Jeremy Clarkson’s opening monologue for “Forza Motorsport 4” explains that the car guy is an endangered species. Chased out of his natural habitat, cut down by laws and regulations, and ostracized from society at large due to his love of speed and adrenaline, he remarks that the only place left, the final frontier for this endangered species, is in the virtual world with “Forza 4.” The question then becomes if the virtual world can recreate the enjoyment of the physical one.
If you are judging by visuals alone, “Forza 4” comes close. Crisp, razor sharp resolution and detailing highlight the unique aspects of every car in the game. This differs from “Gran Turismo 5” since only a few “premier” cars got the high resolution treatment in that game. Also, there is the “Auto vista” feature. Here, you can take a painstaking look inside and outside of a variety of cars, taking in the minute details rendered in jaw-dropping detail.
Having a pretty face is one thing, but offering entertaining gameplay is a different matter entirely. Here, the “Forza” experience really starts to pull away from “GT5.” First off, you don’t need to be a car guy to enjoy the game. Game settings are adjustable from beginner to simulation levels so you can be comfortable in whichever level you fall under. Second, “Forza” doesn’t beat you over the head with technical bureaucracy. There are no license tests, long loading times, or a never-ending bog of petty races to get through before you get to the good stuff. Just hop in and drive.
Plus, you can drive whatever you want, wherever you want. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, muscle cars… nearly everything under the sun is available to you. You also don’t even need to race. You can take photos, create paint schemes, and participate in a multitude of other activities. Just like in the real world, you don’t necessarily need to be a speed freak to enjoy the hobby, but it does help.
When you do start driving, “Forza’s” fantastic physics engine really starts to shine through. Developer Turn 10 took simulating the cars so seriously, in fact, that they contacted Pirelli to be able use their tire simulation software for the game. This is the same equipment F1 teams use to develop their tires, so of course it is insanely accurate.
This is too good not to share. T-Mobile set up a catapult in a Barcelona square where people playing Angry Birds on a phone were controlling an actual live-action version of the game. Booking a flight to Barcelona in 3…2…1…
We’re fussy about Red Carpet events here at Bullz-Eye central. That’s largely because as a lone, online writer you’re pretty much at the mercy of the publicity gods in terms of who you’re going to meet up with and you never know who that’s going to be. One condition we have is that we get to see the show/movie/what-have-you in question so, if all else fails, we can write about that or at least get a bit of entertainment and free food. In this case, that was a good thing. Not because we didn’t get to talk to anybody interesting, but because Spike TV’s “Guys Choice” presentation, which premieres on the network at 9:00 Eastern/6:00 PDT Friday is not your usual award show.
Right down to the sexy female dancers who liven up the breaks and its highly distinctive award statue, “the Mantlers,” it’s easily the most laid back and honestly silly awards show I’ve seen. It’s also the only award show we know of which contains R-rated profanity in one of its award titles: the “Funniest Motherf*cker” award, this year being given to Jim Carrey. It’s safe the say the show was completely irreverent about everything, except for its commendable commitment to drawing attention to the bravery and sacrifices made by members of our armed forces.
Speaking of Jim Carrey, the famed comic provided a remarkable bit of comedy dealing with the always absolutely never hilarious topic of..oh, Lord, we’d better just leave it alone. You don’t want to know. Carrey himself made it clear that children and other sensitive people were better off not hearing the routine before proceeding with a shocking and explosively funny performance, abetted by the sensitive stylings of violinist Neil Hammond.
More traditionally edgy and hilarious at certain points, but a lot longer, was a marathon bit by faux canine Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, aka comic genius Robert Smigel. The latter merited a bad on-camera review from Sean Penn who between this show and his criticism of Ricky Gervais at Golden Globes, seems to be developing a side career as a real-time award show comedy critic.
Justin Timberlake less controversially proved himself to be, once again, no comic slouch, while promoting the charms of the co-star of his next flick, “Friends with Benefits,” the beautiful and talented Mila Kunis. Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards distinguished himself by simply being alive to pick up his award and being the innately humourous individual he is.
And so it went. I’ll have a few choice quotes from the show at the end of this piece. First, though, let’s talk about the folks we met on the Red Carpet.
UPDATE: We’ve been told that the GT Academy winner has been crowned. Congratulations to Bryan Heitkotter – who was actually the top qualifier at Orlando as well – as he begins his training for the real deal. The show won’t air until September, but you can see Bryan’s Meet the Finalists video at nissanusa.com.
Back in March we had the chance to head to the GT Academy qualifiers – a tournament held to lower a field of 32 of the world’s best virtual drivers down to the 16 that would head to Silverstone and onto the GT Academy reality show. That show is now underway, with contestants competing in live racing events, all hoping to win the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to become a real pro driver on a Nissan racing team.
The series won’t air until the fall, but in the meantime, Nissan and Sony are offering some behind the scenes sneak peeks of what the competition is like for the 16 contestants. There is the usual picture and video content, but the pro drivers on hand at Silverstone have also been answering questions from the GT Academy Facebook page. Watch the video above for a tour of the Race Camp with the Academy contestants, and be sure to keep up with the show’s Facebook page. Just in case you missed it, you can see our writeup of the qualifiers at the Bullz-Eye Games channel.
I don’t blame you for doing a double take at the title of this post. You read it correctly, and I’m guessing you have a few questions. Gamers going pro in real life? What the hell does that mean? With Nissan and Sony involved, it’s got to be Gran Turismo, right? But they wouldn’t put gamers behind the wheel of an actual, physical race car, would they? Yeah, they would.
Sony and Nissan collaborated to create the ‘GT Academy.’ It’s a contest circuit that will give the best Gran Turismo players from across the nation a shot at becoming an actual, real-life, flesh-and-blood race car driver.
From the press release:
GT Academy will challenge gamers and racing fans alike across the U.S. to compete in a series of online time trials in pre-selected Nissan vehicles in Gran Turismo 5. Throughout the course of the competition, participants will earn free digital content just for playing, as well as have an opportunity to win prizes for winning regional time trials. The top 32 virtual racers in the country will compete in the live national finals event scheduled for March 2011 to become one of 16 GT Academy finalists. The 16 finalists will compete against each other in a series of challenges, including behind the wheel of real Nissan race cars, for a chance to become a professional race car driver as the GT Academy winner for the U.S. The winner will have the opportunity to train with elite race car drivers at international tracks and race as part of a professional team.
The final stages of the gaming competition are going to be filmed and aired as a reality series on the SPEED channel in 2012. The show is set to begin filming in March of 2011, once the final competitors have been selected and following all the way through the winner’s training as a real world driver.
If you’ve ever thought your GT5 skills were making you a better driver, this isn’t something you’ll want to miss. For more information, check out the official Gran Turismo site. Gran Turismo 5 launched in the US on November 24, 2010.
Justin Timberlake less controversially proved himself to be, once again, no comic slouch, while promoting the charms of the co-star of his next flick, “Friends with Benefits,” the beautiful and talented 
