Forza Motorsport 3 erases the line between simulation and arcade racing better than any game to come before it. It features a robust line up of 400 cars and over 100 tracks, a driving model that makes you feel like you're really behind the wheel, and an addictive season mode that will have you saying "just one more race" until the sun comes up.

There are also enough customization options to keep even the most discerning gearhead occupied for months, and community features that every other racing game should be emulating. It features the most flexible options I have ever seen in a racing game allowing you to play it however you like, and making it a good choice for families and players of different skill levels.

In short, Forza 3 is the racing game of 2009 and a must own title for anyone that has even a passing interest in racing games.

The visuals are mediocre — not much of an improvement over Forza 2. Don't get me wrong, they are pretty enough and the game runs at a locked in 60 frames a second for a consistently smooth presentation, but the vehicles (especially your opponents) can look flat in a race and the lack of any anti-aliasing make edges look rough and overly sharp when they should be smooth, marring the visual presentation.

Forza 3 is also the first game in the series to feature a cockpit view, complete with nicely detailed dashboards that have working dials and gauges. The cars do take damage, but if you have played Grid or Burnout you have seen superior damage modeling, in a visual sense at least. Forza's damage model may not be as visually impressive as in other games, but with it cranked up to realistic you can feel it's effect in a deeper way. Because of Forza 3's superior physics model, even the slightest damage will affect the way your car handles. This could potentially make for a frustrating experience if you clip a wall while in the lead on the last lap, making you face the prospect of starting the whole thing over again.

At least that would have been the case in Forza 2 — but this is Forza 3.

In this game, at any point you can hit the back button on the controller and rewind the race as much as you want, and it's unlimited. Overshoot that turn? Rewind. Slam into the guy in front of you, messing up your car? Rewind. Or not. It's up to you, and just another example of how Forza 3 allows you to play the game however you want. And for those of you that would (rightfully) be worried about people abusing that feature in pursuit of the perfect lap to dominate the leader boards, no worries. Every time you use the rewind feature it takes away a few points from your leader board position and makes a note for everyone to see of how many times you used it. So only the truly best-of-the-best will sit atop the leader boards.

The controls are pretty much what you would expect from a racing game, using the triggers' full range to convey the subtlety necessary to achieve proper braking and acceleration through the corners. In fact, the controls are so good as to be almost invisible once you acclimate to them. It becomes all about the handling of the cars.

The cars in Forza 3 range from low power street cars like the Ford Focus, all the way up to super charged race cars with multiple thousands of horse power. Each one handles in it's own unique way, as well as having it's own unique engine sound. With 400 cars to choose from, there is bound to be something you like to take out on the track. And if you become particularly fond of a certain vehicle, you can upgrade it and take it with you through a good portion of the season mode, and online too.

You can also customize your car by giving it an aftermarket engine upgrade, or tweaking any of it's hundreds of parts. In addition to the mechanical upgrades you can make to your vehicle, you can make cosmetic changes as well. With a super flexible paint editor, you are only limited by your skill and imagination in what you can do to your vehicle's look. Just take a peek at the Brutal Legend car. Somebody made that with the in-game tools. They didn't use a picture, they did it all with a controller in hand. And then they sold it on the in-game market place for in-game currency. You can also create vinyl sets that you can choose to sell or give away for free. If you look around, you might be able to find a totally sweet lawrence.com vinyl set for yourself.

There are over 100 tracks in Forza 3, and I had a lot of fun driving on a bunch of them. The tracks are pretty varied in terms of their track side detail, but you always run on asphalt during the day. If there is one thing that the Forza series could do better, it would be to include more types of racing instead of just closed circuit paved road racing. I would love to see what Turn 10 can do with rally or drag racing, two types of racing that isn't represented in Forza 3. Another omission from Forza 3 is dynamic day/night cycles and weather. It's always sunny in Forza 3, and that's a shame. But I can live without these things, and I can always hope for them to make an appearance later on down the line as DLC.

The star of the show in Forza 3 is it's level of accessibility to armchair drivers of every skill level. By adjusting options such as the driving line from Full (where there is a racing line displayed all the time that changes color like a stop light to signify when to get off the gas and on the brake) to limited (the racing line only appears in the corners to show you the optimal line and speed) to Off, the game eases you in and makes you a better driver at your own pace. You can also use what's called "One Button Control" which automates everything except the steering and gas, which makes the game playable by a toddler. And that's a good thing if you have a family and you want a level playing field for all ages and skill levels. On the other end of the spectrum, you can turn off all of the assists such as stability control and anti-lock braking for a more challenging and realistic experience.

The opponent A.I. deserves special mention for being exceptionally good. Other racers on the track will hold their line to a point, but will also let you overtake them if you mange to get in a good position to do so. On the other hand if you're a very aggressive driver, the A.I. will respond in kind by being more than willing to trade some paint and bump you out of the way.

In the end, Forza Motorsport 3 gets my highest recommendation despite it's flaws because it lets you play it how you like. Forza 3 has made me a better driver, and it did it without forcing me to run entire races over and over. And that's the first time I can say that about a racing game.

Graphics: 8.0

Sound: 9.0

First Play: 10.0

Multiplayer: 9.0

Replay Value: 9.5

Gameplay: 10.0



Overall: 9.5

BONUS TIP: The first thing you will notice about Forza 3 after you release it from it's plastic prison is that is has two discs. When you insert disc one, it will ask you if you would like to install data to get the complete Forza experience. If you have a hard drive and the space (about 2 Gigs) I recommend you install the second disc before you do anything else. Once that's done you are greeted by a white screen asking you to set your difficulty level. If you want to just go fast and drive like a pro without much effort, choose easy. If you want the full force of the most realistic physics engine ever devised to simulate just about every aspect of what it's like to actually drive a car at insane speeds, choose hard. And if you would like to customize your driving experience to suit your style? That's cool too. You just pick and choose which assists you want and what difficulty the opponent A.I. is set to in the pre-race options.The ability to customize not only your ride, but the experience as well is what really sets Forza 3 apart from the pack.