Forza is back with another edition. The demo of Forza 4 has just hit the Xbox 360, weighing in at 1.27GB the wait for it to download will be agonizing for Forza fans. The download is being rolled out around the world, so some users may not see it yet. I have heard a couple of people have had success by logging out and back in repeatedly.
The demo will provide a taste of the new changes in Forza 4. More cars than ever before, improved physics and lighting, enhanced damage engine, but sadly no Kinect integration.
Update
You can now initiate the download of the Forza 4 demo via the Xbox Marketplace. Keep in mind that you will need a Gold Xbox Live Membership to get the demo today, those cheapskates have to wait a few more days.
First Impressions
Here’s what we know so far.. first off, the car models look fantastic! Ridiculously high polygons count, lines are perfectly curved, no 8 sided circles anywhere to be seen. There’s also a brand new physics engine that allows weight to be transferred not only front to back (under braking and acceleration), but suspension now compresses per-wheel. There’s subtle shakiness that just wasn’t there in Forza 3 giving the car a more realistic feeling of speed, particularly over bumps at high speed.
There’s also a new lighting engine which is shows off great shadows and car reflections, while the environment is complimented by an amazing sky texture. The only track available in the demo is a new one, called Bernese Alps, it’s a made up track, set in a realistic environment.
The demo consists of two game modes, Quick Race and Rivals. Play Career, Community and AutoVista is greyed out and unavailable. There’s 3 cars on offer in the Quick Race, the The 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator, 2011 Subaru WRX STI and 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia. The Pagati Zhonda C, BMW F10 M5 and Ferrari 458 are available to drive in the Rival challenges.
The damage system is significantly different. Scratches and impacts only effect that specific area where the contact takes place. In previous editions, a contact with the side of a car would simply switch in a crashed texture for the side of the vehicle. This is much more detailed and realistic. I’d expect nothing less from Turn 10.
Availability
The demo’s purpose of course is to entice you enough to buy the full game. While the demo lists the release date as October 11th, Aussie retailers have the 13th listed.
More information @ Xbox and ForzaMotorsport.
