Forza Motorsport 3- OZ’s Racing Page

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Where to next for Forza Motorsports?

The Last Monthly DLC – July 2010.

Plus:- Did it just become a pimping ground for new car manufacturers?

by XboxOZ360

©2009 Grant Smythe

Well it has been some time since I last peeked in on the Forza 3 page. So long in fact, it feels like I’ve forgotten what the game is like. (not really, as I play it every week)

Especially considering I’ve been out of the country of almost 6 weeks, and haven’t even had a chance to download the last two DLC’s for the game, let alone even pick up a controller.

Seems almost incomprehensible actually, but here I am, just about to settle down for some more serious Forza 3 gameplay, and I find out that the latest DLC the World Pack, is the “Last DLC monthly DLC” to come from Turn 10. No more tracks, not that many came, only one actually, namely Nurburing GP circuits, and no more pimping for new car manufacturers, thankfully.

But first, let’s cover some ground on some recent events concerning the game.

• Continued in full article here . . . .

Thundering E3 Forza News

Well, Microsoft’s Keynote has already given us some more news for Forza 3.

HINT: It includes Kinect integration. Looks like GT5 isn’t the only hot racing news of E3 this year. Forza drivers will have something unique to all racing games done before.

Got to give it to Turn 10 for supporting the game so far beyond its release into 2011.

Not just driving controls, now you get the opportunity to admire your creations inside and out! Hit this link for the full feed from the keynote, Forza is near the bottom.

Register now for the qualifying rounds that begin on the 24th April now.

UPDATE: Prizes have changed, and the First Place Prize has now been donated by Fanatec, the world leading brand of Racing Game Wheels in the world. Valued at over $US600 this is yours if you manage to nab 1st Place on the podium on May 2nd.

The Fanatec PennSports Wheel stand equipped with the Porsche Sports whee, gear selector and pedals will be all yours. But you havce to make it through the qualifying sessions beginning April 24th, and then be the one sitting at the top of the podium come May 2nd.

Think you can do it?

Then what are you waiting for, register NOW, as registrations close April 23rd . . . stop reading this and sign up NOW!

Plus: Road & Track Full 10 Car Review coming this evening AEST.

Road & Track DLC Pack

Arrives April 14th Australia (US – 13th)

Update: Mon 12th April (10:51pm AEST)

Here are 10 ‘sneak-peek-pics’ of the cars that are coming your way in less than 2 days.

Can you match them with their right car?

The next DLC pack for Forza 3 is the Road & Track Pack which has been compiled through the cooperation between Turn 10 and the printed media magazine, Road & Track – naturally.

The following vehicles will appear in the pack, and OXCGN will again have an exhaustive and detailed look at all 10 great cars, one of which is a born-n-breed Aussie car – The Holden Commodore. We will evaluate each car on the track, as well as supply real-world counterpart specifics for your detailed information.

Here’s the coming line-up, so get those Microsoft Points built up, I estimate it will be as the others were, just 400 MSP, which seems to be the going rate for Forza 3′s DLC these days, which is a great deal better than the original 800 points they asked for them.

1. Seat Leon Cupra R
2. Mazda Mx-5 Superlight
3. Bentley Contenential Supersports
4. Mini Coupe Concept
5. 2010 Mercedes E63 AMG
   
6. 2010 Holden HSV w/ 427
7. Volkswagon Golf R
   
8. 2010 Ford Taurus SHO
   
9. Renault Megane RS 250
   
10. 2010 Vauxhall Insignia VXR
    

I loved the last Seat Leon Cupra in Forza 2, and was hoping like mad that it would eventually become available in Forza 3.

So it looks like my hopes and wishes have been granted, as well as providing me with the new big-block powered Holden HSV 427 V8 Commodore. This one, being one of the HSV (Holdern Special Vehicles) group, will be a definite stump-puller for sure.

The Big Block Chevy’s really have the torque where it counts, and coupled with the award winning HSV series, it could prove to be a Forza 3 winner as well.

