Forza Horizon 3 was a racing simulation game released in 2016. The game was developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It can be played on an Xbox One or Windows 10.
1. What Forza Horizon 3 Is About
- Game genres: sports, car racing, open world
- Platforms: Xbox One, Windows 10
- Network connection: required
- Game modes: Single player, multiplayer
- Age: 3+
Forza is a famous game series about car racing in the open world. Forza Horizon 3 is the third Forza Horizon game and the 9th installment of the Forza series. So, simply saying, it is about cars and racing.
Forza Horizon 3 brings you to the Horizon Festival, where many interesting racing activities happen. The game features landscapes from a real world, where there are days and nights, sunny or rainy weather, city centers and mountainous areas, as well as lakes, rivers, and deserts.
2. What Players Can Do In Forza Horizon 3
You can explore the world in Forza Horizon 3 with your favorite cars. Time to time, you might want to look at the map and set direction to the place you want to drive to. Then, the game’s GPS will show directions that you can follow to reach the destination.
Since this is a racing game, of course, you can join various contests with other car owners. There are checkpoints marked with two flags in which you must pass to ensure that you don’t take on a shortcut. Also, the car racing contest might take place in a populous area (street racing) that involves some traffic.
Then, you can unlock new world when you gather enough Fans (yes, you have fans after every exhibition racing you take part in) and Credits.
Sooner or later, you will fill your garage with a lot of new or old cars, which can be bought with Credits. And what you can do with your own cars? You can paint, decorate or upgrade your cars.
There are areas that are marked with big purple circles on the map. They are Barn fields. Each barn hides a classic car, which you can possess once you found it. This makes the world exploration more fun.
The car movement in the game is rather similar to real life. For example, when you are driving at a high speed and suddenly hard-brake, the car will spin around the road. Therefore, this game is also good for a beginner driver to practice driving (if you have a driving wheel and gas pedals). However, since there are no traffic rules in the game to follow, you should not expect that the traffic situation resembles driving in real life.
Additionally, since the Forza Horizon 3’s world is set to be in Australia, a driver usually drives on the left lane. Taking this into consideration, it might cause an annoyance for players in Europe.
3. Different Challenges in Forza Horizon 3
The race types
There are different types of racing in Forza Horizon 3.
- A classic race: an official race on the same track with many different cars. Three types of classic races are available: Exhibition, Rivals, and Championship.
- Head to head race: a sudden race on the street against one opponent. On your way, sooner or later you will bump into another driver. You can challenge him/her into a head-to-head speed contest and the race will start at once in the current location.
- A street race: unlocked by finishing one head to head race. This is the illegal race that happens in a crowded traffic.
- The Midnight Event: unlocked by completing 5 street races. This is a one-on-one speed contest that the winner takes the loser’s car.
Side challenges
Besides racing, there are side challenges that engage you in driving.
- Bucket list: a set of challenges where you have to show your specific driving skills.
- Find the classic cars: to look for the hidden cars in Barn fields (marked with purple circles).
- PR Stunts: to beat the speed zones, danger signs, speed traps and drift zones.
These challenges are located in different locations on the map. Right when you reach one location, you will be offered to take on that specific challenge.
4. What is Fun in Playing Forza Horizon 3
The racing
The racing itself means fun. That’s why so many people all over the world watch the Formula 1 and wish that they are behind the steering wheel, taking part in speed competitions.
In Forza Horizon 3, you can join racing contests and enjoy the fun created by them. Additionally, after each contest, you can gather a number of new Fans and Credits, which can buy you a new world later on.
There is no police, just drive on different terrains at maximum speed, passing (or crashing) competitors and enjoy the amazing feeling of winning!
Great landscape in a lively world
The graphics in Forza Horizon 3 is truly inspirational. Great-looking cars, smooth animations, and nice music from different radio channels will totally drive you into the game. On your exploration trip, you may be speechless many times when reaching natural beauties.
Explore the world in your own way
Joining racing competitions will bring you Fans and Credits, but you don’t have to race all the time. Instead, you can leisurely take on a trip to a faraway location on the map, enjoying the landscape while listening to your favorite radio channels.
A car crash might be bad in real life but in games, it brings about laughter. You can break traffic lights, drive up to 200 km/h without feeling worried about causing accidents to innocent people. Also, you can drive into the water and see water splashes everywhere. Just do whatever you want, that you cannot achieve in real life. Because it is a game, and it supposes to create some fun.
Start collecting unique cars
After spending enough time driving around, you may want to have more cars, design and upgrade them. Sooner or later, you will dream about having a collection full of unique cars.
Additionally, the adventure to barn fields to find classic cars is rather interesting.
When you drive near a barn, your personal GPS will start informing you about the place and ask if you would want him to show the way. However, the GPS only takes you to the big area, it does not show the exact location of the hidden cars. Therefore, you have to drive around quite long time to see where the car might be. But it really worths the effort, since the feeling of finding and adding a classic car to your store is awesome!
5. Forza Horizon 3 with Steering Wheel System
Sorry to say, that driving cars with an Xbox One controller is bad. The car will be much more difficult to control because a gentle movement of your fingers can still result in your car flying off the track.
Always, you should have a driving wheel, gearbox shifter, and gas pedals to play racing games. Driving with a wheel such as the Logitech Dual Motor Driving Force (which I currently used) will bring about the true excitement this game should have.
You may or may not need a gearbox shifter. It’s optional. In the case that you don’t want to purchase the shifter, you need to change the control settings for a reverse (to make the car goes backward).
Please remember that the wheel system should be compatible with PC or Xbox One, depending on which platform you play. A driving wheel that works in PlayStation 4 may not fit in with Xbox system.
