Forza Horizon Reviewers’ Guide
Table of Contents |
|
Introduction........................................................................................................................... |
1 |
Action Racing........................................................................................................................ |
3 |
Competition Meets Culture............................................................................................... |
3 |
Forza DNA............................................................................................................................. |
3 |
Forza Horizon – Where Cars Belong............................................................................... |
4 |
Forza Physics + Open World = Forza Horizon............................................................. |
4 |
The Horizon Festival............................................................................................................ |
5 |
Showcase Events and More – Racing in Forza Horizon.............................................. |
6 |
Popularity and Driving With Style – How To Become Popular.................................... |
8 |
The Centennial State – Forza Horizon’s Colorado....................................................... |
9 |
Turn on the Radio............................................................................................................... |
11 |
Kinect GPS............................................................................................................................ |
12 |
Multiplayer............................................................................................................................ |
12 |
Accessories and Additional Experiences....................................................................... |
14 |
Product Fact Sheet............................................................................................................. |
15 |
For More............................................................................................................................... |
16 |
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Introduction
Welcome to Forza Horizon! In this guide, you’ll find a brief and informative look at the world of Forza Horizon, complete with everything you need to know to get up and exploring the open roads of Colorado.
Forza Horizon was developed by Playground Games in association with Turn 10 Studios. Playground Games brings a great deal of racing game experience to the Forza series, and the studio is comprised of some of the game industry’s most creative development talent, including talented developers from respected racing studios such as Codemasters, Bizarre Creations, Black Rock Studios, and more. Based in the U.K., Playground Games has worked to bring a new vision of the Forza franchise with Forza Horizon; the result is a game that combines the faithful authenticity that Forza fans expect with raw, white-knuckle racing and an open world full of action and surprises.
As the creators of the critically acclaimed Forza Motorsport series for Xbox, Turn 10 Studios has built a reputation as the creators of authentic, immersive, and innovative racing games. The studio’s last game, 2011’s Forza Motorsport 4, was a multiple winner of “2011’s Racing Game of the Year” awards from international press, and ranks as one of the highest-rated racing games of all time.
At its heart, Forza Horizon has been created with the following goals in mind:
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Action Racing
Lighting up the asphalt in a prime specimen of American Muscle. Tearing around the freeways of the Montano Plains in a Lamborghini Aventador. Crashing through picnic tables while behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR. However you choose to drive, the world of Forza Horizon is your automotive playground, as you race, crash, and cruise around a world built for the best cars around.
Everything you do in Forza Horizon revolves around driving with style--drifting around corners, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic, or catching air off a ridge are just a few examples. The more stylishly you drive, the better the chances are you’ll be noticed and make your way up the ranks of the Horizon Festival.
Competition Meets Culture
Here’s something that could only exist in videogames: a raging car and music festival where speed limits aren’t just discouraged, they’re actively ignored! That’s what the Horizon Festival—your setting in Forza Horizon—is all about. Featuring music from today’s leading artists across a spectrum of genres, the Horizon Festival is the visual and
musical heart of Forza Horizon. The Horizon Festival is also your functional hub in the game. It’s here that you’ll buy and sell cars, customize the cars you already own, get online to take on the community, shop the marketplace, and more.
Forza DNA
Hop in the car of your choice in Forza Horizon. From the moment you hit the gas, you’ll know you’re driving a Forza game. Every car in Forza Horizon is built from the same physics system that underpins the award-winning Forza Motorsport games. Each car has its own handling and feel, and each car requires a slightly different touch to coax the most from it. In Forza Horizon, every car has a personality—it’s up to you to find out which of the game’s cars agree with your personality and preferred driving style.
As with every Forza game, the car is the star in Forza Horizon. To that end, Forza Horizon has been built with a focus on quality, depth, innovation, authenticity, and the support of a growing and passionate community of car lovers.
Forza Horizon represents a new expression of the Forza franchise. It’s about exploring some of the world’s best driving roads in the car of your dreams. It’s about new races, unique challenges, and surprises around every turn. It’s about music and style and pure unadulterated fun, set in a world that is fueled by a passion for everything automotive.
This is Forza Horizon—where cars belong. Let’s get started!
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Forza Horizon – Where Cars Belong
In the opening moments of Forza Horizon, you’ll meet Darius Flynt, the current top driver at the Horizon Festival. Flynt is the guy you’ll need to beat to obtain automotive supremacy in Forza Horizon. Along the way, you’ll take on a crowded field of star drivers in your bid to prove yourself as the best the Horizon Festival has to offer.
