I’ve been looking forward to getting my chubby little hands on a copy of Forza Motorsport 4 since the first title was unleashed on Xbox, way back in 2005. You see, before Forza, there had only been Gran Turismo, and after Forza... well, for a while, there really was still only Gran Turismo.

Forza was a great game, but it fell slightly short of bottling the magic that the PlayStation stalwart had been conjuring up for the last eight years.

Then along came Forza 2... it was better, perhaps even a GT beater in many peoples’ eyes, but it was still not quite what I’d hoped for. The graphics were adequate and the physics pretty darned nice but it still didn’t feel as much of a quality title as the GT series.

Forza 3 set the bar a hell of a lot higher with nigh-on photo realistic backdrops and car models and now, there’s number 4, and it is jaw-droppingly beautiful.

There may be the odd mismatched texture spotted by the eagle eye, and a few unwelcome cardboard cutout onlookers, but for the most part, the visuals are stunning... more so than a naked Scarlett Johansson wielding a taser between her boobs.

Just as stunning is the audio aspect of the game. Never have I heard engine notes so real! From the metallic shriek of the RX7’s 13B rotary engine to the heavy thumping of a fully blown American V8, Forza 4 gets it right EVERY time... just not with the music, which is a bit too Ridge Racer / glow-stick-waving for my liking.

And the game itself, well, that’s almost as exciting. Almost.

You see, the problem I have with games like Forza and Gran Turismo, is that it all becomes a bit “samey”. You visit the same tracks over and over and do the same thing over and over... sure, it’s a racing game and that’s what it’s all about, yet I’ve never had the level of commitment needed to complete one of these “tuner” games as I have had with titles such as Colin McRae Rally. But, in saying that, Forza 4 throws in a heap of goodies to keep the gameplay varied and enjoyable.

As well as the stock-standard races that you’ll find yourself competing in for the bulk of the game, there are extra events such as one-on-one racing through slower traffic, Project Gotham styled overtake challenges, and even bowling on the Top Gear test track.

Yes, bowling. With cars.

And yes, it is as stupid as it sounds. The Top Gear bowling segments see you trying to knock down as many pins as possible during a lap, and it is the only part of the entire game that doesn’t feel as though you need any amount of talent to do reasonably well. It just doesn’t fit within the walls of this otherwise highly polished title.

The Top Gear integration isn’t all terrible, mind you. It’s fantastic fun blasting around the airfield from the show, trying to beat the Stig (you’ll have to look up his lap times yourself), or even try your luck in the “reasonably priced car”.

Of course, once you’ve finished your hot lap, you owe it to yourself to sit back and watch the replay through the eyes of the actual Top Gear TV cameras... okay, they are virtual cameras but they are placed exactly as they are on the show.

It’s incredible to watch, and nigh-on TV quality. On top of that, Jeremy Clarkson makes an appearance from time to time to educate you on vehicles and add to what is quite possibly the best intro to a racing title, ever.

Another worthy addition to the Forza series is the manufacturer affinity system. Win races and - depending on what make and model of car you are piloting - points are added to the affinity gauge, resulting in heavy discounts off performance parts. The more affinity you garner with your manufacturer, the greater the rewards - both monetary and vehicular. It’s these rewards that really keep you coming back for more.

As with the earlier titles, you start off with a choice of fairly modest vehicles. You’ll need to pick one, take to the track, and win coin before you can upgrade or purchase hotter rides. Although it can take quite some time to raise the cash to purchase that brand-spanking Lamborghini, you will be awarded new vehicles for reaching driver level goals, and will soon find yourself within reach of that shiny supercar.

Don’t expect to jump straight into this game and pilot a Bugatti Veyron, or a Koenigsegg CCX, however, as good things take time. Of course, you can drive such hypercars in the free-play mode, but it’s the career mode that you’ll be spending the lion’s share of your time with.

