Navigating the multitude of courses (remember, it comes with the second disc... no mentions of had it been on Blu-ray life would have been better... ) using the hundreds of vehicles is one thing – okay, it's the main thing. But this could so easily have been undermined by a poor interface. Not in this case. Turn 10 has made
F3M accessible from the off. The simplicity of navigation is close to being an object lesson in how to enable players to play. Obviously with so many options available there's got to be some hierarchy management; also the game is in its third iteration; but hands-up here, I didn't find myself damning the complexity.
One of the main reasons for this is that it's just too much fun to drive, to race.
What is a pain in the backside is the loading time, though. I'm aware that loading from DVD is going to take longer than loading from HD, so this is a quibble and is more down to my impatient and impetuous nature. However, if games for the Xbox 360 are going to maintain this kind of richness and depth, then surely idea of two discs plus load times that remind me of the Amiga are going to lose the console some love in the next year or two? I've no idea how much, if any, additional overhead Natal is going to bring to games as intense and as intensive as
FM3, but I for one can't see my patience getting any more extensive than it is.
Anyway, back to the here and now. I've talked mostly about what I think the gamer new to serious racing games – and specifically to
Forza will reap from the game. So, what might put the seasoned and salty fan off? Not a great deal. My bugbear – given that everything else about the games screams 'realism' – is the damage/deformation. Sure, if you brake badly and end up the backside of another beautifully realised car, then next time you come around that bend, you'll see some residual taillight ('brake light', I prefer to call it, or 'indicator'). But if you hit an stack of tyres at 120mph (I prefer kmh) your Mini/Bugatti/AC Cobra should really deform in more of a believable manner than it does. It's an age-old moan, but it's still there. Certainly, and I love
Burnout Paradise, you probably wouldn't want to be held up by massive damage animations (or would you?) but a little more 'smash' would be my preference.
Secondly, on the grip mode: well, basically, if you can race – do not even bother with any of the assists (brakes, stability, auto-gearing, steering... I don't mean the racing and braking lines, I wouldn't insult you like that). You will find that (with assists) the game feels as if it has been tweaked down to help newcomers, and you will win every race, sometimes with your feet on the dashboard, smoking a Cuban cigar and having your wingwang squeezed. Finally, for moans, the calendaring for the career mode. It's, well, a bit restrictive really with only three events front and centre at the start of any period, leaving you with four or so 'training' events until you get the a world championship race. Let's face it, though, you will probably blast through those and head straight online.
Conclusion
FM3, seriously, if you're already a fan then you're going to be buying. In the event that you've been scared away from 'serious' racing games, then this really is your opportunity to get involved. If you are new, I'd take FM3 through all its career stages until you can select a favourite vehicle, drive in manual, and pimp the hell out of it before you venture online. If you are salty, however, well, the online will already be familiar and you'll be there now.
SPOnG Score: 96%
