Forza Motorsport 4

Forza Motorsport 4 is the latest installment of the premiere arcade sim racing franchise for the Xbox360 console. It's like the Pepsi to Gran Turismo 5's Coca Cola. It's got a good mix of the cars you'd see everyday, along with cars that you would have to go to a museum (or wealthy person's garage) to see. Like previous Forza installments and the Gran Turismo series, you'll start out with an economy car, and earn credits during races so you can afford to purchase higher end cars. You'll be able to upgrade your car's performance with stronger engines, brakes, tires, etc. There's also a free play/arcade section, so you can start racing the multi-million dollar cars right away. It puts you in the driver's seat of dozens of sporty and exotic cars, and gives you experiences you couldn't possibly hope to replicate, outside of being born a trust fund baby. Essentially, if you're a gearhead who breathlessly anticipates the new installment of the car show Top Gear, you want a copy of Forza Motorsport 4.

A Humble Start
Forza 4 starts you off with an economy car with sports car aspirations, like a Nissan Micra or Ford Ka, but you'll rapidly start to earn money and should soon be able to buy a car with real cred, like an Audi S4 or the new Fiat Abarth 500 SS. Then, of course, you'll build up enough to buy high-end Lamborghinis, Bugattis, and Ferraris. Even Hybirds and electric cars like the Chevy Volt, Tesla Roadster Sport, and Toyota Prius make their presence known. Ultimately, you can race on real-world racetracks with purpose-built racecars from Audi, Cadillac, and BMW.

The Top Gear Low Down
The Autovista mode lets you virtually explore a car's sheet metal, with voiceovers from BBC Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson gives the sort of snarky reviews that he's become famous for, with mostly praise peppered with disdain. You can zoom in on details, pop the hood, listen to the engine noises, and even explore the cabin interiors. It's about as close as real you can get exploring the cars, without smelling the leather interior and wiping your drool off of the carbon fiber dashboard bits.

Kinect Vs. Speed Wheel
Kinect owners will get a few more perks, like being able to turn the key and start the motor or open car doors with a wave of your hand. Kinect also lets you play the main game mode without a controller, though you will feel like a schulb holding out your hands to grip an imaginary steering wheel, just like when you were 5 years old.

The Kinect control is responsive, but you'll have a more realistic experience with the Xbox controller, a custom wheel, or the Xbox Wireless Speed Wheel ($59.99 list). The Wireless Speed Wheel is a motion-sensitive controller, kind of like what the Wii wheel really should be like. It's got a 1:1 motion translation, so when you're in the cockpit view, your virtual racer will turn the steering wheel to the same angle you do. The Wireless Speed Wheel is the best controller for the Forza player who doesn't want to bother mounting a force feedback wheel on a table or in a racing chair.

About the only drawbacks to the Speed Wheel are the lack of true force feedback and the fact that your arms will still get tired holding the wheel up in front of you. Speaking of nits, there are no night tracks, nor are there weather effects like rain or snow. That said, the racing experience is top notch.

Serious Bang For Your Racing Buck
Budget at least 60 hours for playing Forza Motorsport, or over a hundred if you're looking to collect all the cars and tracks. With online races and the innovative Rivals mode, you'll be playing the game for longer still. Microsoft will be releasing downloadable content monthly over the next year at least, so you'll find new cars and track packs on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Street cars go for about 160 points, racecars for 240 points, and monthly car packs for 560 points. If you're into racing games, get Forza Motorsport 4, an Editors' Choice for Xbox 360 racing sims.

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