After toying with more geographical and topographical emphasis in Horizon 4 has provided a breathtakingly detailed take on Mexico, featuring sizeable bits of each of the country’s striking regions. With Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games has leaned into the depth of map building even more. It also made off-roading vehicles the undisputable best choice for any race, due to their ability to handle the snow and ice-laden surfaces. Winter especially changed things up, as it made new areas of the map accessible. Every season added a slightly different twist to the gameplay, with weather conditions affecting the feel of the car. But, it was special because it looked, felt, and played noticeably different than other titles.įorza Horizon 4 added an even larger layer to the formula with the introduction of dynamic seasons a design choice that perfectly paired with this iteration of the UK-based Festival. Of course, Forza Horizon was not at all the world’s first open-world racer - far from it. This theme, along with the pedigree of the Forza gameplay, brought an exciting new style that helped to capture gamers’ attention. Pitched as a special celebration of music and racing, this fictional festival quickly took on the passionate identity that would only grow more infectiously vivacious as the series progressed. The core of the game also made a strong introduction with the fictional Horizon Festival. With the two teams working alongside each other, Forza Horizon adapted several of the gameplay mechanics and tech features of Motorsport into a fresh, new format for the franchise: a true open-world “simcade.” With the confines of a circuit now removed, the cars and races were designed to make versatile use of a proper map, which happened to be a stylized take of US state of Colorado. The two brands are literal siblings, as they share DNA. Rather than starting from scratch, Forza Horizon was built using the same Forzatech engine that powered its sister series. Not only was the talent strong, but so was the toolsets they were provided with. While the studio was new at the time, it consisted of members who were alumni of racing studio fame such as Codemasters, Eutechnyx, Criterion, and others. Just like with its sister series, Forza Horizon was spearheaded by a new team, which is none other than the now household name: Playground Games. So when the first Forza Horizon arrived in 2012, it had a huge wave of momentum behind it. Add to this an ever-growing roster of hundreds of cars spanning different makes, models, and even generations, the Forza Motorsport series established itself as one of the primary names in the world of video game racing. Social features like online multiplayer, shareable user-created liveries, and car tunes also became a primary staple of the series. With each release since the original Motorsport, Turn10 cranked up the heat by implementing more technical accomplishments, with a big focus on visuals and performance. One way this was emphasized was with the implementation of the revolutionary Drivatar AI system a mechanic that exists up to this day in Forza Horizon 5. While still paying very clear homage to Gran Turismo‘s trendsetting characteristics, Forza set itself apart by offering an arguably more easygoing experience that was meant to be more inviting. While Gran Turismo prided itself on being an elegant celebration of car culture, Forza Motorsport took a slightly different approach. Observing this, Microsoft created its Turn10 team to establish what was going to become one of the most recognizable franchises in the genre: Forza Motorsport. Particularly due to the sheer standing power of Sony’s venerable Gran Turismo series, realistic racing titles were being released left and right by different studios to capture the wave of interest. One genre that was riding sky-high at the time was none other than the sim racing scene. In the early 2000s, Microsoft built its portfolio with high-profile original franchises for the then-new original Xbox.
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