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The Horizon festival arrives down under and you have been given a fast track promotion from participant to bring the boss. Fortunately you can leave all the boardroom meetings to your assistant while you tear around Australia in all manner of flash cars.
Your assistant is on hand to greet you upon your arrival in Australia but it is hard to pay attention to her when there is a trio of supercars behind her. After the pleasantries are out of the way you are let loose behind the wheel and before you know it you are whizzing along the beach. This is swiftly followed by the opening showcase event which sees you racing an army jeep suspended from a helicopter. As far as introductions go, there can’t be many games do it more spectacularly.
Graphically Horizon 3 is an incredibly impressive game. It certainly feels like the introduction is as much to show off the visuals as much as to introduce you to how to play. The setting is more diverse than before; you can be driving along the beach or the dusty trails of the outback, zipping through the city streets or nipping through the trees in the woodland areas before splashing through the river. If all that gets dull then you can be cruising past massive satellite dishes or smashing through a field of solar panels.
The game itself won’t throw up many surprises or too new features from Horizon 2 but it didn’t need an overhaul, this is more of a fine tuning and refinement than a revolution. There are a few new additions but in general, the message Horizon 3 is giving is ‘more’. There is just so much more of everything whether that be the sheer number of events, the variety of landscapes or even the number of roads that need to be driven. But more doesn’t always mean better.
As much as you are the boss this time around, it is still all about the racing. You will be called upon to make a decision on where to open a new site or which site to upgrade but that is as much of the boss role you will have to incur. The Horizon series is all about having fun and you are not going to be bogged down with management tasks.
To get your festival going you need fans. To get fans you need to perform actions which they will enjoy. Everything you do earns fans and to say there is a lot to do is an understatement. At the time of writing the Xbox One is telling me I have spent 48 hours on Horizon 3 and yet my map is still littered with things to do.
The races see you and 11 drivatars go head to head. As before these are either lap based or point to point. There is nothing new there but what has been added is the choices you make for a race. You can either take part in a one event exhibition race or a 3 to 4 race championship. To clear those icons off your map, you will need to do both. There is also a VS mode where you can get to race the track against a ghost of one of your friends. And if you don’t actually approve of the car category yourself then why not change it - you are the boss afterall. You can customise the events and this will then be available for your Xbox friends to also play.
When you reach the desired number of fans then you’ll get to experience the highlight of Horizon, the Showcase events. You are given your first experience in the introduction but there are a few more to be enjoyed. Again, nothing drastically different to what you will have seen in Horizon 2 but no less enjoyable. Naturally racing a hot air balloon is less interesting than jumping over a moving train but all of the events are certainly a spectacle and it can be hard to keep your eyes on the road at time.
The Bucket List events are back and again, more of them. You can also define your own bucket list events, customise the settings and then set the score or time. These events will then become available to the community for all to try.
The non-racing distractions take the form of speed cameras, speed traps, drift zones and jumps. Speed cameras is all about the speed you go past the camera; unlike in real life, faster is better. Speed zones are an average speed between 2 points. The drift zones are point based activities where a score is awarded for drifting. And the jumps will see you propel your expensive car into the air to see how far you can fly. The speed and drifting events can take place on or off road so the choice of car will be crucial here – your supercar isn’t going to perform so well in the dust tracks. The jumps are all about the distance but also the landing. If you hit a tree or land on your roof then the distance is voided.
Buying and selling cars is all the same as before and as usual, there is absolutely no shortage of cars to choose from across a wide range of categories. For those that like to appreciate the car then Forzavista is there to let you study the vehicle inside and out. There is also the photo mode and you’ll be tasked you taking photos of all the cars as you progress.
The bonus boards are scattered about again they seem to be trickier to find than before and in some instances, finding them is only half the problem. For those that like to admire the landscapes then there are 15 beauty spots to find complete with a bit of trivia to go with them. As you progress you will be invited to street races. There are not part of your festival and you’d best bring your quickest car. Barn Finds return with a nice selection of abandoned cars to be found.
For the sociable player there are a few options. You can play the ‘campaign’ in co-op, join a freeroam session or do the adventure mode. The adventure mode sees you take on other players in a 4 stage competition. These events can be fun items such as capture the flag or avoid the infected cars or racing events. As usual in online racing games, it is Demolition Derby stuff. There is also a spot of drag racing where you can find out that your car is a lot slower than you though.
There is certainly plenty to do in single player and multiplayer modes. The game looks great and it plays great too but the trouble I have is that there is so much to do that I have found repetition kicking in. Having maxed out all my festivals, I no longer have any progression to aim for so I am left completing events for the sake of it which makes it all feel a little empty now. As much as there are lots of events, you will find the some sections seem to be used a lot more than others the more you play. I’m not sure where they take a 4th game and perhaps there are some signs that the developer is running out of ideas. If you haven’t played a Horizon game before then add a point onto the score.