I remember driving a ’55 Chev Tudor with a 396 Chevy Rat big block in it, and the sheer torque could lift the inside wheels on a fully street legal steel shelled car. And those things are not light by any stretch of the imagination. So as you can see, there’s quite a lot of ‘grunt in those big-blocks.

A full detailed review will be up within 2 days of the release of the DLC, not 6 days like the last one . . . at least this time we have some lead up to get specs together for the 10 cars, thankfully. So stay tunned . . . . .

Road & Track Pack Coming

April 13th drop date on Xbox Live Market place.

We’ll have full details of this and the competition Forzamotorspot are running for Nth American Forza 3 owners ONLY tomorrow, plus sneak pics of the 10 cars that will be unveiled over the next several days.

Now tell me the Forza Motorsport’s Forza 3 packs are not getting any better . . . So long as they keep this level of quality, interest and cross promotion up, I think that ‘other’ game will have a hard time playing “catch-up” when it is eventually released, whenever that might be???

So long as Turn 10 take some hints with regards to track inclusions for Single Players, then they will score big from both car collectors and racers alike.

Stay tuned, back later with more full details.

Forza 3′s Pagani Zonda World Challenge

by XboxOZ360

©2010 Grant Smythe:

As most readers know, OXCGN is a huge supporter and follower of the Forza Motorsport franchise, and has been since the very first Forza Motorsport hit the tracks in 2002 on the 1st-Gen Xbox as a launch title.

So it is with great pleasure and pride that we have teamed up with another very enthusiastic race site to bring you a first for Forza Motorsport 3.

OXCGN and Forza Racing League are presenting the worlds first Pagani Zonda World Challenge which will be run over a 2 week period from 24th April through to 2nd May 2010. This will include initial qualifying periods for each region, Regional ‘Shoot-Outs’ to determine 3 drivers from each region, who will then compete in the Inaugural Pagani Zonda World Challenge.

Prizes are on offer comprising both in-game prizes as well as real world goods of value.

The aim of the event is to bring more racing gamers together in a competitive but legitimate atmosphere where drivers are competitors, not enemies.

NB: Example of a Zonda Livery – Mine (no, I can’t compete, being a sponsor and all) but it gives you an ‘idea’ of sponsor, number and name placements. The other sponsors are related to the various parts fitted to this particular Zonda I built, these wont suit you of course, unless you use the same parts?!

The colour scheme (livery) is available as-is if you’re too lazy to create one, You’d simply have to change the vehicle number to the one allocated once registered, and the drivers name of course. Other than that, you can simply grab the ‘liver’ by emailing me, and getting it off my Forza Storefront. That is of course, IF you don’t want to waste time doing your own.

Remember:- This is only an example, but it does show location of PWC Sponsor decals’ and the Sponsors are as follows:

• FRL (Forza Racing League)
• OXCGN
• Forza Stats 3
• Turn 10
• Forza Motorsports
• VIN (vehicle Identification Number/driver name)
  

Example scheme, placement of Sponsor decals.

Slip over to the article now for full details on registration, qualifying times, regional dates and final race day date. There are downloadable Rules & Guidelines over there for you and any interested racers which must be downloaded and checked out before registering for the Pagani Zonda World Challenge.

Don’t just sit on the fence, get involved and become part of the Forza 3 Racing Fraternity. OXCGN-Racing Team will be looking for drivers after the event, as we can not enter this one, as we’re a major sponsor. So keep your eyes peeled for news of that when it breaks.

For now though, head over to the article, check the details out, register and get ready to roar – Forza 3 style.

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Forza DLC #4 Jalopnik Car Pack Review:

Or OZ’s Forza 3 Auto-Reviews & Top Ten Line Up Awards

Perhaps one of the most exhaustive and detailed Forza 3 DLC reviews on the net . . .

Another month, and more DLC from the guys at Turn 10. This time the long awaited Jalopnik Car Pack, first of a series of packs coming from Turn 10 and Jalopnik through their collaboration within Forza 3, and hopefully beyond (Forza 4 anyone??).

