-THE LEADERBOARD - LAUNCH // OCTOBER 2011
THE DEBATE: GT5 VS FM4
THE DAY CAME THAT I HAD TO TRY FORZA. I JUMPED IN FULL ON AND BOUGHT AN XBOX RACING WHEEL BY MADCATZ (STILL TUCKED AWAY IN THE GARAGE) AND AN XBOX THAT WAS PRE-PACKAGED WITH FORZA MOTORSPORT. NEXT THING I KNEW I WAS SPENDING AS MUCH TIME OFF THE TRACK TUNING AND PAINTING AS I WAS ON THE TRACK.
I ENJOYED THE DISCONNECT FROM A STORYLINE LIKE I FOUND IN TOCA RACE CAR DRIVER. I WAS NEVER ONE TO ENJOY HAVING A GUIDED TOUR THROUGH A ZOO, LET ALONE A VIDEO GAME.
I DID MY RESEARCH AND FOUND THE XBOX ORIGINAL FORZA MOTORSPORT. I WAS GUN SHY ABOUT PULLING IT OFF THE SHELF AT MY LOCAL GAMESTOP AFTER BEING TOLD TO TRY GAMES LIKE CORVETTE AND WANGAN MIDNIGHTS. I WAS ALL TOO FAMILIAR WITH FINDING XBOX RACING STYLE GAMES WITH NO SUBSTANCE.
I BEGAN TO SEE WHY GRAN TURISMO HAD SUCH A FOLLOWING. I WAS A HARD CORE SIMULATION RACER AND COULD NOT STOMACH THE UNPREDICTABILITY AND “CHEESEINESS” OF THE ARCADE STYLE RACERS. TOCA BECAME A STAPLE IN MY DIET OF RACING BEFORE FORZA.
GRAN TURISMO ALWAYS REWARDED ME FOR MY EFFORTS AGAINST THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BUT FORZA BROUGHT ME THE ASPECT OF PERSONALIZING MY CAR AND REWARDING ME FOR MY DRIVING.
THE REAL GAME CHANGER HAD TO BE FORZA MOTORSPORT 2. I STOOD IN LINE FOR MY PRE-ORDER AND RACED HOME TO PUT IT IN THE TRAY. I HOPPED ONLINE AND NEVER TURNED BACK. I LEARNED HOW TO PROPERLY PAINT A CAR AND MADE 5 MILLION CREDITS IN ONE SELL OF MY “BLUE ANGELS” DESIGN. LUCKILY VERY FEW PEOPLE CAUGHT MY SPELLING ERROR ON THE ORIGINAL DESIGN!
"I BEGAN HEARING REVIEWS ABOUT AN UPSTART SIMULATOR THAT TOOK THE GENRE TO A NEW LEVEL."
THE REAL DRIVING SIMULATOR IS MORE THAN A CLAIM TO FAME. THAT SIMPLE PHRASE PUBLISHED ON GRAN TURISMO MEDIA EVERYWHERE RESONATES WITH THE CONSOLE SIMULATOR PURISTS.
TIMES CHANGE BUT HARD CORE RACERS DO NOT! I FOUND MYSELF STRUGGLING TO GET ENGAGED WITH THE PLETHORA OF CHANGES MADE TO GRAN TURISMO 4 AND BEGAN LOOKING FOR A NEW EXPERIENCE. I GUESS MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH GRAN TURISMO STOPPED AT THE THIRD ITERATION OF THE SIMULATOR.