8
Your assistant is on hand to greet you upon your arrival in Australia but it is hard to pay attention to her when there is a trio of supercars behind her. After the pleasantries are out of the way you are let loose behind the wheel and before you know it you are whizzing along the beach. This is swiftly followed by the opening showcase event which sees you racing an army jeep suspended from a helicopter. As far as introductions go, there can’t be many games do it more spectacularly.
Graphically Horizon 3 is an incredibly impressive game. It certainly feels like the introduction is as much to show off the visuals as much as to introduce you to how to play. The setting is more diverse than before; you can be driving along the beach or the dusty trails of the outback, zipping through the city streets or nipping through the trees in the woodland areas before splashing through the river. If all that gets dull then you can be cruising past massive satellite dishes or smashing through a field of solar panels.
The game itself won’t throw up many surprises or too new features from Horizon 2 but it didn’t need an overhaul, this is more of a fine tuning and refinement than a revolution. There are a few new additions but in general, the message Horizon 3 is giving is ‘more’. There is just so much more of everything whether that be the sheer number of events, the variety of landscapes or even the number of roads that need to be driven. But more doesn’t always mean better.
As much as you are the boss this time around, it is still all about the racing. You will be called upon to make a decision on where to open a new site or which site to upgrade but that is as much of the boss role you will have to incur. The Horizon series is all about having fun and you are not going to be bogged down with management tasks.
To get your festival going you need fans. To get fans you need to perform actions which they will enjoy. Everything you do earns fans and to say there is a lot to do is an understatement. At the time of writing the Xbox One is telling me I have spent 48 hours on Horizon 3 and yet my map is still littered with things to do.
The races see you and 11 drivatars go head to head. As before these are either lap based or point to point. There is nothing new there but what has been added is the choices you make for a race. You can either take part in a one event exhibition race or a 3 to 4 race championship. To clear those icons off your map, you will need to do both. There is also a VS mode where you can get to race the track against a ghost of one of your friends. And if you don’t actually approve of the car category yourself then why not change it - you are the boss afterall. You can customise the events and this will then be available for your Xbox friends to also play.
When you reach the desired number of fans then you’ll get to experience the highlight of Horizon, the Showcase events. You are given your first experience in the introduction but there are a few more to be enjoyed. Again, nothing drastically different to what you will have seen in Horizon 2 but no less enjoyable. Naturally racing a hot air balloon is less interesting than jumping over a moving train but all of the events are certainly a spectacle and it can be hard to keep your eyes on the road at time.
The Bucket List events are back and again, more of them. You can also define your own bucket list events, customise the settings and then set the score or time. These events will then become available to the community for all to try.
The non-racing distractions take the form of speed cameras, speed traps, drift zones and jumps. Speed cameras is all about the speed you go past the camera; unlike in real life, faster is better. Speed zones are an average speed between 2 points. The drift zones are point based activities where a score is awarded for drifting. And the jumps will see you propel your expensive car into the air to see how far you can fly. The speed and drifting events can take place on or off road so the choice of car will be crucial here – your supercar isn’t going to perform so well in the dust tracks. The jumps are all about the distance but also the landing. If you hit a tree or land on your roof then the distance is voided.
Buying and selling cars is all the same as before and as usual, there is absolutely no shortage of cars to choose from across a wide range of categories. For those that like to appreciate the car then Forzavista is there to let you study the vehicle inside and out. There is also the photo mode and you’ll be tasked you taking photos of all the cars as you progress.
The bonus boards are scattered about again they seem to be trickier to find than before and in some instances, finding them is only half the problem. For those that like to admire the landscapes then there are 15 beauty spots to find complete with a bit of trivia to go with them. As you progress you will be invited to street races. There are not part of your festival and you’d best bring your quickest car. Barn Finds return with a nice selection of abandoned cars to be found.
For the sociable player there are a few options. You can play the ‘campaign’ in co-op, join a freeroam session or do the adventure mode. The adventure mode sees you take on other players in a 4 stage competition. These events can be fun items such as capture the flag or avoid the infected cars or racing events. As usual in online racing games, it is Demolition Derby stuff. There is also a spot of drag racing where you can find out that your car is a lot slower than you though.
There is certainly plenty to do in single player and multiplayer modes. The game looks great and it plays great too but the trouble I have is that there is so much to do that I have found repetition kicking in. Having maxed out all my festivals, I no longer have any progression to aim for so I am left completing events for the sake of it which makes it all feel a little empty now. As much as there are lots of events, you will find the some sections seem to be used a lot more than others the more you play. I’m not sure where they take a 4th game and perhaps there are some signs that the developer is running out of ideas. If you haven’t played a Horizon game before then add a point onto the score.
