Forza 6 Demo – Thoughts & Opinions

So the free Forza 6 demo is here, first of all something you all need to be aware of is that this is free, you don’t need to purchase the game in order to qualify for this demo which is awesome and it is live NOW!

**SPOILER ALERT – If you don’t want to know what is in the demo then stop reading a play it**

The demo starts you off in the new Ford GT around Rio and then you go to a series of races which is a qualifying event which grants you access to a main race, with a nice invitational event in the middle. This is as far as I have got in the demo but I will give my opinions and thoughts on what I have done so far.

The starting race is good however ALL the assists are on, it’s a pain but for one race which doesn’t really mean anything and is just an introduction to the game I can deal with it. I presume this might be different for the full game once we get it but it is what it is.

Once you have finished this race you go straight to an qualifying series where you have to get in to the top 3 for the next 3 races to qualify for the next series. You get to pick a car you want to race in for this series, the cars you can pick from are:

RX-7

VW Golf RS

Subaru 22B

Toyota GT86

MX-5

I think there was another but I can’t remember right now. So far I have taken both then GT86 and the Subaru out for a spin. Once you have picked your car you get to put a livery on it before going in to the race. The liveries while good are limited and have all been created by Little Vixen which isn’t a problem for the demo but would be nice to get some of the other guys on there 🙂

First Race

Once you have selected your car you go straight in to the first race. The first race is at a new track called Lime Rock which is a really nice track. Before I started the race I have made the decision to turn off all assists (which is the norm for me now) as well as turning off the line completely which is the first for a Forza game and I don’t miss it. Lime Rock has a very British feel too it which is pretty narrow and it’s tarmac right up to the grass. The track is fun and offers some good racing around it.

Mods

Once you have finished this race you are off to Yas Marina in the night. Before you start the race it shows you a new feature which is MOD’s, in a lot of games these days you get packs of cards which are mods in this game. The mods are like wild cards which are either limited to one use or unlimited use. The cards seem to have a rarity value and you can sell them back for credits if you don’t want to use them. Some of the cards offer a credit value where you can get an extra 10% credit after the race, I have had one which gives me a +1 grid position and then there are some that offer better grip and handling. I presume these cards are just limited to single player race or at least I hope they are. I don’t mind the cards for extra credit and I presume there is one for an affinity boost however I didn’t see this. I think the ability to use a better grip handling or whatever the other cards are in a mulitplayer race would be bad and unfair to the other racers.

Spins

If you happen to level up while you are playing the demo which I am sure you will you will notice that spins are back for this game, which I like, it gives everyone the opportunity to win some extra credits or a car in some cases, I am not 100% sure on this but I bet there will be card packs on there too but I didnt see this. Now the only confusing part of this was that it wasn’t a spin at all. It a case of stopping the flashing square to get what is in that square, something similar to Catch Phrase when you try and guess what the puzzle is at the end for any British readers. I am not sure if I have amazing luck or it’s a demo thing but I have won the best prize on both of my spins which was a Bugatti Vayron and then 1million credits.

Second Race

So the second race is at Yas Marina in the right which is showing off the night racing which we now have in the game, the ladies voice as the race is loading advises you that grip might be a bit few and far between due to the lower track temperatures which is interesting and a nice element to the game, not only is it at night the temperatures are different too which adds that level of detail to the game. The other thing that I noticed and I love is the level of detail, the side of the hotel on the back section of the track which has the net on the side of the building, changes colour which I find great and it’s that level of detail I love. The track is Yas Marian South which might catch a few people out with the sudden down hill chicane before heading down the main straight. The race is good and you notice if you have picked the wrong car when you get on the straights and get passed easily.

Invitational Race

Once you have finished the second race you get an invite to a Indy Car race at Indianapolis. Here you are in an Indy car towards the back of the grid on a 7 lap race round the Indianapolis oval which is really good fun and I really enjoyed this race. It took me a couple of laps to get used to the car and the fact that it has god bags of grip so you can pretty much go flat out around each of the corners. I managed to get to first by the 5th lap and then caught the back of the pack by the last couple of laps. I was lapping in the low 39’s but the race was good fun.

Third Race

The third race is at Sebring in the race. So where we go race fans, we have the weather that we have all been waiting for since Forza 5 and the addition of weather to Horizon 2. So how does it effect things, well let me tell you this it effects things…… A LOT. At the start of Sebring there is a slight left and then tightens to the right. I got a good start and I normally try and straighten off the left hander as much as I can and I was way over to the left of the traffic as I had a good start and Bang, a massive spin, and why? Well on the left hand side of the track there is a massive puddle and I hit that and boy did you know it. The detail of these puddles are nuts, the puddles are real, you hit them and it’s like hitting them in real life and you lose all control of your car in the puddle and can feel it pulling the car. This is great that amount of detail and the effects that this has on the car, some people have said this is too far but I think it adds to the realism of the racing and makes you think about how you race in the wet. I love it, it will change how people race and where they overtake.

Wrap Up

So this is as far as the demo goes with me, this is all I have had change to play so far but it this wrap up I will say this. If the full game is half as good as them demo then I am even more pumped about the game now. This has lived up the Forza name and it has a real Forza 4 feel to it with a more modern up to date twist/update on it. Obviously the main point will be the mulitplayer and how the game performs online and how stable the lobbies are and the control we have but I have full faith that this will be fine come launch day. This demo is awesome and it still has more to give as I haven’t got to the end of it etc. The only annoying part is I have start from the start each time but you know what WHO CARES, I love it and will love it till the game is out. Well Done Turn 10 on offering us a solid Demo which a lot of studios struggle to get out these days and they have even patched the demo this morning. Not sure what the patch had done but thats even better that the care about the demo that much.

Let me know what you think in the comments below about your experiences with the demo so far and look out for a video very soon.