Forza Horizon Critic Reviews

Most importantly, it manages to simultaneously feel like a Forza game while also letting in more of what makes racing games fun for all players, rather than staying strictly focused on those of us who want strict simulations of varying realism.

It's hard to find negative things to write about Forza Horizon. It certainly is a different experience compared to Forza Motorsport 4, but that doesn't mean it's not as good. The spotless presentation and the enormous amount of things to do makes this one of the finest racing games I've ever played.

Entertaining, fulfilling and never frustrating, Forza Horizon manages to mix the series' well known realism with the light-hearted enjoyment only a free-roaming racer can deliver, becoming probably the best game in the genre so far.

For all the accessibility issues the original game had, Forza Horizon truly does offer something for everyone, down to the individual race options before each competition.

Horizon is possibly one of the best open world racers available.

Forza Horizon trades the serious character of the Motorsports series for a game that is literally a party. Thanks to the great festival music the atmosphere is better than ever, while still keeping the Forza gameplay intact. Embrace the many different terrains, secrets and a breathtaking world.

If you've loved the Forza series before, you'll enjoy this, and if you thought it was a bit too stuffy but wanted to get into it, this is the perfect starting point for you. There's a ton of content here, and thanks to its lack of an online pass, it actually makes for a great rental as well.

Forza Horizon in many aspects orients itself towards the predecessor. But the open world and the festival the game revolves around is incredibly entertaining. Brilliant graphics and the sound of roaring engines round out a great racing game.

A thrilling, colorful racer that pushes the 360 to its absolute limits

But getting behind the wheel of one of the most realistic driving engines and booting around, challenging racers, and having all kinds of fun adds value to all cars – not just the ones that are ridiculously fast and expensive. I've played the game at numerous difficulty settings both with 360 controller and MS Force Feedback Racing Wheel, and have come away impressed.

Forza Horizon manages to feel like something completely different, while retaining enough of Forza's core identity to make it fit really well into this established franchise. I'd highly suggest checking it out whether you're a Forza fan or just a racing fan in general; I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Playground Games took a humungous, beautiful world, packed it full of entertaining challenges and events, added in tons of personality and style, and built it all around the proven Forza tech, giving racing game fans an exceptional automotive experience that they didn't even know they wanted. For as much as I love Forza Motorsport, it's going to be hard to go back after this.

There's nothing really like Forza Horizon out there right now, as the wide-open world to explore and solid handling of the Forza franchise come together beautifully. Yes, Playground and Turn 10 had to compromise on what feels like a rather hefty list of features and selling points in order to make Horizon a reality on Xbox 360, but the relatively few new things this game includes add up to a massive impact on how it's played and enjoyed.

If you love Forza 4, this is the perfect companion. If you love cars, this is essential. The school of thought may be that it's hard to push racing games this late in a generation, but Playground Games hasn't just moved the needle here. It's buried it.

Forza Horizon is built on the best parts of the Motorsport games but delivers a strikingly different experience to them, and in many ways a better one. It has its own personality. It exchanges infinite laps and bottomless grind for an actual structure and a sense of adventure, while mastering its roads requires less practiced skill than it does courage and intuition.

If you're only going to buy one racing game this year, make sure it's Forza Horizon. This game is pure brilliance.

As a street-legal version of a purebred racer, Horizon is something that anybody with an interest in cars can pick up quickly and play for ages. And if you don't like cars already, well, it might just persuade you.

Horizon may not be the natural successor to Forza 4, but it manages to steer the franchise in a fresh and entertaining new direction. Serious Xbox racers need a lot of room to properly stretch the legs of their Ferrari F-40s and Audi R8s, and Forza Horizon delivers that room - and those wonderfully responsive cars - in spades.

I'm the type of guy who actually goes for Sunday drives. Weird, I know, but it's true. As such, Forza Horizon felt like it was developed just for me. It may not be the perfect title for the F1 fans looking for a classic racing simulator, but for anyone who has ever turned their head as a Lamborghini whips past them on the interstate; this game needs to be played.

I find it easy to ignore Forza Horizon's traditional multiplayer when the single-player is so captivating and enriching.