[typing]
Here's something I never thought would happen:
a Forza racing game on the PC,
arriving in the form of Forza Motorsport 6: Apex,
or as I like to call it,
Forza 6: Compromise.
It's a cut-down, free-to-play remix of the main game from Xbox One.
That's right! You can play it at no charge,
so long as you don't mind microtransactions
and it being tied to Windows 10 and the store that comes with it.
To some, that alone is a cost too high to even consider this game,
but, if you can tolerate making a deal with the devil, so to speak,
then let's dive right into it.
Allow me to get this out of the way first, though,
if you've played Forza 6 for any length of time,
you really don't have much reason to play Apex.
Other than as a novelty, of course,
because just seeing a Forza game running on a PC is neat.
It also plays surprisingly well with a keyboard,
with just a few assists turned on to make it a bit more approachable.
But there are far fewer cars and tracks,
a nearly complete lack of customization options,
no multiplayer modes,
no collectible mod cards,
very few career options,
and there's no steering wheel support.
Of course, it's worth noting that what I'm playing here is still a beta version,
and they promised that wheel support and more content is coming in the future.
Still, as far as content goes, you're not missing anything of note in Apex
when compared to the full Xbox One game.
So, other than the fact that this one's free,
the biggest difference here is the fact that
it can take full advantage of DirectX-capable hardware on the PC.
That means unlocked frame rates, 4K resolution, more detailed tracks,
and improvements to things like reflections and lighting.
It also has this setting that lets the game adjust the graphical options on-the-fly
to achieve a smooth frame rate.
Pretty convenient. I wish more games had that as an option.
But even on ultra settings, it's nothing shockingly different
as the game was already friggin' gorgeous on Xbox One,
running at 1080p at 60 FPS even on there.
But man, if you've got the hardware and the display to take advantage of this
running at 4K, it's pretty phenomenal to look at.
But it's not the graphics that have kept me playing
Forza Motorsport since the series began!
It's the driving model, the car and track selection,
and the obsessive customization.
But let's address each of these,
starting with the driving model,
which as far as I can tell
is completely intact.
Granted I wasn't playing it with a steering wheel,
since I can't yet,
but with an Xbox One pad, I was perfectly at home.
In fact, some of the menu and button prompts are still expecting a gamepad,
and freak out with a mouse and keyboard,
so I don't imagine they changed much in this regard.
What *has* changed
is the shockingly low car and track count
compared to the main game,
with only 63 cars and six track locations to choose from.
[chuckles] It's probably still more than Forza 5 had.
Well, anyway, they promised more cars and tracks
on the way for Apex in the future,
but keep in mind this is a free-to-play game,
which in this day and age means microtransactions.
Each new car costs 99 cents to purchase,
and there's no word on what tracks might cost yet.
You're also able to unlock these cars and stuff
through playing the game's Showcase Tour career mode and daily racing events
which just tosses most of the cars your way for free anyway.
But there are more that you'll have to unlock using the in-game currency,
and the number of these credits that you earn is pretty low.
The Showcase Tour career–
which isn't really a career, so maybe I shouldn't call it that–
Uh, the "shlerbnu" only features twelve races,
and after that you either have to play the shlerbnu over and over,
or hope there's something good in the daily challenge list.
Outside of the shlerbnu and daily events, there's also Free Race mode,
which let's you race any track you've got unlocked,
but just don't expect to earn any credits.
Lastly, there's the customization,
and by that, I mean the fact that it isn't there!
You can paint the cars using the same basic system as Forza 6, but
the iconic livery editor is entirely absent.
Any logos, stripes, or designs that you see on the vehicles in this footage
is just the default livery each one comes with.
Beyond that, the garage has also been removed,
meaning that you can't swap engines or performance parts,
perform weight reductions,
customize wheels or body kits or anything like that.
It's a base paint coat or nothing.
At least you can still make things in wood grain. That's good.
The only thing they've left in is the tuning menu,
which is far less appealing without the ability to swap out each part on your car.
I love the fact that Forza is finally on the platform,
but it's a shame that it comes at the cost of missing such a ridiculous amount
of what makes Forza such an engaging game series to begin with.
And yes, it's a free-to-play beta thing,
so that forgives a few of its sins, I guess, but
that doesn't completely excuse the fact that the content on offer is paltry,
and as a PC user, I feel a tad slighted.
I don't mean that I'm offended by its very existence,
it's just that on the PC where you have plenty of
awesome, detailed racing sims already,
there's only so much that Apex offers.
Now that's not to say it's garbage either. Not at all!
What little content they do include is excellent.
It's Forza. It's got the cool rain effects
and the awesome cars, and the
"Top Gear" promotional stuff mixed in there, and some
Matt Farah smoking tire things.
I mean, it's, it's car people stuff.
It's still good!
And there's nothing stopping someone from replaying the same six tracks on all of their configurations
and using each of the 63 cars and trucks
So, if you're not easily bored by repetitious environments and a lack of customization,
then great!
This is especially true if you've never played the full game,
you're probably gonna get a good bit of enjoyment from this.
But as a long-time fan of the series and
someone that's put a hundred hours just into Forza 6,
it's missing what I feel to be its heart and soul,
what makes Forza Motorsport as a series stand apart.
Without my own menagerie of personalized cars,
it's tougher to build a relationship with them.
And with only six track locations,
all of which I've already played a ton in the full game,
I feel quickly constrained.
Plus, microtransactions.
Man, this screws with the entire progression system in a big way.
However, if you've got a capable PC and Windows 10,
this is a free alternative that succeeds in looking amazing
and playing just as well as its console counterpart.
And that counts for something, I'll give it that,
and perhaps it'll lead to a more complete experience on the PC in the future.
I just wish we didn't have to compromise so much
to experience it now.
Greetings! You're still here. I'm still here too.
Well, good!
If you enjoyed this video,
why not click some of these and see some more
or subscribe to be notified when there's more in the future, Mondays and Fridays
here on LGR.
And, uh, you know, I don't have much else to say,
except that I like Forza Motorsport.
I probably should have reviewed some of the others by now, but– [chuckles]
I've been too busy playing them over the years to bother reviewing them, if that makes sense.
Anyway, thank you very much for watching.