Earlier today we reported that the first details on Turn 10’s Forza Motorsport 6 had been revealed thanks to an early, albeit typo ridden, game update page on the Japanese Xbox website. (The page has since been removed.)
The listing revealed a few of the features that we’ll be seeing in the game, and, in honesty, it got this writer quite excited about the prospect of getting behind the digital wheel again. In fact, it spurred a fire that has somewhat dwindled since the release of Driveclub on PS4 and the cross-platform Project Cars.
For starters, Forza 6 is already confirmed to dwarf the competition in terms of driveable cars as the number of vehicles in the game exceeds 450 on the Xbox One release. Of course the amount of cars isn’t a true indicator for quality, but more content is always going to be better than less. One concern does have us a little wary though: just how many of those cars are available from day one? Will there be a ton of driveable content locked behind a pay wall? Hopefully not as this was a big hindrance for Driveclub – some multiplayer events required you to own certain cars either by earning them, or, more there was the more intrusive option of buying other vehicles that could compete in the same events. To be fair to Driveclub and its developers, a lot of content has been dished out for free and the Season Pass has more than been worth the price, so lets hope Turn 10 and Microsoft have taken some of those points on board and deliver a content rich experience from day one. Some DLC will be tolerated, but if it hinders the overall experience and creates a separate playing field amongst players, we’ll be pissed.
Some of our fondest memories when it comes to gaming are those we share with a few mates. These days playing with friends has become a totally online experience (more or less) that has killed off the concept of ‘couch multiplayer.’ Forza 6 looks to bring back the good old days of gaming with split-screen multiplayer, something severely lacking in other racing games of this new generation, or, just games in general. Very few titles offer the classic split-screen experience that we’re so fond of. Online multiplayer is cool and gets us all connected, so long as we have a decent broadband connection, but the best multiplayer experiences are punctuated with playful punches, controller sabotage and plenty of pizza – not 10 year old kids claiming to have banged our mothers.
It was disappointing, then, to have Driveclub release with a broken multiplayer (it’s pretty decent now though!) with no option to go head-to-head with a mate offline, so this is another point awarded to Forza 6. Internet or not, multiplayer will still be there in some form.
Some may have noticed the obvious typo on the Forza 6 page that stated “50fps” gameplay, that’s still a decent 20 over the competition, and, while I’m not all that fussed when it comes to frame-rates, I’m definitely more inclined towards any game that hits the sweet spot at 60fps, something Forza 6 seems to be aiming for.
Forza 6 will be shown off at this year’s E3, so until Phil Spencer and bis mates take to the stage, we’ll just have to sit back, relax, and try to temper our excitement a little.