8
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The Horizon festival arrives down under and you have been given a fast track promotion from participant to bring the boss. Fortunately you can leave all the boardroom meetings to your assistant while you tear around Australia in all manner of flash cars.
Your assistant is on hand to greet you upon your arrival in Australia but it is hard to pay attention to her when there is a trio of supercars behind her. After the pleasantries are out of the way you are let loose behind the wheel and before you know it you are whizzing along the beach. This is swiftly followed by the opening showcase event which sees you racing an army jeep suspended from a helicopter. As far as introductions go, there can’t be many games do it more spectacularly.
Graphically Horizon 3 is an incredibly impressive game. It certainly feels like the introduction is as much to show off the visuals as much as to introduce you to how to play. The setting is more diverse than before; you can be driving along the beach or the dusty trails of the outback, zipping through the city streets or nipping through the trees in the woodland areas before splashing through the river. If all that gets dull then you can be cruising past massive satellite dishes or smashing through a field of solar panels.
The game itself won’t throw up many surprises or too new features from Horizon 2 but it didn’t need an overhaul, this is more of a fine tuning and refinement than a revolution. There are a few new additions but in general, the message Horizon 3 is giving is ‘more’. There is just so much more of everything whether that be the sheer number of events, the variety of landscapes or even the number of roads that need to be driven. But more doesn’t always mean better.
As much as you are the boss this time around, it is still all about the racing. You will be called upon to make a decision on where to open a new site or which site to upgrade but that is as much of the boss role you will have to incur. The Horizon series is all about having fun and you are not going to be bogged down with management tasks.
To get your festival going you need fans. To get fans you need to perform actions which they will enjoy. Everything you do earns fans and to say there is a lot to do is an understatement. At the time of writing the Xbox One is telling me I have spent 48 hours on Horizon 3 and yet my map is still littered with things to do.
The races see you and 11 drivatars go head to head. As before these are either lap based or point to point. There is nothing new there but what has been added is the choices you make for a race. You can either take part in a one event exhibition race or a 3 to 4 race championship. To clear those icons off your map, you will need to do both. There is also a VS mode where you can get to race the track against a ghost of one of your friends. And if you don’t actually approve of the car category yourself then why not change it - you are the boss afterall. You can customise the events and this will then be available for your Xbox friends to also play.
When you reach the desired number of fans then you’ll get to experience the highlight of Horizon, the Showcase events. You are given your first experience in the introduction but there are a few more to be enjoyed. Again, nothing drastically different to what you will have seen in Horizon 2 but no less enjoyable. Naturally racing a hot air balloon is less interesting than jumping over a moving train but all of the events are certainly a spectacle and it can be hard to keep your eyes on the road at time.
The Bucket List events are back and again, more of them. You can also define your own bucket list events, customise the settings and then set the score or time. These events will then become available to the community for all to try.
The non-racing distractions take the form of speed cameras, speed traps, drift zones and jumps. Speed cameras is all about the speed you go past the camera; unlike in real life, faster is better. Speed zones are an average speed between 2 points. The drift zones are point based activities where a score is awarded for drifting. And the jumps will see you propel your expensive car into the air to see how far you can fly. The speed and drifting events can take place on or off road so the choice of car will be crucial here – your supercar isn’t going to perform so well in the dust tracks. The jumps are all about the distance but also the landing. If you hit a tree or land on your roof then the distance is voided.
Buying and selling cars is all the same as before and as usual, there is absolutely no shortage of cars to choose from across a wide range of categories. For those that like to appreciate the car then Forzavista is there to let you study the vehicle inside and out. There is also the photo mode and you’ll be tasked you taking photos of all the cars as you progress.
The bonus boards are scattered about again they seem to be trickier to find than before and in some instances, finding them is only half the problem. For those that like to admire the landscapes then there are 15 beauty spots to find complete with a bit of trivia to go with them. As you progress you will be invited to street races. There are not part of your festival and you’d best bring your quickest car. Barn Finds return with a nice selection of abandoned cars to be found.
For the sociable player there are a few options. You can play the ‘campaign’ in co-op, join a freeroam session or do the adventure mode. The adventure mode sees you take on other players in a 4 stage competition. These events can be fun items such as capture the flag or avoid the infected cars or racing events. As usual in online racing games, it is Demolition Derby stuff. There is also a spot of drag racing where you can find out that your car is a lot slower than you though.
There is certainly plenty to do in single player and multiplayer modes. The game looks great and it plays great too but the trouble I have is that there is so much to do that I have found repetition kicking in. Having maxed out all my festivals, I no longer have any progression to aim for so I am left completing events for the sake of it which makes it all feel a little empty now. As much as there are lots of events, you will find the some sections seem to be used a lot more than others the more you play. I’m not sure where they take a 4th game and perhaps there are some signs that the developer is running out of ideas. If you haven’t played a Horizon game before then add a point onto the score.
