Why the first Forza Horizon is the best in the series. #blogpost

Okay, before I start let me just throw out some obvious stuff that people are probably going to bring up. Yes, I know the newer games have more cars, bigger maps, more customization, and better graphics. However, that does not make them better games overall in my opinion and here’s why.

The Map

Like I said the map isn’t as big as the newer games or as open but it is much better regardless. And the main reason for this is the roads. In the newer games all of the roads are either arrow straight or they are long winding curves. This is fine, but they quickly become very mundane because you are going through the same types of roads over and over again just in different spots on the map. However, in the first horizon game the roads are much better. You have the long sweeping bends through the canyons, the wide open freeway, the tight twisty sections around red rock, and the tight streets in the various small towns in the game. There are even some pretty decent offroad sections in the game as well. My point is that every single road in the first horizon game is different in some way and that makes driving around the map a lot more interesting.
Also, the map isn’t as open as the newer ones are. Your probably thinking that’s a bad thing, but it isn’t. Since the map isn’t all open space this means you actually have to use the roads in the game. So, instead of just cutting straight across the map you actually have to take a long winding road there. Which once again, just makes the game a lot more interesting and fun in my opinion. This also means that when you are in a race people can’t cut corners. So instead of just cutting through the grass to get to the next checkpoint you actually have to slow down for corners and try to get the best line through them.

The Progression System

In the newer horizon games there’s not much of a progression system whatsoever. You can basically drive any car you want in the game right off the bat because events are not restricted in any way, shape, or form. This means that you can just pick whatever car you want to use for any event. You can race a hypercar if you really want to within the first few events because they give you millions of credits and quite a few cars at the beginning of the game for playing previous titles. This makes the single player game kind of pointless to play because you could be level 1 and have one of the best cars in the game. There is no motive to drive any of the different cars in the game or to level up or do anything because you could have all your favorite cars within five minutes of starting the game.
In Forza Horizon 1 though it is much different. You start out in a slow VW Corrado and slowly work your way up into faster cars. And the events are restricted based on performance or even maybe only a single car in the game can complete that event. This gives you a reason to drive most of the cars in the game and to keep grinding out the main game so you can eventually get those faster cars. It makes the game a lot more fun and keeps you wanting to play it longer.

No Drivatars

Drivatars are extremely annoying. Want to just drive around the map in Forza Horizon 3 single player? Good luck because you will have to dodge and weave your way through tons of drivatars that don’t give a care in the world about what’s in their way and will run into you constantly. It’s even worse when your racing because you will be trying to take the racing line through a corner and a drivatar will come and ram you off the road for no reason.
In contrast the first horizon game has normal AI opponents which will not ram into you while you are free roaming and are not overly aggressive when you race against them. This makes for a more fun and less frustrating experience.

The Online

In the newer horizon games the online is seamless and this means no lobbies and no waiting. Sounds great, right? However, there is one major problem with this. Since you don’t get to choose what lobby you go into, most of the time, you end up with a bunch people who are all just off doing different things. There will be one guy that wants to drift, another that wants to drag race, and another guy that just wants to cruise around the map in the same online game. This means that nobody wants to do anything with anyone so there is hardly any interaction between player’s.
Online in the first horizon game was much different though. They had this cool little feature called custom public lobbies. Where you could make your own lobby and set everything up how you wanted it and anyone could join if they wanted to. This was amazing. You want to drag race? Find a lobby that’s titled “Drag Races” and you will be in a lobby full of other players that want to drag race just like you. You could find lobbies dedicated to drifting, cruising, car shows, and online challenges. The possibilities were endless. Speaking of online challenges those were really fun too. They were basically all co-op and they could be as easy you and another player driving from one place to another in a certain car or as difficult as 8 players having to pass through a speed trap at the same time while all going above a certain speed. Once again this just gave the game more longevity and made it much more enjoyable.

Overall Forza Horizon 1 was and still is an amazing game. It has loads of content and a great progression system to keep you playing for a really long time. In my eyes Forza Horizon 2 and 3 pale in comparison to it. While they are both visually stunning and feature dynamic weather, bigger maps, and more cars they are lacking a decent progression system and many online aspects that made the first horizon game so much fun. The world in Forza Horizon 1 just feels so real and has so much character and in the last two games that has been missing. Anyways in my opinion the original is a much better game and is loads more fun than the newer games.
Let me know what your guys thoughts are on any of the horizon games. I’m interested to see what other people think.
Well, that’s it for this blogpost(my first). No seriously you can stop reading this now… it’s over…