Two of the largest racing franchises are getting ready to release new games in their series: Forza Motorsport with Forza Horizon, and Need for Speed (NFS) with Need for Speed Most Wanted. Both franchises promise that their game is loaded to the core with famous gameplay features, as well as introducing new features. But the question is, which game stand above the other as the greatest racing game of the year?

The first of these two games to come out is Forza Horizon. The key selling point of the Forza franchise is the realism to their driving mechanic, always a staple feature in the games.

Developed by a different company, Playground Games, Forza Horizon looks to expand upon the series with some new features that have never been seen in any of the past Forza games. Horizon introduces an open world environment that lets players free roam around the map to explore or drive from race to race. The game further expands the car selection and customization; building on Forza’s vast collection of the hottest and most popular cars around, including Aston Martins, BMWs, Ferraris, and many others.

Horizon also has an online mode in which players can challenge their friends to races. “King” and “Infection” are two multiplayer modes that incorporate the open world environment. These two game modes and many other returning online matches will push the limits of the player as they compete to be the best against other human players.

Forza Horizon looks to be a promising installment to the Forza Motorsport franchise, but will the open world environment add to the Forza experience or will it hinder the design and gameplay of the series?

The week following the release of Forza Horizon, the NFS series will be coming out with Need for Speed Most Wanted. Most Wanted is a high definition comeback to the NFS Most Wanted game previously released back in 2005. With the success of the reboot of NFS Hot Pursuit by Criterion Games, the developer has been signed on once again to develop Most Wanted.

The game lives up to what the original version was like, with the addition of the Autolog from Hot Pursuit. Autolog 2 is advertised as a new means of online play in which it gives the player a more personalized and customizable means of online interaction. Autolog 2 for Most Wanted takes the online features from Hot Pursuit and expands them even further by letting players customize their broadcast feeds and recommendations for challenge and competition updates.

But the key feature advertised for Most Wanted is survival. As a staple for most NFS games, drivers must not only race against others in high speed races, but must also survive against waves of cops trying to shut down the race. But the police don’t only pursuit the driver in races, they are also on full force in the free roam mode.

Most Wanted looks to be a grand revival of its predecessor as well as a more advanced update to the new features that were added in Hot Pursuit. But will this high octane adrenaline rush be able to compete with the realism of Forza Motorsport’s newest installment? The important thing to understand is what the two franchises push for in their games. Forza focuses on the realism of racing and pushes the boundaries with the feel and look of the cars that most racing games don’t dwell too much into, while Need for Speed is all about intense arcade racing action.

Both franchises are looking to take their genres of racing to whole new levels. With Forza Horizon coming out October 23, and Need for Speed Most Wanted coming out October 30, players will choose for themselves which game will come out on top.

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About the author

David Sklepko
I am a Student of Anthropology at the University of South Florida. I have many interests in arts and entertainment as well as the culture of societies and how they influence various forms of entertainment.

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