Mother’s Day, the release of the Avengers, the Indy 500, and my birthday all happen in the only three lettered month of the year which make’s May very, important. Today Turn 10 Studios just gave us another reason to look forward to next month as that is when the Top Gear DLC pack will be released on Xbox live! Cool right?! Unfortunately there are no two-engined limos or amphibious RVs in the 10 car pack but we do get the hopelessly fast Hennesy Venom GT and the immense awesomness of the Ford Transit Van! Yes the transit is finally coming to Forza! Can you imagine playing Top Gear soccer with that? You won’t have to imagine much longer as the Top Gear pack comes out on May 1st for 560 Microsoft Points AKA 7 bucks. Scroll below for the full car list and official trailer
This is just a quick heads up to visit your local bookstore (before it goes out of business) and buy the new Top Gear Portfolio for 2012. It is filled with amazing photography of beautiful cars as well as a few extra tidbits. If you like looking at awesome pictures of fresh cars then this will be totally worth the 20 price tag.
P.S. I was at my local Barnes & Noble when I saw this, hence the sub-par cell phone shot.
If loving cars is a religon then Top Gear is our bible and James May, Richard Hammond, and Jeremy Clarkson are our three wisemen. Blasphomey aside, Top Gear really is an insitution for lovers of all things automotive. For years Captian Slow, Hamster, and Jezza have entertained us with their ridiculous stunts and got us talking with their reviews of everything from million dollar supercars to the latest econobox from Brand X car company. In return fans would love to get their hands on damn near anything with the Top Gear logo on it. Top Gear UK goods are tricky to get, mostly because they have to come from the UK but they will be an instant hit with the car lover in your life and if you are the car lover writing your list and you haven’t included any Top Gear swag in your list yet then slap yourself in the face and correct the problem. Some quick easy to get hints would be DVDs of any of the Top Gear seasons. They are easy enough to find on BestBuy.com or Amazon.com and they range between 20-50 bucks.
We realize this is late we have finally put together our review of Forza Motorsport 4! We put together a video review so feel free to scroll down below and watch. If for some reason you’d rather read then below the video is the entire transcript of the review. If you want the quick answer: BUY THIS GAME!
By now you should have noticed one very important thing about this review. It is very, very late. This is mostly because the day after we got our review copy of the game our Xbox red-ring’d. No matter though, we still wanted to give this game its due time. So, you know why this review is late and we know why you are even watching this review in the first place. By now you already know about the overhauled graphics engine, the integration of tire data from Pirelli to improve the physics, the collaboration with Top Gear, world tour mode, and the enhanced community features like rivals mode and car clubs . The fact that you know about all of this and yet you are still watching a review can only mean one thing: despite all of that you still haven’t bought the game yet. Perhaps you need just one more opinion to put you on one side of the fence or the other? Well we are prepared to offer that to you now.
Even though it says “Forza Motorsport 4” on the cover of the game we think it should really say “Forza Motorsport 4.0.” Why? Forza Motorsport 4 is not a sequel. It does not “continue” where something else left off. It does not need a primer or a recap of the events before for you to understand what it is. What Forza 4 is, is an evolution of a concept. When the first Forza Motorsport game was released many gave it the rather mundane label of Microsoft’s answer to Sony’s Gran Turismo and that Forza would try its best to be the ultimate driving simulator. However if you are lucky enough spend more than 5 minutes talking to Turn 10 Studios creative director Dan Greenawalt you will soon learn that the real intentions for Forza Motorsport go far beyond the goal of “ultimate driving simulator”. What Turn 10 wanted when they began developing Forza was to create a virtual utopia for serious gear-heads and a gateway drug for gear-heads-to-be. They probably did not know how they were going to get Forza Motorsport to that point but their determination to get there made the “how” irrelevant.
I say this because Forza Motorsport 4 is “it”. It is where Dan and Turn 10 have been trying to get to all along. Forza Motorsport 4 has everything that was great about the iterations that came before it plus more. There is more depth, more innovation, more substance, and more incentive for lovers of all things automotive to turn on their Xboxes and be magically whisked away to a land where they can answer questions like “How fast can I go on the Top Gear test track in the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport?” or “What is it like to sit in a Lamborghini Reventon?” Answers to those types of questions are invaluable to people like us, and yet they all await us on a pair of plastic discs. Beyond the answers to epic questions Forza Motorsport 4 has tons of small nuances that keep the player coming back for more but our favorite thing about the game has to be Autovista mode. Turn 10 has literally created a new way for the casual observer to not just learn more about cars but to learn about “special cars”, the type of cars that hard-core enthusiasts discuss and argue about. A whole new generation of young people will learn the story of the DeLorean and why the Ferrari 599 GTO is terrifying. And they get to learn all this, from Jeremy Clarkson. That fact can be either magnificent or sobering depending on who you are but there it is.
We could end this review by telling you how much better Forza 4 looks compared to the previous versions, how the physics are greatly improved, how the new community features give the game more depth than before, or how Autovista mode is a revelation in automotive education. Instead we will just answer the question that was in your mind when you first clicked play to watch this review. Yes, Forza Motorsport 4 is everything that everyone says it is. Yes, this game should be on your Christmas list. Yes, you should buy an Xbox just for this game. Yes, Forza Motorsport 4 is worth the Hype.
