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by Jerry Whorebach 07/18/2011, 2:03am PDT |
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In Forza 2, every car in the game had a "rarity" value. This value determined not how hard the car was to acquire (although it tended to correspond roughly to a car's price relative to others in its class), but rather how many bonus credits you received for winning races with it. The rarest car eligible for an event was seldom the one best suited for it, and most events allowed a spectrum of cars ranging from "common but drivable" to "rare but unwieldy". The easiest way to acquire cars - especially rare ones - was by winning races for which they were awarded as prizes. Thanks to these complexities, an interesting metagame developed: what was the maximum number of credits you could have at the end of the career mode, without grinding - that is to say, by running each race once and only once? You would need to determine which cars provided the maximum payout for each race (and which of those you were actually capable of driving to their limits), which order you would need to complete the races in to win the rare cars you needed to maximize your earnings in completely DIFFERENT races (think finding the right order to tackle the bosses in Mega Man so you can make full use of their special weapons on the other bosses), and which cars you would need to buy outright from the dealership (either because they were necessary for certain races and otherwise unavailable, or because waiting until you eventually won them would cost more in lost bonus credits along the way than you'd pay for them in the first place). Oh, and did I mention a car's rarity value increased with every race it won? All this potential depth, and the best part was, it would be impossible to simply write a guide for someone else to follow, since which races were winnable with which cars would always ultimately come down to your own skills on the track!
Of course, Forza 3 did away with the metagame entirely. Cars are no longer rated for rarity - a car is a car, just use the one you like. Nor are cars still awarded as prizes for tournaments; instead, you unlock them by earning generic experience points and leveling up your driver, so you always get the same ones in the same order (no game was ever improved by becoming less like Mega Man). And of course, the presence of unlimited going back in time potion means that driving ability is no longer the limiting factor it once was. Ultimately, all these seemingly-minor changes add up to a credits system that can no longer be used as an ersatz scoring system, and is instead only useful in its intended role - as an RPG-esque "spoiler" to stop you from acquiring the faster cars before the game decides you're ready for them.
(Just so you don't get the wrong impression, neither game's career mode reflects my personal preference. But if you're going to insist on wrapping a fucking strategic layer around your racing game, it should at least be one that allows some room for actual strategy - even if the player has to add it himself.) |
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Forza 3 isn't a game, it's a toybox full of Hot Wheels. by Jerry Whorebach 07/07/2011, 3:58pm PDT 
What if racing game developers made basketball games? by Jerry Whorebach 07/16/2011, 2:11pm PDT
We've heard you, Jerry. Two words: quicktime events NT by Need for Speed producers 07/16/2011, 3:55pm PDT
Am I stupid for thinking this sounds like a marginally less terrible idea... by Jerry Whorebach 07/16/2011, 5:32pm PDT
I was going to make a joke about him having sex with cars, but he already did by Rafiki 07/16/2011, 8:23pm PDT
Market Research by Microsoft Game Studios 07/17/2011, 1:11am PDT
Why Forza 2 had a better career mode than Forza 3 by Jerry Whorebach 07/18/2011, 2:03am PDT
is it...racing? NT by o_________O 07/18/2011, 8:37am PDT
Hawkman has wings on his helmet to symbolize his wings. by Jerry Whorebach 07/18/2011, 10:38am PDT
Those are failerons NT by laudablepuss 07/18/2011, 3:06pm PDT
It's time for our people to listen to Hawkman again, as Obama has failed. NT by col.schickn 07/18/2011, 9:51pm PDT
Why Forza 3's leaderboards might as well not even exist by Jerry Whorebach 07/18/2011, 9:52pm PDT
Boy, do I feel like an idiot. by Jerry Whorebach 09/01/2011, 3:44pm PDT
Re: Boy, do I feel like an idiot. by laudablepuss 09/01/2011, 11:18pm PDT
No need. I can already predict the first two responses. by Jerry Whorebach 09/02/2011, 3:07am PDT
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