You need another TWO Xbox 360s

So how is the game shaping up? Well, first impressions are that it looks very much like the original Forza Motorsport. The color palette is similar and the scenery still has that slightly "clean" look about it. Detail has been ramped right up, to include 3D spectators and tire marks on the track that were there on the day the team recorded them.

Thousands of photographs and hours of video were taken at each of the venues in order to make the game as authentic as possible. That extends to accurate recreations of track temperatures and air pressure. Does it really affect gameplay? Perhaps not to the untrained eye, but for those splashing out on the three-screen set-up, they're going to want the most realistic simulation around. And this could well be it.

We do have a few reservations, however. Some of the scenery looks a little flat, especially the trees. Also, although the cars look wonderful, there are some jagged edges apparent - something we don't usually see from Xbox 360 games. The track list we saw also looked very similar to the original game's. And although the decal mode now boasts 4,000 layers of vinyl application and online auctioning of designs, there's little genuinely new on the feature sheet. For many, this might just be Forza Motorsport ver 1.5, although that's likely to be enough for its fans.

Of course, we'll reserve judgment until a finished copy arrives on our desks. Until then... start collecting TVs. Oh, and Xbox 360s.

May 3, 2007