Next-gen street racers compared
The Xbox and PlayStation booths are directly next to each other in the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center for E3 2014 this year, which made it really convenient to compare two upcoming racing games. I put the delayed-but-now-finally-coming PS4 racerDrivecluband the newly announced Xbox One street racerForza Horizon 2together for a bit of a head-to-head comparison for you.
Both were demo builds of unfinished games, so take that into consideration as you read on.
Visuals:
Let’s just get this out of the way first. No contest:Driveclubwins.Forza Horizon 2looks outstanding on the Xbox One, just as its predecessor did on the Xbox 360. But the high-resolution gameplay and the high level of car and track detail ofDriveclubeasily won out in a side-by-side. Both games will wow you with their car-porn closeups, butDriveclublooks better in action.
I’m glad thatHorizon 2gets a weather system with this release, but the examples I saw in the two races I played were nothing like the dynamic weather examples I saw earlier this week inDriveclub.Horizon‘s falling rain and glossy streets looked nice, but it lackedDriveclub‘s realistic transitions and sky lighting.
Again, both look great. ButDriveclubtakes first here with a clear lead. Of course, looks have no bearing on gameplay…
Handling:
Picking upForza Horizon 2felt very familiar. I’m a fan ofits predecessoras well as all of its cousin titles in the franchise, so getting into the zone was pretty easy to do. Taking corners in s-turns felt smooth and enjoyable, and whipping past opponents was as satisfying as I expected it to be. I loved that they kept the haptic feedback in the triggers for braking and cornering, just likeForza Motorsport 5.
But there seems to be something missing from how the cars react when cornering inHorizon 2.To me it feels a bit simple and over-assisted. Of course, there are options to tweak the feel and assists, so my opinion will likely change with the full version. They usually make show-floor demos as easy as possible to play.
WhileDriveclubdidn’t feel as familiar asHorizon 2did, it only took me a few seconds to feel like there was a bit more going on under the hood. Both games have a feel that rides between arcade and sim racing, butDriveclubfit my tastes a bit better; I felt that there was more car under my thumbs. It may be slightly more stiff feeling thanHorizon 2‘s demo was, but I instantly felt connected to it, just as I didthe last time I played. It’s really easy to get into, but still feels convincing enough to satisfy the sim racing fan in me.
Racing:
In multiplayer matches, crash-crazy bumper car nonsense is almost unavoidable. This was the case for every race I played in both games. The race start forHorizon 2was a mess, but I managed to break away both times I played and enjoy myself. And when the race was over I could admire how trashed my GT-R became from the early collisions.
Driveclubthrew me into some pretty tight courses for the two separate eight-player matches I tried. Unfortunately the race starts were pretty aggravating. Bad cornering from other players had pileups all over the road. I couldn’t even take joy in the collisions because they felt so dull. Hitting a trackside wall was like bumping into a padded wall, and being rammed by a car into one felt even more off. I feel like matches against players that were actually interested in racing would have been more enjoyable.
Summary:
We had no way to test the various customization options of either title, and multiplayer matches won’t tell us anything about AI. Of course, when it’s all said and done,Forza Horizon 2has a longer feature list and more modes. But as it stands now, here at E3, I feel it’s a bit of a draw between the two racers.
I loved racing in both games, though. I’d be happy to jump into several more races of either if I had the time. Both are set to be really good racers for their respective platforms. I’m excited.