And at the cost of just 600 MSP, it’s not bad value actually, especially when thrown up against the 400 MSP they ask for with the Nurburgring Grand Prix track for just 2 ribbons at 400 MSP.

There has also been released a VIP Car Pack recently, which has 5 vehicles which I will detail separately in a few days time. It’s price of 800 MSP is not too bad, considering that besides the 5 VIP Members cars you get, you also get around 10 various “Turn 10 Gift Cars” which are special ‘one-off livery schemes’ done by the Turn 10 crew, as well as one-off cars that are also worked into the Seasons and Event List.

In the Jalopnik Car Pack this time however, which is what this review is about, we’ve been graced with not only some super quick rides, but also one car that will never see production of any kind, and was actually built using some *secondhand components, but more on that one as we get into the detailed review on the Forza 3 DLC #4 Jalopnik Car Pack #1, the first of several Jalopnik Car Packs heading our way from Turn 10 and Jalopnik.

Check out the extensive Jalopnik DLC #4 Car Pack now, way more than you bargained for – yet again. And of course, make sure that you check these latest ones out while you’re here:

• Jalopnik & Turn 10 Car Pack DLC#4
• Last Month DLC #3, The Nurburgring Grand Prix Pack
• The Detroit Autoshow Car Pack DLC #2
• You can check out the first extensive review of the DLC Holiday Pack here as well.
• OXCGN’s Huge Forza 3 Page, over 1500 comments.
• OXCGN’s Forza 3 Career Guide with downloadable Achievement PDF spec sheet.
• OXCGN’s Career Guide Number 1. More downloadable stuff and lots of tips.

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Jalopnik Car Pack due 9th – OZ’s Review due 10-11th . . .

As usual, we’ll be giving the new DLC pack some serious testing on a few tracks this time, one of which include the old faithful Le Mans Muslanne original ribbon.

The lineup of of cars includes the following ten vehicles.

1. 2008 Mazda Furai
2. 2010 Honda Civic Type R Mugen
3. 2009 #40 Robertson Racing Ford GT
4. 2010 Aston Martin Rapide
5. 2011 BMW Z4
6. 2010 Audi TT RS
7. 2010 #33 RSR Jaguar XKR
8. 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic
9. 2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage
10. 1992 Bugatti EB110SS

So expect the usual exhaustive rundown on the cars which will include real-life counterparts, specs (both in-game and RL) in our typical OXCGN fashion. Just to let you know, OXCGN’s Forza 3 pages are some of the top searched pages on Google now, and appear in the top ten results, so thanks to all those who look and find our pages on this great game. We will continue to deliver the best coverage as humanly possible, but not from a promotional spin side, but from an enthusiasts side.

So if it stinks, we’ll most certainly say so . .

See you on the evening of the 10th or early on the 11th after I’ve thrown all ten around 2 different circuits to annalize their individual merits, or faults.

Here’s a bit of a tease for you, the ten cars for the Jalopnik Car Pack DLC#4

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Oz Gives His Verdict on

the new DLC Track-Pack . . .

What does the review say . . . . . . . ?

Anyone that follows this site and has read anything related to Forza 2 or Forza 3 knows that the game is a passionate one for me.

I could be like many ‘fanboys’ and agree that the tracks are terrific just to be in the game. Or I could say heaps of great things about the developers Turn 10 for adding the 2 best tracks in the world, that were in the last game by the way, into their new game.

But I’m not a fanboy, and I’m not one to praise something that does not deliver what the end user wants, and needs to in order to deliver a satisfactory result.

If you are thinking of getting the DLC, then you ‘need’ to read this first – it’s a full review of the latest DLC from Turn 10 . . .

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Forza DLC #3:-

Nurburgring Gand-Prix-Circuits

Both the Full and Short Track available 9th Feb

I had been hoping and praying that the first lot of tracks to be offered as DLC from Turn 10 in Forza 3 would be the famous Nurburgring Grand-Prix-Circuits.