America is a pretty awesome country. Although we have to admit that there are some awesome things in the world that we just can’t get in America, like the Top Gear Live show. If you don’t already know about Top Gear Live it is a live show that literally takes the British hoonage from the show and brings it to a massive live audience and typically involves stunts and other displaces of motor-madness.
In the past these events were always done outside at a race track or really large lot but today it was announced that the next two Top Gear Live events will both be in doors and will feature in-door stadium style tracks designed by Group Lotus (who also designed the famous Top Gear Test Track used on the U.K. show). Also, just like the show the corners will be named but the BBC will give fans the chance to name one of the corners via an online poll/contest.
We would love to check out one of these events someday. Maybe Top Gear USA will gain enough popularity to convince the BBC and History channel to try and pull off a Top Gear Live USA event in the future? I guess we will just have to wait and see. In the meantime if you want more info on the U.K. events you can click the thumbnails below for renderings of the tracks and check out the official press release.
Top Gear Live is developing an indoor track extravaganza in partnership with Group Lotus Motorsport, designers of the original Top Gear test-track. The track will be the central feature of its all-new Top Gear Live event running from 11-13 November at NEC Birmingham and 24-27 November at ExCeL London.
Top Gear favourites including German race sensation Sabine Schmitz and Tiff Needell will join five-time Le Mans winner, Derek Bell, and an extensive list of other celebrity guests, drivers and presenters on track at the two events.
The all-new track element will feature power laps by Top Gear’s very own tame racing driver The Stig as well as challenges for presenters Clarkson, Hammond and May. And, of course, there will be a host of celebrities vying for the top spot in Top Gear Live’s very own Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
The tracks have been configured to enable all manner of driving disciplines during a full programme of incredible action. These will include head-to-head challenges, power testing and time trials, ensuring there’s plenty of live action throughout the event.
The tracks have been named ‘Docklands GP’ (ExCeL track) and ‘B20 Raceway’ (NEC track), and visitors can get a preview of what is waiting for them at the show with both track layouts available to see at www.topgearlive.co.uk. In the tradition of the Top Gear track’s ‘Hammerhead’ and ‘Gambon’ corners, these custom-built indoor tracks will also have named corners and Top Gear Live fans will have the opportunity to name one of the corners at each track in a competition launching next week via facebook.com/TopGearLiveUK
Gavan Kershaw, Engineering Manager at Group Lotus Motorsport said: “We’re enjoying the challenge of working with the Top Gear Live team to design two tracks that are both exciting and credible for this event.
“We believe the end result will ensure an awesome experience for both the drivers and spectators with plenty of noise and burning rubber!“
In addition to the interactive on-track activity, there will be supercar parades featuring iconic models such as the new McLaren MP4-12C, Lamborghini Aventador and Ferrari 599 GTO, as well as legendary group B rally cars and a celebration of F1 past and present, all live on the track. All this will be supported by fantastic challenges and cars modified beyond recognition – synonymous with Top Gear!
This year’s Top Gear Live is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors keen to see the world-famous presenters, guest drivers and celebrities in action and take part in this true celebration of all things motoring. Visitors are encouraged to book early so as not to miss the most exciting event on this year’s entertainment and motoring calendar.
To celebrate the E3 2011 reveal of Forza Motorsport 4 the guys at Turn 10 Studios took over the event deck at LA Live for a massive party. There were top notch cars every where you turn including the first Gumpert Apollo which took a short outing from the CEC West LA show room to come to the party. One of the highlights was the debut of the Top Gear test track in Forza 4. The Turn 10 Crew brought over a hydraulic motion rig, set up a lap time board, and party goers were challenged to post up their best lap time in a Kia Cee’d. Every 30 minutes the fastest lap holder would win a special Stig prize pack that included a messenger bag full of Top Gear DVDs, Stig Alpinestars racing gloves, a “I am The Stig” shirt, and a Meguiars car care kit. Once everyone posted up their lap times the crowd was treated by an impromptu appearance by The Stig himself! After The Stig had a riveting interview with MC Tommy Kendall party goers were treated to a live set by Mix Master Mike and Travis Barker!
While the party was going on I managed to pull John Wendl (content director for Turn 10 Studios) to talk about all the new feature we can expect in Forza Motorsport 4 when it comes out this fall. Just scroll down for a few party pics (more in our Facebook Gallery) and the interview.
Last night the guys at Turn 10 Studios threw a massive party to celebrate Forza Motorsport 4but before that the MC of the party Tommy Kendall stopped by the Xbox booth at E3 2011 to try his hand at the game himself. They say that those who are good at racing games would probably do well racing in real life, but judging by the video below I don’t think that works in reverse! In a display of bravado that could only come from a real race car driver Tommy turned off all the driving assists, however for a bit of insurance he kept his competitors on easy mode. Yet, that still couldn’t save him from finishing in last place!
After E3 came to a close that day Tommy headed over to the Forza 4 party where he played host. During the festivities party goers were joined via television by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson who introduced a very special guest, The Stig!. Master Of Ceremonies Tommy Kendall attempted to get an interview with Top Gears tame racing driver but it did not go so well.
Check out TK’s go at Forza 4 and his attempted interview with The Stig in the videos below!
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