Retro’Play
Gran Turismo 4 & Forza Motorsport
Well, now we come for the very 1st RetroPlay.
Since most games usually don’t reveal their true potential until several months
later, this is probably much more accurate than the initial reviews. However,
this RetroPlay is more of a rant than 
anything
else. So please pardon my temporary psychosis on the matters ahead.
*ahem*
Why is Gran Turismo 2 (PSOne) still overall one of, if not
THE best console racing sim STILL till this day. Granted, Forza and GT4 best it
in visuals and physics any day, but GT2 does something that both still don’t
do: gameplay balance.
For
starters, each race was restricted to horsepower classifications. Now while GT
isn’t known for its great AI (or any, for that matter) this single feature
alone kept everything balanced and VERY challenging. You couldn’t just
overpower a car and jump into any race. Now while GT/Forza do this toward some
races, they aren’t taken advantage of enough where it’s needed the most.
Looks great, now all we need is the damage from GT2,
don’t we?
GT2 also had something called a race “generator”. What this
did essentially was tune a race around the hp and type of car that you were
using. It basically chose a random course, random cars; all tuned toward a
pre-selected difficulty factor (by the player) and created a very challenging
race scenario that even had a credits reward.
Now both games pride themselves on physics. Forza’s, even
now, is more geared toward tire physics and SOME suspension tuning. But
contrary to my earlier review, Forza’s visual customizations (sans the
bodykits, which need WORK) absolutely kicks ASS!! Okay, now you cannot actually
draw on your car (again, like TXR3), but honestly It’s really not THAT
significant given your default options and potential. Forza allows you to
manipulate any decal’s positioning, rotating, sizing etc. It WOULD be better if
you could change the colors of the decals themselves (they’re only in stock
color schemes; I don’t want every care that I modify to look like something out
of D1 or Formula D drift cars, y’know) to black or white, but considering what
I was able to do, it’s a very mild complaint indeed. My Evo VIII had a
very Hawaiian design flavor to it; tweaking the rows of decals in
diagonal positions.
However, when actually racing in Forza, then the truth comes
forth all too quickly. The physics, tire sound effects and handling
response-due to the 30fps factor, are less than average. However, like most
people seem to be doing instead, the vinyl/decal mods will keep you here for
months. Just check out the forums and see the sample pics of what people have
created. It’s just sick, I tell ya’.
In comparison, GT4’s physics dynamics kicks Forza to the
curb. Everything from actual suspension feeling, tire grip and 
response is
just pushed so high on the bar that even next-gen games will have to compete.
However, GT4 dies out fairly quickly due to the lack of balancing, AI and with
Forza to show it off, lack of customization. Sure GT4 allows you to put
downforce wings on most of the production vehicles, but even without bodykits,
vinyls and decals, it all just feels a bit plain in the end.
This is mostly at fault with Polyphony trying to gather so
many cars under the sun; the licensing politics restrain them too strongly.
Well, it’s easy to tell what’s wrong with a game, so how can
we fix the inherent problems of both. It seems like every developer always
takes 2 steps forward, 2 steps backward in the racing sim genre. Here’s a small
list of things to fix up.
Gran Turismo (things that need to improve)
v
Great crash performance damage, average physics models.
Actual adaptive AI (dodges around players for overtakes,
STOPS when player crashes ala Le Mans 24 Hours)
v Body kits
from a large myriad of manufacturers
v More
differences between aftermarket parts from one another; more than Japanese
brands, please
v Performance
damage, ala GT2 (even if visual is not in the cards from licenses)
v Can we have
some goddamned tire tread marks on the ground already? Every other racer on
PS2/Xbox does it EXCEPT GT.
v Can I
change my goddamned car color all-freakin’-ready?!
v Too. Many.
Skylines. Enough already!!!!!!
Forza Motorsport (things that need to improve)
o Physics,
physics, physics. Other than strong tire physics and descriptions, Forza is
out-of-the-box bad in this area.
o More varied
cars. Other than the standards, there’s nothing really special.
o Aftermarket
parts; instead of the decals displaying them
o Control
response, thanks to 30fps. Please make it 60 on the 360, thank you.
o 30 fps,
AGAIN, is poor for a sim and detrimentally affects control response/handling.
o bodykits
should actually contain aerodynamics per part and have weight. Not JUST the
wing.
o More wing
choices; very plain as of right now
o Extensive
car choices. I don’t need 10 different Corvettes anymore than I need 10
different Skylines from GT4.
Overall, both games are still great in their own right. Gran
Turismo 4 pushes the envelope of physics dynamics and accuracy, while Forza
seems to push everything for the customization world. Now if at least ONE of
these titles’ developers would wise up and combine the best of both games’
elements, without the flaws, then we’d be onto a true racing sim no matter what
generation it may be rendered in. Let’s just hope for the future; maybe someone
will get it eventually.
Retro’Play Review
Gran Turismo 4
8.9
Forza Motorsport
8.7