They are finally here, both the Full Grand-Prix-Circuit and the Short Sprint circuit will be on offer, which is something I’m really looking forward to. Well on one hand I am, but there’s an air of apprehension about it, which you will read about in a minute, but first things first.

Both of these circuits were available in Forza 2, and I personally spent many hours flying around the track in just about every class and car available, and let me tell you, some of the unlikeliest cars did some amazing times around those 2 tracks, and ideally, the times will be close to real-world figures, as will the racing fun.

As always, we will be running a review on the track, using cars from different classes to see how both the track looks and feels and the cars deal with the very demanding track.

My only concern or hope actually, is that the tracks will be able to be used within the Career or Seasons Mode, or at the very least, in the Events List Mode where you are pitted against other vehicle in any class you set.

If they are not, and only available for On-line racing, then it will be a sad day for Forza 3 fans everywhere, as over 50% of Forza 3 fans do NOT use the game on live due to many reason, one of which is player exploitation and tom-foolery. Something any real race fan just does not want to deal with when they are there to race.

The detail looks great from the shots, let’s hope that transfers across into the real-deal, and we’ll be grabbing the DLC as soon as it is available. Seeing that the 9th hits Australia before Nth America and Europe, we’ll have a head start on testing it out, hopefully.

Slip over here to check out the video and more images as well as a history on the great circuits. Cost on the DLC is 400 MSP

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Forza DLC #2 Detroit Autoweek Show review:

The most extensive & detailed Forza 3 DLC #2 review out

So here’s my review of Forza 3′s Detroit Autoweek Show DLC Pack which was released on January 12th (US). All 10 cars are covered in this review, the pack is available from XboxLive for just 400 msp, and as far as I’m concerned, these are well worth the few dollars they ask for them.

I place the cars in order of ‘my personal preferences’ with regards to which car would be the best, through to the least most desirable. Not that any are, but you get the idea. I always look for something a little bit different in my car choices within the game, and don’t always pick the biggest or the most popular. So just grit your teeth and bare with it. Better still, have your say in the comments box below at the end of the review – so long as you abide the TOU and COC, everything is fine.

I add mainly pics of real-world cars so you can get an idea of what these things look like in real life, so that when you get your greasy little paws on them, you can see just how well detailed and rendered they are in-game.

They need not be the quickest or highest horsepowered beasts, as it’s often the ‘tweaking’ of suspension and chassis that sets a car apart from the pure brutes, where horsepower exceeds drivability, and top speeds are unattainable.

If you want some tips on tweaking a little bit, you can check out the first review on the Holiday Pack, where you will find some suspension tweaks that ‘might’ suit you, and think seriously about using the Forza Calculator to help work out other tweaks for any car within Forza. But enough of this, let’s get on with what we are all here for, the cars.

Come check out the huge, extensive Forza 3 DLC Pack review now….. (here)

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DLC #2 AutoWeek Car Show Pack Available

Full review of DLC #2 available tomorrow

Well I downloaded the pack as soon as it became available early this morning Aust time, and have taken all 10 for a spin. It includes the following cars, and I’ll have an extensive road test on all ten by tomorrow morning.

For those that were saying the Aston Martin One-77 was nothing more than a customized DB9, then you are sadly mistaken. From all the cars available in the pack, this car stands out above them all.

[ED: While you're waiting, you can check out the review we did on the First DLC Pack, this will give you an idea of how detailed we get with the game.]

It has the highest top speed in standard gearing (335kph in the back straight of Le Mans) and is solid as a rock on the road, even at those speeds, handles corners like it’s stuck to the ground, and looks and sound beautiful.

The Raptor, while sounding sweet (and looking damn fine) is a tad light on the nose, especially when the tyres are cold and when entering corners from speed. The Lotus 2-Eleven is by far the smallest of the 10, but do NOT let that fool you.

Sure, some of the others in its class can top it in the speed department in the long straights, but if you keep the line closed, they have difficulty passing, but don’t be a sook, let them past if they are approaching fast.

But you’ll whizz past them in the corners, as this little thing is like the proverbial car on rails. And driving in-car-view is just SO Sweet.