But before any of that, you’ll race Flynt on the open roads of Colorado in the opening sequence of the game. In automotive terms, Flynt is armed to the teeth, driving his mint condition Ferrari 599. Don’t worry, though, you’re behind the wheel of no slouch – the 2013 Viper GTS. Take to the roads of Colorado and see how you fare against the current king of the Horizon Festival!
Once the opening race against Darius Flynt is complete, it’s time to hop behind the wheel of a car that’s only slightly more modest than your Viper – the 1995 Volkswagen Corrado VR6. It’s in this modest tail-happy ride that you’ll be met with your first Forza Horizon goal – to get to the Horizon Festival itself… and fast! As the DJ on your car radio explains – the next ten drivers to make it to the gates of the Horizon Festival will earn a free entry as a competitive driver. It’s time to straighten out some Colorado curves and let your lead foot down – the Horizon Festival is calling!
Forza Physics + Open World = Forza
Horizon
If you’ve played a Forza Motorsport game before, you will feel right at home in Forza Horizon. The same authentic physics that powered the Forza Motorsport series are in play here in Horizon. As a result, every car should feel like it has unique handling characteristics and
capabilities—a personality—all its own. If you’ve
never played a Forza game before, you’ll be able to choose from a spectrum of driving assist and difficulty options to precisely dial in the driving experience you want to have. Experts can turn on simulation steering and switch off the TCS and ABS – while beginners can turn all assists on and let the familiar Forza “green line” show them the best way to manage Colorado’s trickier corners. It’s up to you.
While the cars in Horizon are designed to be authentic recreations of their real-life counterparts, driving them in Horizon has a flair and feel all its own. After all, Forza Horizon is an open-world game, and you are free to roam wherever you like. Bust through picnic tables, become a fence-worker’s worst nightmare, or treat the Forza “green line” as nothing more than a suggestion – whatever it takes to make sure yours is the lead car across the finish line is allowed in Forza Horizon.
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The Horizon Festival
Horizon Festival – This is the headquarters of Forza Horizon. Home to the hottest summer music festival around, the Horizon Festival also serves as the hub of your automotive experience in the game. Day or night, you’ll find plenty to do here including:
•Autoshow – This is where you can buy and sell cars from Forza Horizon’s massive collection of car manufacturers.
•Dak’s Garage – Upgrades are the name of the game at Dak’s Garage. You can choose to automatically upgrade your car, or improve the individual parts yourself. Dak’s is also where you can switch between any of the cars in your collection, and collect barn find cars that Dak has restored for you.
•Paintshop – No car is truly yours until it’s seen time in the paintshop. Horizon’s decal and vinyl system is based on the same renowned customization system from the previous Forza Motorsport games, and it’s only limited by your imagination. You can also access the design storefront here, where you can search from a massive base of liveries and creations designed by the Forza community. In Forza, unless you’ve painted a car with a custom livery, it’s not really yours. We’re kidding of course, but taking advantage of the livery editor in Forza Horizon really is one of the best ways to make your car your own.
•Marketplace – This is your one-stop shop for Forza Horizon add-on content.
•Race Central – This is where you pick up the new wristbands you’ve earned as you progress through Forza Horizon. In addition, you can access all Rivals events here – including new monthly Rivals events added on a regular basis by the Forza community team.
•Car Club – Here’s where you can create or join a Forza Horizon Car Club. As a member of a club, you can share cars from your garage with your fellow club members, compete against your friends, or test your mettle against other Car Clubs.
You’ve made it and you’re in! Welcome to the Horizon Festival – a gathering of cars, culture, and style. Not long after your arrival, you’ll meet Alice Hart; she’s your contact at the Horizon Festival, and she’ll act as your guide as you progress through your Festival career. She’s always good for tips on things like new events to try, money-making tips, and more, so pay attention to what she has to say.
You’ll also meet Dak Stewart – he’s the head mechanic over at Dak’s Garage, which is your hub for everything car-related in Forza Horizon. Here, you can upgrade your car (either automatically, or by choosing the parts yourself), select between your saved upgrade setups, collect barn finds, and switch between the various cars you own.
With the introductions out of the way, it’s time to get in some racing. The “Horizon Heats” event is your first official race event and, in order to prove your way into the Horizon Festival (and earn your first Horizon wristband), you’ll need to finish in the top three.
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