The 2016 Electronics Entertainment Expo is now in full swing. As one can expect from the three-day entertainment bonanza, we’re beginning to see new trailers being released for the next wave of video games that will be released in the coming months. One of these games is Forza Horizon 3, the third installment of the highly successful Forza Horizon franchise.
Preliminary details about the game have been released, and from the looks of things, it’s going to follow the same open-world format that was used by the two previous versions to much acclaim. It’s also anticipated to include over 350 different cars, including new models like the Lamborghini Centenario and a host of special vehicles like the new Ariel Nomad. What’s more, Forza Horizon 3 will prominently feature a bigger open-world map that’s twice as big as the world in Forza Horizon 2. The location for the third game will be Australia, continuing the Forza Horizon tradition of setting its games in different locations. For those who don’t remember, the first installment of the game that was released in 2012 was set in Colorado with the sequel that was released in 2014 taking place in Southern Europe.
In addition to the cars and the location, Forza Horizon 3 will also come with its share of firsts. For one, it will be the first Forza game that can be played on both the Xbox One and Windows 10 platforms as part of its cross-platform compatibility. It’s also the first game to give players unimpeded control of the Festival in gameplay, allowing for a richer gaming experience than any other Forza title in history.
Given the critical acclaim received by Forza Horizon and Forza Horizon 2, there’s a lot of pressure on developer Playground Games to live up to the expectations of gamers all over the world. It’s too early to tell what Forza Horizon 3 will have to offer, but the early details sound promising.
The game is sculled to be launched on Xbox One and Windows 10 on September 27, 2016. In the meantime, check out the first trailer video of the game.
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Why it matters
Speaking for myself, this time of the year is always exciting for me because as somebody who enjoys his share of video games, the Electronics Entertainment Expo is the go-to event for video game publishers and developers to showcase the new games they have in development. So I wasn’t really surprised that Playground Games and Microsoft decided to use the event to drop the first trailer for Forza Horizon 3.
I’m also not surprised that the trailer looks awesome. The graphics are incredible, as expected, but the real take away is how incredible the cars look when they race in the game’s new open world environment. I think the developers picked a great location by setting the game in Australia because of the country’s ecological diversity. You can race in the suburbs, city streets, beaches, jungles, and yes, the Australian outback. And bonus props to the Ariel Nomad for looking like a car that’s incredible to drive in that world. Heck, even BJ Baldwin’s Trophy Truck makes a nice and very much welcome cameo in the video.
I understand that the full game is probably still under development and it won’t be good and ready for another few months. But from what the first trailer showed, I’m already excited to see what Forza Horizon 3 has to offer. Is it going to be better than its two critically acclaimed predecessors? It’s too early to tell at this point, but from what I can tell, the answer to that question might end up being a resounding “yes!”
Sadly, we still have three more months of waiting before the actual game is launched. So in the meantime, I might just dust off my Forza Horizon 2 and play that until September.