8
Your assistant is on hand to greet you upon your arrival in Australia but it is hard to pay attention to her when there is a trio of supercars behind her. After the pleasantries are out of the way you are let loose behind the wheel and before you know it you are whizzing along the beach. This is swiftly followed by the opening showcase event which sees you racing an army jeep suspended from a helicopter. As far as introductions go, there can’t be many games do it more spectacularly.
Graphically Horizon 3 is an incredibly impressive game. It certainly feels like the introduction is as much to show off the visuals as much as to introduce you to how to play. The setting is more diverse than before; you can be driving along the beach or the dusty trails of the outback, zipping through the city streets or nipping through the trees in the woodland areas before splashing through the river. If all that gets dull then you can be cruising past massive satellite dishes or smashing through a field of solar panels.
The game itself won’t throw up many surprises or too new features from Horizon 2 but it didn’t need an overhaul, this is more of a fine tuning and refinement than a revolution. There are a few new additions but in general, the message Horizon 3 is giving is ‘more’. There is just so much more of everything whether that be the sheer number of events, the variety of landscapes or even the number of roads that need to be driven. But more doesn’t always mean better.
As much as you are the boss this time around, it is still all about the racing. You will be called upon to make a decision on where to open a new site or which site to upgrade but that is as much of the boss role you will have to incur. The Horizon series is all about having fun and you are not going to be bogged down with management tasks.
To get your festival going you need fans. To get fans you need to perform actions which they will enjoy. Everything you do earns fans and to say there is a lot to do is an understatement. At the time of writing the Xbox One is telling me I have spent 48 hours on Horizon 3 and yet my map is still littered with things to do.
The races see you and 11 drivatars go head to head. As before these are either lap based or point to point. There is nothing new there but what has been added is the choices you make for a race. You can either take part in a one event exhibition race or a 3 to 4 race championship. To clear those icons off your map, you will need to do both. There is also a VS mode where you can get to race the track against a ghost of one of your friends. And if you don’t actually approve of the car category yourself then why not change it - you are the boss afterall. You can customise the events and this will then be available for your Xbox friends to also play.
When you reach the desired number of fans then you’ll get to experience the highlight of Horizon, the Showcase events. You are given your first experience in the introduction but there are a few more to be enjoyed. Again, nothing drastically different to what you will have seen in Horizon 2 but no less enjoyable. Naturally racing a hot air balloon is less interesting than jumping over a moving train but all of the events are certainly a spectacle and it can be hard to keep your eyes on the road at time.
The Bucket List events are back and again, more of them. You can also define your own bucket list events, customise the settings and then set the score or time. These events will then become available to the community for all to try.
The non-racing distractions take the form of speed cameras, speed traps, drift zones and jumps. Speed cameras is all about the speed you go past the camera; unlike in real life, faster is better. Speed zones are an average speed between 2 points. The drift zones are point based activities where a score is awarded for drifting. And the jumps will see you propel your expensive car into the air to see how far you can fly. The speed and drifting events can take place on or off road so the choice of car will be crucial here – your supercar isn’t going to perform so well in the dust tracks. The jumps are all about the distance but also the landing. If you hit a tree or land on your roof then the distance is voided.
Buying and selling cars is all the same as before and as usual, there is absolutely no shortage of cars to choose from across a wide range of categories. For those that like to appreciate the car then Forzavista is there to let you study the vehicle inside and out. There is also the photo mode and you’ll be tasked you taking photos of all the cars as you progress.
The bonus boards are scattered about again they seem to be trickier to find than before and in some instances, finding them is only half the problem. For those that like to admire the landscapes then there are 15 beauty spots to find complete with a bit of trivia to go with them. As you progress you will be invited to street races. There are not part of your festival and you’d best bring your quickest car. Barn Finds return with a nice selection of abandoned cars to be found.
For the sociable player there are a few options. You can play the ‘campaign’ in co-op, join a freeroam session or do the adventure mode. The adventure mode sees you take on other players in a 4 stage competition. These events can be fun items such as capture the flag or avoid the infected cars or racing events. As usual in online racing games, it is Demolition Derby stuff. There is also a spot of drag racing where you can find out that your car is a lot slower than you though.
There is certainly plenty to do in single player and multiplayer modes. The game looks great and it plays great too but the trouble I have is that there is so much to do that I have found repetition kicking in. Having maxed out all my festivals, I no longer have any progression to aim for so I am left completing events for the sake of it which makes it all feel a little empty now. As much as there are lots of events, you will find the some sections seem to be used a lot more than others the more you play. I’m not sure where they take a 4th game and perhaps there are some signs that the developer is running out of ideas. If you haven’t played a Horizon game before then add a point onto the score.
8