E312: Forza Horizon brings action racing home in October [Video]

The Forza series is a personal favorite of many SideQuesting staff members. Each iteration brings incredible simulation gameplay, perfect for the hardest of hardcore car fanatics. But the game isn’t for everyone, especially not a casual fan looking for explosions.

With Forza Horizon, the series takes a new direction towards “action racing”. The arcade style focuses on scoring points rather than winning races outright, with an emphasis on more of an open road where players can start races at any time while driving around the environments, on pavement or dirt. Points are scored for hitting, doing tricks, and completing challenges. Think about is as more about having a good time rather than motorsport racing.

Horizon is set against the backdrop of a Summer music festival, with the ability to enter  festival events like street races, off road challenges, showcase events (like car shows!), and even races against other vehicles like planes. Night racing and off roading are going to play a considerable part in the game, as are accidents and explosions. Yes, we saw car fires!

We’ll have more to report on the game after our hands-on this week, but it looks to be a different-enough departure for the series that it could please both old and new fans. Forza Horizon releases this Fall on October 23rd.