...oh my god or oh deary me?

http://youtu.be/v6bDqpTfj9E

From what i can tell they appear to have taken bits from all other racing games (Test Drive Unlimited/Burnout/Need for Speed) and applied Forza physics and graphics.

Can;t decide if thats a great thing or a horrific idea!

WANT!

The development studio is made up of many of the ex-staff of developers who have had cracking racing franchises... codemasters(grid, dirt) bizzare creations(PGR), black rock (split/second) and others.

It will be up against stiff competition though... NFS: Most wanted.

As long as the physics does not get too watered down it looks to be great.

Is it just me, but I would love the ability to just go for a drive in a game. When the weather is poor on a weekend or your crying over petrol prices it would be great to go on a virtual drive. And Forza has lots of NORMAL cars that are afforable (just) in the real world. Plus it kicks GT5's ass when it comes to engine sounds

I was really p*ssed on GT5 when they ditched generating Rally stages, so now you can only make loops/circuits in the track generator.

Ah, the days of V-Rally (2?) on PS1 (I think) when you could generate your own rally stages...

Will be pre-ordering

Still waiting for a game to compare to the need for speed undergrounds......they were epic:D well in my eyes anyway as i grew up with them

I'm still waiting for them to add Skoda to forza 4!

the forza games havent disappointed so far,although this looks like it could be targeted at a casual gamer so could be dumbed down slightly in the physics department.

i will still be purchasing though

This looks awesome - for me takes the freedom of gta but combines with a proper driving game - breaks the mould a little but offers so much potential; whether the masses go for it is to be seen but hey for pure escapism it could be a winner

Looks terrible in my opinion. Just hope they still bring out a proper forza game then ill be happy.

I can't make my mind up about horizon, I suppose it makes sense for them to do a less sim-based offshoot.

I don't think I'll be waiting for the shop to open for this, like I did with forza 4 though!

I'll be preordering!

Reminds me of almost all NFS games that have been previously released!. They should stick to what they know. Having said that it does look like a game that isn't to tedious and long winded!

Demo released for this Tuesday next week.

Be downloading with interst to see if it's garbage or not.

All reviews in the mags and online seem to say it handles like Forza but the game itself is like a giant episode of Top Gear......

So what do people think?

I know i saw most of my friends list playing the demo last night and the rivals mode had a long list of people (which i'd beaten obviously ) so some people must have opinions by now.

Personally i think it was average to good.

The handling is ok, edge taken off the true Forza experience to make it more arcadey but not horrendous.

Looks excellent.

I think the "scene" idea may have been overdone. Relentless OTT DJ's, fireworks at race end, etc but in my humble opinion formed over about 20 minutes it combines most of the good bits of all other racing games to create something not half bad.

Stuff like driving all roads or smashing all signs would probably keep me interested (assuming there were acheivements or something worthwhile once I'd done 100) and the rivals mode coudl be enough for me to never see sunlight again!

What's more fun than trying to drive through a speed camera faster than your friends?!

I guess failing on your first attempt turning round and trying again in the opposite direction could be.

I'm happily surprised at how much i enjoyed it.

I'm not going to go to the pre-order level of excitment but i think as an arcadey driving game (now i've finished Driver San Francisco and finished traded in Burnout Paradise and PGR 4) it could prove a good release from the monotony of driving round and round tracks.

You may want to just check again with the speed traps . I personally like the music choice and the DJ's, as you have said the finish line fireworks are a bit to much. If you have a look at the map it is big and could keep it going for a while.

They seem to have improved the drifting slightly in the fact it distinguishes between the use of the hand brake and all out power. the sign smashing is for getting more money off upgrades which is a nice trick as it became annoying in forza 4 every new car you bought had to be driven to gain free upgrades if from a different manufacture.

Well i only put 10 minutes in when it first downloaded (while simultaneously trying to cook tea ) and then 10 minutes when the other half went to bed so i've not tried too hard on the rivals thing

Only only found a speed trap and speed camera very late on - hopefully will get some more time later on.

After the intro's dodgy DJ and the first race and it's techno I went in and muted the radio volume as soon as possible thus having no idea that (like GTA) you could switch radio station to something more fitting.

Racing the airplane was cool though

I didnt enjoy it. It just dosent feel like a forza title. It reminds me of Test Drive and Need for Speed back in the day. And hearing that tuning isnt an option is a disapointment too.

I was thinking why cant someone release a game where it uses google street view and forza tech so you can drive anywhere in the world however you like. Races along the way...the possibilities!!!

Yeah the race against the P51 wad good. I wasn't super impressed but the whole thing will be dependent on how many friends you can get only to play against/with I think.

It's not a driving game, it's an adventure game. Seems to be a cross between GTA and NFS.

Not for me. I'll stick to proper Forza for casual gaming, iRacing for simulation.

I liked it, unexpectedly. I wasn't comparing it to Forza though, more thinking of it in a new game in its own right. If I was expecting it to be Forza levels of realism I'd have been disappointed.

Sort of game I'll pick up pre-owned I guess rather than pay full price.

As put in my first "review" as an alternative to the stagnant atmosphere sometmies created by driving round and round a track (not that i don't enjoy that a lot!) it seems like a good mix of most of the best bits of other/previous racing franchises.

A bit chavy? sure.

A bit arcadey? you bet.

A bit of fun? certainly is!

As i've finished with Driver San Francisco and played through GTA 4 and it's 2 download add-ons it should be a worthwhile addition to my collection.

As TriggerFish says though something i'd buy preowned rather than brand new (or i'll add it to my Christmas list )

My thoughts Are... Test Drive: Unlimited.

When does Forza 5 come out?

Forza 5 will be on the next Xbox so a few years yet. Forza horizon is the game TDU 1 & 2 should have been. I almost ordered it yesterday but I can't justify it at full price. Also there are other games out shortly that I will be getting

I pretty much feel the same as you, Pasty. I was pleasantly surprised by it, but not sure how that would translate to playing it for hours like the others.