Forza 4 brings back the tried and true glowing racing line, as well as more driver aids than you can shake a long, wiggly stick covered in marmite at... all of which can be tweaked to adjust difficulty. This allows the noobest of noobs to jump start in and start racing, without playing pinball with an expensive automobile.

Also back is the rewind ability, should you find yourself careening into a concrete wall after a ridiculously ambitious overtake attempt. I’m in two minds about the rewind system... it pretty much blatantly says “there’s nothing wrong with cheating”, and it removes that adrenaline pumping feeling of having to get everything right to avoid catastrophe.

You can, of course, turn it off - but you probably won’t.

Control-wise, Forza 4 is the standard racing affair; analogue steering by way of left thumbstick, and juice and anchors are activated by the right and left thumb triggers respectively. The right thumbstick can be used to look around your vehicle, helping prevent being overtaken by those pesky AI cars. And this is where Forza 4 really shines.

In the previous incarnations, the AI was a little dumb and it was all too easy to play through the game without single loss. In Forza Motorsport 4, especially in the later races, vehicle choice is paramount to victory.

You might be sitting in a maxed-out S class vehicle, but if it’s set up for the twists and you’re on a quick track, you’re really going to have to fight to even get on the podium. There’s no hotting up your car beyond belief and easily romping to the finish line with minutes to spare.

You’ll have to make clever choices and will often find yourself in mammoth battles with AI drivers who are quick to accept any offer you make in the way of a mistake, and shove it heavily back in your face. They’re not stupid, either.

The AI drivers will do their best to avoid slamming up your bottom, but drive like an idiot and you will be punished. I apologise if that last sentence sounded rude... I didn’t mean it to, honest.

Of course, as with all of the previous iterations of Forza Motorsport, there are masses of cars available (more than I can count on my fingers lots of times), from practically every manufacturer under the sun. I say practically, as Porsche have decided not to grace the game with their presence, so Stuttgart fans are going to have to make do with a single RUF model, which is a real shame.

Also missing is Skoda... probably not the people’s choice for performance cars, but trust me, they do make some beauties and the Fabia vRS hot hatch (see my site for a review on the real thing!) would have been lovely to throw around the virtual track.

Also absent are any decent Australian Fords or Holdens - bar the V8 Supercar versions of Falcon and Commodore, and a lone HSV w427. It’s a shame the new FPV range hasn’t been included as it is absolutely brutal.

In the era of DLC, however, anything is possible.

As far as racing games go, if you have ever even looked at an automobile and thought “that’s quite pretty”, be it a muscle car, Remuera shopping trolley or fully-fledged supercar, you can’t go wrong with Forza 4.

The gameplay does get a bit repetitive over time, as do all of these circuit racing titles, but there is more than enough content to keep you coming back for more and more. Not to mention the incredible amount of online features (sorry, I’m too poor to own a Gold account, so couldn’t test a heap) and the gimmicky, but fun Alta-Vista mode, which attempts to educate you on the finer points of a chosen few automobiles.

It even allows you to physically open the cars doors with your own hands, if you have a Kinect system attached... about as useless as the bowling, if you ask me... and don’t even get me started on the waving your hands in the air to pilot a Ferrari shenanigans... I’ll take a control pad (or that fancy new wireless wheel), thanks.

All in all, if you are into hotting up rice-rockets, drag racing supercharged yank-tanks, or delicately carving through the twists in a finely tuned Italian thoroughbred, you’ll find Forza 4 to be the best console racing title around. It’s beautiful, it’s bigger than that fat kid at school who everyone teased for having germs, and it crams everything from motor racing into a two DVD package - sans sexy pit girls and fumes.

At the end of the day, this game really is way too big to review in a single article. I’d love to give you the full rundown, but I don’t have the next few years to spare. All I can say is it’s good. BLOODY good.

Forza Motorsport 4 will be in stores on the 13th of October.

Forza  4

By Karl Burnett

Xbox 360

5/5