I knew I would be buying an Xbox One as soon as I saw the Forza 5 reveal. However, everything new that I heard leading up to release just made me more concerned. Less cars? Less tracks? I had read Dan Greenawalt's justification for the drop in content, but I just didn't buy it. How am I supposed to be satisfied with this after the bounty that was Forza Motorsport 4? I don't know if bringing in the content from previous games as is ala Gran Turismo 5 was ever something that Turn 10 considered doing, but they were right not to.
This is an all around amazing looking game. But most importantly, the driving feels better then ever. I'm really reminded of Forza Motorsport 2 by the whole experience, it's a leaner game and some of the seemingly simplest of features like car clubs are missing from previous games. Drivatars seems like an area that could become very interesting as the series moves forward. As they stand now they bring the most troublesome habits of the average multiplayer racer into singleplayer, along with flashes of brilliance. It's really refreshing to see the AI dive in on the inside line to make a pass, even if it isn't necessarily a sustainable move...just watch out for turn one. What is here feels extraordinarily polished and gives me hope that Forza Motorsport 6 can take the series back to the greatness of 3 and 4.