Forza Horizon - Remastered

At E3 2012, one of the most exciting racing games of the decade was announced. Forza Horizon. Coming from the background of a racer that loved Forza Motorsport more than any other racing game but always loved open world racers, this was without a doubt a hugely exciting moment. My order for the game placed the next day, I waited and watched the forums every single day without fail waiting patiently until I could play the game. The demo came out, then the game. And it didn’t disappoint. After almost 5 years now of playing the game, I would like to state that it delivered in ways that no other racing game has since, especially the Horizon series.

The roads for example were astounding, this map doesn’t even begin to show the beauty of the scenery and the pleasure of these roads. Red Rock (bottom left) was a huge mountain pass in Colorado with massive elevation changes, and twisty fun roads that NEVER got boring. Finley Dam (top right) had an abundance of fun roads and picturesque vistas. Between Carson and Beaumont (top) was a logging complex with a corner that mirrored perfectly a section from the Ebisu Minami course. The huge stretch of highway, up to 9 lanes wide at one point, felt huge. The festival was central and lively, the car culture was real. The music was incredible and no matter how nerdy it sounds there are one or two songs on here that can even jerk a tear thinking of all the amazing moments I had on this game. The latter games have been far from this level, and perhaps there is a solution to this. A fix where everyone wins. In just under two years time, we are 99% sure that another Forza Horizon game will be released. However, me along with the rest of the community would like to see one that isn’t rushed, that captures the original Horizon feel. So what if Turn 10 remastered the first Horizon for the Xbox One, or perhaps harnessed the power of the “Scorpio” to remaster it at an even higher level. Freshen the game up with the customization of Horizon 3, the car list of Horizon 3/Motorsport 7 ADDED ONTO the already existing car list, bring in new music to again, ADD ONTO the current music (With an option to stick it to only the new soundtrack, the original, or both). Revamp the map not outwards but inwards, similarly to Horizon 3 where boundaries only border the edges of the map, and bring the graphics up to date. (Along with better wheel support and physics perhaps, as a given). Far fetched? Perhaps, but these are the reasons it could happen.

A huge amount of the content already exists. Customization and physics from Horizon 3, graphics too. Car list from the current games as well as many other smaller features. The auction house exists in the original Horizon and Horizon 3, but maybe wheelspins could be added and one of my favorite parts from Horizon 3, Forzathon and Horizon Edition cars. A huge chunk of the map is in the original Horizon, all they have to do is fill in the gaps. Music lists are not AS important with Groove but still play a big part in the game as not everyone wants to or can afford to pay for Groove. But majority of the content exists, meaning not only would everyone now have access to an incredible game, but Turn 10 and Playground Games would have the ability to spend more time and focus even more on a new game, almost four years instead of two. Is this realistic? At the end of the day, we have to keep things in perspective. They are a business above all else, most of what they do is for revenue, not the purists. The gaming industry is a cut throat community and there aren’t amnesties for slip ups. Halo has remastered two games now, and Halo was also a direct branch from Microsoft, as is Forza. Flagship games should deserve special treatment, Forza has brought a lot of people to the Microsoft platform as opposed to Sony. But, I can’t imagine Forza was as revolutionary as Halo, or sold as many units, therefore there is no certainty. There is no way anyone should expect this, but developers are known to surprise every now and then. But as gaming becomes more of a money industry and less of a fun one, surprise is rare and gamers know exactly what to expect well before the game is even announced. This is nothing but an idealistic concept.