In case you haven't heard, Forza Horizon 4 is now available for Xbox One and PC.
Unlike most of the current popular titles in the racing genre (like Gran Turismo and all the Forza Motorsport numbered series), a player isn't restricted to just linear racing on a track with Horizon.
Granted, there have been quite a few "open world" racing games over the years (looking back at some of the Need for Speed entries, the Driver series, Midnight Club and more), however there had been ingame boundaries on just how far "off the beaten path" one could go.
My first taste of a truly open world driving experience came with Test Drive Unlimited on my Playstation 2. Despite the technological limitations of the time (looking in retrospective) the game developers re-envisioned the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu, added in some "creative corrections," gave it online capabilities and voila, Atari unleashed a masterpiece onto the gaming world.
A player could follow the progressive storyline, race against real (and not so real) online opponents....
....or just go off and do their own, unrestricted thing.
To this very day, Test Drive Unlimited is still talked about (case in point right here) and continues to be used as a benchmark versus other titles that claim to be "Open World." Not bad for a game first released in 2006.
I never did get around to playing the sequel, Unlimited 2, mostly due to the overheating issues my Playstation 2 suffered from while attempting to play the first title (even went out and bought a laptop cooling pad, which only put off the troubles by a few extra minutes).
Ubisoft's The Crew would be the closest, most acceptable heir to the Unlimited throne, in my opinion.
Instead of Oʻahu, The Crew uses a time and distance compressed version of continental United States as the playground for on-road and off-road adventures, with only coastlines and international boundaries to restrict a player's travels.
Very much the concept of "if you can get there, go there," I have spent a great many hours just driving around and checking out the sights. Unlimited and The Crew share so many features and options (such as buying/winning cars, building a large automotive collection, a safe-house/garage, income generation process and so forth) for the players, it's merely the tone of the games that really separate them. Where Unlimited could be called "The Reckless Tourist," The Crew is more like "Road Thug Ascension."
I had very high hopes for The Crew 2, but was disappointed when the hype didn't live up to my expectations.
The car racing gameplay itself was very enjoyable, but it's the inclusion of speed boats and aircraft that turned me off. I can understand and even appreciate the addition of variety, but I wanted other changes instead. Besides, all of it takes place in the very same environment as the first Crew, with some minor graphical changes and touch-ups (still not happy about they changed my "house" in Saint Mary, modeled after the real life, unincorporated community of St. Mary, Montana).
Now, I haven't played any of the previous title in the Horizon series, so will talk about what I experienced with the demo.
First off, the graphics are mind blowing.
One of the biggest draws and appeal for me to these "Open World" game is literally the world itself. Once a player takes of the blinders needed to perform the actions in the game and has a look at the environment that has been constructed....no....crafted, just wow. For me, this isn't just restricted to the racing genre....
....take this old screenshot from Armored Warfare. One of the very reasons for me to play it was just to spend time in this world (and blow up other armored vehicles too).
Harkening back to my Unlimited days, I drove around and took snapshots of examples of just how good the game looks. Is this a European house and shop? Why yes, can't you tell by the obligatory Mercedes Benz parked out front!
This scene could have been so easily modeled on the location I live in for real.
The colors and textures, I almost wanted to jump into the screen and breath in the air.
Nevertheless, Horizon 4 is a racing game, so perhaps I should showcase some of that action....
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