Info from Playstation: TOM:

- Deformation for every car in the game although race cars will see even more damage, no more bumper cars like Forza 3
- First screens of GT5′s night racing
- 1,000+ vehicles, all with modeled interiors, superior to Forza 3
- Up to 16 players online, more than Forza 3
- Indy cars and tracks will be included
- Head tracking is reconfirmed and it’s for use during racing
- Multi display is back (using 3 PS3′s for a wider view)
- HD uploads to YouTube
- Weather
- Night racing for all tracks
- Destroying Forza 3

More Info

- Over 950 cars
- Over 20 locations and over 60 variations
- New Physics engine
- Damage
- Cars can be flipped over
- Movable objects on the tracks
- The newest Hybrid and electric cars
- Night racing
- Custom Soundtracks
- Dolby 7.1
- Head Tracking with Playstation Eye
- NASCAR, WRC and SuperGT licenses
- Cars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Tesla
- Transfer cars from GT PSP to GT5

Arcade Mode
- Single Player
- Two Player Split Screen

GT Mode
- World Map
- My Garage
- Car Dealer
- Tuning Shop
- Championship Race
- License Test

Online
- Open Lobby
- Text / Voice Chat
- Private Room
- Online Photo Album
- Online Replay Album
- Export of replays to YouTube

Photo Mode
- Photo Drive
- Photo Stage

Gran Turismo TV
- Improved UI
- Export of video to the PSP
- Progressive downloading

Current Track List

Confirmed
- Indianapolis
- Nurburgring
- High Speed Ring
- Daytona
- Suzuka
- Fuji
- Tsukaba
- London
- Madrid
- Rome
- Eiger
- Tokyo Route 246
- Rally Toscana
- Top Gear Test Track
- Unnamed 458 Track
- Unnamed FT86 Track
- Unnamed Ferrari California Track

Not only is Halo 2.5: ODST already being discounted $10 but Forza 2.5 has failed to gain any momentum despite being weeks away from release and the 360 Elite Modern Warfare 2 “meh-gaton” seems to be a complete failure.

The year of the PS3 continues…

Keep your eyes on SDF throughout the holiday season for unbiased, real-time sales data.

“Forza 3 is easily outclassed by the excellent damage modeling of DiRT 2 and even Need for Speed: Shift. Specifically, cars tend to sport the same generic “scratch” and “scuff” textures when they’re hit, and dent deforming seems limited, as well.” – 1up

“For a game so dedicated to all things automotive to slip in the cockpit is seriously disappointing, and part of what I see as a larger problem with presentation.” – Gamespy

“The achievements in Forza 3 are frankly quite boring. Easy, but super boring.” – Xbox 360 Achievements

“The game comes with a second disc filled with 100 more cars and 29 new tracks. That’s nice. However, it requires a 2GB install. Those without HDs are screwed…” – Games Radar

“Visual car damage might also be an issue for some, with the damage model used here nowhere near as dynamic as that found in the likes of Burnout Paradise or DIRT 2″ – VideoGamer

“Cockpit views are modeled for each car, but they aren’t quite as stunning as in Need for Speed SHIFT.” – GameTrailers

“The car interiors too, disappointingly, look a bit too grey and plastic-y. Forza 3 certainly doesn’t live up to Gran Turismo in the in-game visual stakes.” – CVG

Apparently the 1 million polygons promised are located beneath the car?

After a solid week of playtime I feel the Forza 3 Demo is ready for review.  I’d like to start off with the bad because I want this review will be generally positive and free of bias.

The Bad:
- The graphics have not been upgraded at all from Forza 2.  In fact I had to double check and make sure I didn’t download the Forza 2 demo by mistake.
- The UI is actually worse in Forza 3  as it’s much, much more cumbersome and takes awhile to get used to.
- The driving model is far more arcadey than I’d like for a sim game and it felt very stiff and sluggish.  Imagine playing Rad Racer for the NES but all the cars were underwater and it looked like a Saturday morning cartoon.
- The much hyped “tire physics” left a lot to be desired.  And by “a lot to be desired” i mean non-existent.
- Only 8 cars on screen all of which have very, very low polygon counts.
- Aliasing and shimmering across the board.  Think Forza 2 but with a more stale color palette.
- Sounds are muddled and not realistic at all.

The Good:
+ It was free.

The Conclusion:
Perhaps the final game will come with an entirely new graphics, physics and sound engine before it’s released.   If not, Turn 10 has still built a very competent Xbox 1-era sim racer but I’m not sure if that’s enough anymore.  With GT5:Prologue (PS3) and NFS:Shift (PS3) out right now it’s hard to even justify the free download.

