Challenge

Forza Motorsport 3 does a fantastic job adapting the game to anyone who decides to pick up a controller and try it out. They have quite a few different “assists” to make the game easier for the player. These different options can be turned off to make the game more difficult or kept on for novice player. The “assists” offered include; automatic braking, a line telling you where to go/when to brake, and a rewind setting to redo failed turns. This can make the game any difficulty ranging from incredibly easy to almost impossible.

Graphics

The biggest thing for racing games to hit if they want to be successful nowadays is the realism factor. The cars have to look and behave realistically, Forza Motorsport 3 does a VERY good job of bringing a realistic racing experience to the XBOX. The graphics are stunning and the cars are beautifully picturesque. At times you may find yourself looking at the detailed car interior more than the track you just veered off of. Car fans will be quite pleased with the effort put into making the cars look as good as they do.

Replay Value

Forza Motorsport 3 is a fairly long game with numerous different cars and race tracks to visit. It can take quite a while to do everything that there is to do in the game. However there is not a whole lot of replay value after completing the game, or even after getting your dream car and driving it for awhile. Any die-hard racing fan will no doubt play for much longer than someone new to the genre. There is some online playability and you can even auction your cars online which is fun, but the real fun is in saving up your credits to get that multimillion dollar car of your dreams.

Narrative

The narrative in Forza Motorsport 3 is almost non-existent, but then again in a racing game there is really only one way to progress:   to get better cars and race faster opponents. The racing campaign is set up as a schedule of races, much like how it would be in real life, and you choose a race series to fill the days in between championship contests. Forza Motorsport 3 relies mainly on the player’s enthusiasm for cars to keep them interested, something that not all players will have.

Ease of use

This is a game that is VERY simple to play, almost arcade simple. For anyone just starting there are only two buttons and one joystick needed to play; the throttle, the brake, and the steering. Driving a car in manual will add more controls and using the handbrake adds another, but these controls are still fewer than games like Call of Duty. The game is very easy to get used to and remember the controls.

Social Playability

Forza Motorsport 3 is very fun to play with your friend, but that’s only if you’re playing online. The multiplayer seems to lose some of the excitement that is present in the single player. You can’t appreciate the graphics or sounds when splitting a television screen. One of the downfalls is the lack in sheer number of players you would see in other online Xbox games like Halo. It’s more fun to race your friends, but hard to find some who play the game.

Overall Grade: B+

Forza Motorsport 3 is an extremely realistic experience and has amazing visuals throughout the game. Every one of the racetracks is a real place and are all quite unique. The excitement of driving through Times Square is something special when the graphics are this good. The spectacular cars and the sounds they make will make any car fan smile when driving in a tunnel. Forza Motorsport 3 is a fantastic experience and easy to get used to, recommended for both car fanatics and anyone who is just a fan of great visuals in games.

Replay Value

If your child likes cars or likes good-looking games they will more than likely spend many hours progressing through various world championships. The campaign is much longer than in shooter games, but once completed it lacks in the replay ability. It will keep your child occupied for a good while, as long as they enjoy racing games or cars.

Objectionable Content

There is no objectionable content that comes to mind other than some VERY mild lyrics in the songs you hear while racing. While condoning fast driving, it only does so in a very professional and specialized environment, on the race track.

Addictiveness

Forza Motorsport 3 could be a very addictive game for the right type of person, which of course would be someone who has a deep passion for cars and or racing. For the average person it is a very fun game to play through but not to keep coming back to. Most likely your child will love it, but probably won’t come back to it in the distant future.

Academic Perspective

From an academic perspective Forza Motorsport 3 is interesting.  While it does not promote aggressive behavior, many of the tests to rate aggressiveness are actually studying excitation level. There could very easily be increased physiological arousal (e.g., heart rate) in people playing a fast- paced racing game, especially one so realistic. This may be because of the graphics and how real the cars look. Even the interiors of the cars are extremely detailed. This likely gives a very good sense of presence (i.e., perceptions of non-mediation) in the game. It is possible that a more realistic  experience helps the player reach a state of flow (i.e., total psychological absorption in the game to the point of loss of sense of time) much more quickly and at a higher rate.