Anyhow, here’s a list of the cars, and for 400 MPS it’s a steel.

1. 2009 Audi RS 6
   
2. 2010 Ford Shelby GT500
   
3. 2009 Lotus 2-Eleven
   
4. 2010 Aston Martin One-77
   
5. 2010 Porsche Boxster S
   
6. 2009 Audi R8  LMS Show Car
   
7. 2010 Pagani Zonda R
   
8. 2010 Saleen S5S Raptor
   
9. 2010 BMW Motorsport M6 Coupe
   
10. 2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

So get ready for my intensive data driven review tomorrow morning, along with some great images and I’m working on a way of share actual laps with you guys, so hopefully you’ll be able to sit inside the cars while I’m giving them a work out on the track/s.

OXCGN’s Forza 3 Holiday Pack Review

Well I downloaded these as soon as they became available, and took each for a spin. All are excellent examples of modern motor technology, beautifully rendered and detailed, as you’d expect for Forza 3 vehicles.

Don’t let anyone put you off by making comments that the game looks like Forza 2, it’s a far cry from that, and you’ll see that as soon as a car is displayed both on screen and in-game.

I decided to run each one on the Le Mans Circuit de la Sarthe for 2 laps to see how each handled and responded. Oh, and I found my dream car, the Sir Sterling Moss SLR 2010 McLaren . . hmmm.

The only two non 2010 vehicles in the pack, the #007 ARM’s Aston Martin powered Lola bodied racer (R1 Class PI=976), and the #2 Sports Team Joest R15 TD1 (R1 class PI=983) cars were ‘exceptionally’ quick as always. Which is to be expected of this class, and definitely not for the faint hearted.

So let’s get one with it, but first let’s set the stage for the testing.

Head over here now for “full review” and OZ’s Racing Tips.

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OXCGN’s Forza 3 Career Guide #2 – Achievement Walk-Through

Initial Achievements:

Here is OXCGN’s Top-Forza 3-Tips on a quick way to build up your first 110 Gamer Points with just 12 easy achievements, while also increasing your Experience Points (XP) and also gaining you some well earned Credits, and while doing all this, winning some cars to help you move forward in the game.

NB: I’d like to get one of my biggest bug-bears out of the way now about Forza 3.

The decision to remove the “penalty points” for going off the track, or cutting corners etc is the worst thing Turn 10 could have done.

Plus, add that to the rewind function, and ppl are able to tailor edit their races to achieve the best elapse times possible and thus get themselves up the ‘Global Forza 3 Leaderboards’ in an unfair fashion, and as far as I am concerned, is the highest form of cheating known.

It robs genuine racers, those who obey the basic principles of “clean racing”, the ability to be placed on the leaderboards based on their ‘skill’, which is what separates the chaff from the wheat.

That being said, let’s get on with the show shall we, so let’s slip over here now for more details, and if you get a chance, check out my Forza 2 Slide show, I haven’t had a chance to do any Liveries in Forza 3 – yet. Perhaps there’s something in there that might inspire you?

• Check out the full detailed Achievement Guide here.

Or check out my quick “Slide”-show here.

OXCGN’s Massive Forza 3 Career Help Guide

by XboxOZ360

©2009 Grant Smythe – Oxcgn

Welcome to OXCGN’s Forza 3 Racing Tips #1

S0 what has Oz been working on lately, well, as you will see when you flip across to here, quite a lot actually, and lots more is still to come. So make sure you keep an eye out for more tips an reference items in the next few days.

Forza 3 would have to have the biggest selection of races available in any known racing game to date.

With 730 races, (no, I have yet to work out exactly how many laps that is, but I’m working on it .. so be patient), which are spread over a massive 220 events from 10 different categories or series ranging from 50 different real life race circuits as well as fictional tracks based on real life locations in places such as Italy, Germany, France, Nth America, England, Japan and Spain. I think you’ll need a Tourist Visa!

Slip over here right now for the fully detailed list of every race and event in Forza 3….

Extensive Forza 3 race facts info . . . >

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