SDF Score:  1/10

Forza 2.1 confirmed?  Is this an overpriced expansion pack ala ODST?  SDF will try to get to the bottom of this.

As for the new car, will have representation in vogue the hybrids. Also present will first legendary brands like Lamborghini and Bugatti. Until we have cars from NASCAR and World Rally. Speaking of NASCAR, Yamauchi noted that the deformation and damage in these high-speed races will be absolutely amazing and true to life, with turns, spins, roll, and so on. We will have to see to believe.

Then took a look at another set of game features that he says make Gran Turismo what is today a reference in the world of driving simulations. Arcade and story modes are the same as previous versions, but taken to the next generation. That is, new graphics, new physics, new details. In the shop there will be many parties to improve your cars. The creator was particularly proud of this facet of The Game. We commented that he can change almost every imaginable piece of the vehicle. Not just the typical sections of the engine, brakes, etc. ..

The online mode will have full support. The development team has focused a lot on this. There will be private rooms where you can connect with other players and tournaments closed set, for example. With regard to the shooting mode, Yamauchi told us that this feature, present from Gran Turismo 4 has been improved greatly. It can take pictures at any moment of the race, as well as specially prepared scenarios for this need. We were reminded that the improvement in the modeling (both circuit and car) will thus a delight for fans. On the technical side we said that the photos have a resolution of 8 megapixels.

After the lecture, the lights went to witness in all its splendor the trailer unpublished announced that no one outside those walls had seen so far. It was a moment of excitement because, obviously, everyone wanted to see the deformation and damage.

The video begins with a street circuit and with electronic music in the background. Then we can see the cars, especially new ones at its best going around the track, the GT style of life. We see cars NASCAR, rally, Lamborghinis and Bugattis. We see the pits in full and frenetic action. The images come from the replay mode. We run at night. The modeling is clearly at the level expected. And finally we see the first deformation and cracks on cars. There are a few shouts of excitement among those present. They are short but intense second accident. A lack of a better word, awesome.

We also see a Ferrari with a big city in the background. The camera rises to give a more global perspective. The video ends. The truth is that we are left wanting more. A little short, but intense. When just the trailer, the media present burst into applause greeting. Yamauchi, amid which he said are still working on the night mode to make it as realistic as possible. Not a word of deformations. “I’ll ask after the interview, I thought to myself.

To summarize:
- Day/Night cycles
- Very impressive damage models already
- Totally new physics engine
- Intensive work in the damage/physics/collisions interaction right now
- When the interviewer ask Yamauchi “if knowing his love for perfection, we could hope for perfect collisions, damage and physics associated,” Yamauchi responded:  “YES, EXPECT PERFECTION.”

One must wonder though, how could the physics could get any better than what we’ve already seen in Forza 3…

New screens/previews/interviews:
• new screenshots
• Gameblog.fr studio tour
• jvn.com interview (interviewer here is professional racer Benoît Tréluyer!)
• Joystiq interview (motion controller)
• Gamespot Q&A

New facts:
• European/USA release still unknown
• damage will be improved
• day/night cycle is in
• rain is in
• a very precise G-force meter is in (see jvn.com video)
• tire wear & tire temperature are in
• no plans for motion controller support
• they are working on something with the PlayStation Eye, can’t go into detail yet

Interview:

>> Is there still a chance for a Christmas release ?
To answer your question, it’s not delayed. We never officially announced it for 2009. But I understand you’re dissappointed.

>> How far is the game ?
The game is finished if all you want to do is take a car and drive. But for the actual game experience, we’re at 65%

>> I tried the demo, the cars don’t fully deform. Not even when crashing really hard.
We’re still working on that. We still have a lot of work to do in that department.

>> What about online ? Will there be race events like in Prologue ?
Prologue worked like an open match. In GT5, there will be private zones for your friends.

>> Will there be more series other than NASCAR and GT500* What about F1 ?
I have always wanted as much championships in the game as possible. That’s why we now have Nascar and WRC. But I want all of them.
It’s difficult to get all the F1 teams.

>> What about other single seaters ?
Possible.

>> Have you seen Forza 3 ? What do you think of the game ? Have you played it ? Did you take notes or stay focused on GT ?
Our challenge is to improve every GT based on the previous release. But competition is good.

>> Earlier I saw an interesting G-force graphic. Will that be in the final game ?
Do you want it in ?

>> Yes
Then I’ll leave it in.

Nothing more needs to be said… really.