Game Review: Forza Motorsport 6 – A day at the races

Mods are another of Forza 6's key new features. These are cards (for lack of a better word) that you can equip before each race, and come in different categories: Boosts, Crew, and Dares. Boosts are one-time-only modifiers that typically increase the rewards at the end of the race. Crew Mods tweak your car's performance. Dares, however, are arguably the most interesting. Much like Skulls in Halo, Dares provide extra challenge in exchange for extra rewards. A simple Dare just adds more weight to your car, while more involved cards change the camera, locking you to chase cam for example. Mods are restricted to single player, as not to unbalance the multiplayer experience.

In terms of graphics, Forza 6 never ceases to look amazing. I found it a little too easy to get distracted by the game's gorgeous vistas, which resulted in a few unfortunate accidents. More importantly, the game runs at a silky smooth 60 frames per second; I didn't encounter a single performance hitch in my time with it. My only complaint is that load screens occasionally felt a little too long.

Forza 6's career mode – "Stories of Motorsports" can be a little repetitive. For the most part, you're just racing around a specific track. There's five main chapters, each giving you access to a select number of car classes. Chapters are unlocked sequentially, so you might need to grind through quite a few races before you can attempt campaign races with your favourite ride.

While the main career can feel tedious at times, the game's Showcases provide a pleasant diversion. Showcase races are one-off events that offer a bit of twist on the "be the first driver to reach the finish line" formula. These range from simpler challenges such as one-on-one races against the Stig of Top Gear fame, to more involved objectives such as knocking down a certain number of bowling pins as you hoon around a circuit.

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