menu, you can access your entire calendar and race in events that you missed, or even race in events that you have already completed to improve on your times with different cars.

A race event usually consists of 3 or 4 races on different circuits for a specific car class (with restrictions) over a 2 week period. After these 2 week events is a single class specific race which is a longer race event with greater rewards than the individual races for the restricted classes. The class specific individual races are cumulative, and go right through to the end of the season. As you race, you are rewarded with credit as well as experience points, or XP. You accumulate experience with a view toward advancing up through set driver ranks, with each rank progression giving you gamer points and a shiny new car, though the gamer points stop at rank 10. Experience doesn’t just extend to the driver, but to the car as well as it too is awarded with experience points and advances up through a ranking system unique to each car. Car rank rewards you with discounts on car specific brands at the upgrade shop. So the more you race a particular car, the greater the rewards in terms of parts and accessory affordability.

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