Off topic: This Friday is (drum roll)...

[Houndstone Hawk]

Originally Posted by cyclone70

OK well I was all excited about this and have spent some time with the game, but it's leaving me a bit cold.

I'm one of those cheapskates on a non HD xbox and was really pissed off that a shit load of content on disc 2 can't be accessed without a hard drive.

Also I can't get movie replays cos I don't have an HD. What the f&^k... even Gran Turismo on PS1 had that for God's sake.

It's got beautiful graphics and no slowdown but no motion blur like PGR4 and I hate to say it but it is a bit soulless and clinical maybe. I might even try out NFS Shift even though people have had trouble with the handling. The engine sounds on it are incredible and raw sounding. It is FAST too from what I've read.

Dunno what to do, trade it or keep it...

I like my games biased toward sim & realism & I have both games & I can honestly say with much dismay that NFS Shift outclasses Forza3 in every way other than the aforementioned paint editor. It has fantastic handling, much better graphics than Forza3, including far better draw distance & particle effects. You can watch a car in front go off track on NFSS & they throw up a giant cloud of dust but Forza has next to nothing. There's also no anti aliasing in Forza3 which makes the foreground graphics very unpleasant. Admittedly NFS Shift really shines when using a wheel. Yeah the handling is good in F3 but NFS S keeps up here too & there is NO ATMOSPHERE in Forza3 at all. NFS S engine sounds are truly frightening in comparison.

Because of the pathetic rewind button THERE IS NO GAMEPLAY left in Forza 3 at all. Being limitless in its generosity, there is absolutely no reason why you can't win any Single Player race 1st time, every time. Go wrong on a corner? just rewind, & rewind, & rewind & so on until you cross the line 1st. How on earth is that a sense of achievement in your career mode races??? Atleast the arcade GRID have a limited number of rewinds based on the level you played on or even the ability to switch it off totally.