Yep it is a shame that EA have withdrawn the license to use Porsche. Forza was just about the only game (other than EA's own Shift of course) to have it - it was 'the elephant in the room' for GT5. Again, it's EA trying to bludgen their way through things - I don't think that Shift can ever be in the same league as either the Forza or GT series. The fact that it is the only game to have the Porsche brand is not going to be the thing to make it the premier racing game. By the way, I am not particularly a Porsche fan, but it's obvious when it is not there in a racing game - especially with them being so prevelant at Nordschliefe (sorry for spelling!!!). The GT5 videos of their time at the circuit made all the more obvious that the game did not have a Porsche in it!
Played it for an hour yesterday and wasn't particularly grabbed until I got in to the Zonda and cranked up my headphones a bit. 15 laps later and I'm hooked, will definitely be buying it sooner or later.
ah.. I jsut saw 11th on various sites, not thinking that regional releases might be earlier/later... that means more wait for me, since most of our games come from Europe. All the reviews so far are extremely positive, though. The obvious gripes are opponent AI and Kinect integration.
Wake up gearheads and nerdracers! PH have quite an interesting interview with FM4's dev chief Dan Greenawalt revealing some interesting bits behind this game, including how complex the tyre model is (immensely) and how in-depth they've gone to model different suspension types (pretty rigorous). I must confess, after reading it, I'm much more interested. Shame I don't have a 360.
Yes, and I bet RUF had done very nicely out of the deal so good for them. However they are not Porsche and when Porsche are such a fixture in motor racing it seems strange they are missing from the two (arguably) premiere racing simulations. It would be the same if Ferrari, Lamboughini or Aston Martin were missing. As I said, it's not going to (and didn't) stop me from buying either. My mate is bringing my copy over straight from Blockbuster tomorrow morning - can't wait!
My copy arrived this morning. Been on it for an hour or two. It certainly feels different to Forza 3, I'm not sure I like the new GUI layout and stuff. Everything looks very bright and clean and sharp, sometimes a bit too bright and clean. The AI seems pretty poor still. First race, I cranked everything up to expert, manual with clutch etc, and still won by about 6 seconds. They seem to just want to barge into you and the other AI cars too. I seem to remember Forza 3 being better in this respect, but it might just be because I've not been on 3 for a while. Still going to sap all my time. The physics aren't GT5 level, but its certainly more fun.
In previous games the AI 'learned' after a while iirc; is it the same scenario here? Also, could it be there is a difficulty curve as you progress? Worrying otherwise. I thought GT5 was a just very good looking arcade game; were the physics simulations really better than Forza?! TSB
GT5 has some interesting physics, I don't know what it is they do, but most cars feel right. But then again, Forza does have superb tire modeling. So I can't tell anymjore. GT5 isn't actually too bad with the physics though, most of it really makes sense anyhow.
The only dodgy thing I think with GT5 is when things get sideways. The feeling you get when you need to put opposite lock on is just wrong, and the FFB almost feels backwards to me. Also, the standard setups of cars in GT5 are mostly wrong I think. Either that or they're reset when you install the uprated suspension kits. Ah yes, I forgot that Forza 3 learnt your style, hopefully that is the case with this one too. although I doubt they'll be able to catch me anyway,
I've been playing the demo since it came out and hoping to get the full thing gifted to me on my birthday by the missus. My thoughts are: Cars feel far more alive than before. The sense of speed compared to F3 and F2 before it is amazing. In car view isn't as restrictive of cumbersome as in the previous games; I don't feel at a disadvantage using it unlike before. Racing with a pad doesn't suck this time out; turn on simulation mode for added challenge and imo, more driveability. The official MS FFB wheel handles like crap. It seems to turn traction and ABS off as soon as it's plugged in so I hope they fix that at launch; This seems to be irrespective of which options are turned on. Rivals mode with friends is like gaming crack. Just one more hit at trying to beat that time... Crash sounds are REALLY REALLY bad compared to Forza 3. They have that GT style dull "thud" to them. It's pretty. Tyres don't feel like they are made of plastic any more! Camber of roads etc is more apparent and visible to the eye. I used to have massive problems with this on some tracks in F3. Am I looking forward to it? Hell yeah I'm looking forward to it. I also found it funny that the GT5 has just had "in car views" announced. They should really learn how to make them not black silhouette models from the Forza team. Possibly one of the larger let downs of gaming in recent years.
I have played with both. My main observations and viewpoints come from playing with a wheel, as I believe this is the way it is designed to be played, it can be played with a pad, and I do occassionally, but it does feel pretty real with a wheel. (hey that rhymes, )
