One of the challenges you face as a reviewer is how to properly deal with yearly or bi-annual releases. Most of the time these games don't make any dramatic changes to the formula that worked in their previous release so you're often at a loss as to what to say.

More Horizon awesomeness; Australia is a fantastic backdrop to race in; graphics are prettier than ever; weather effects are beautiful

Server issues seem to be endemic to the Horizon games at this point; some of the cars seem to have oddly unintuitive controls

I understand what they were going for and in theory it sounds really great. However playing the expansion made me feel physically ill and I felt the physics were thrown out the window at times.

There are more racing games around nowadays than you could shake a reasonably large stick at. Developers have to do something pretty special to stand out in a market so crammed full of competition.

With the disappointment of Need for Speed, The Crew, Project CARS and for me at least, Forza behind us the Forza Horizon series continues to be my favourite racing series on Xbox.

The graphics, they're eye meltingly beautiful, Top notch controls, Plenty of options for those that like a real challenge, Drone mode; Every open world game needs this now, Loads of event variety, Loads of cars, including some amazing Aussie classics, Plenty of multiplayer potential

The photo mode still needs a Y axis invert option; The drone mode height limit feels limiting; There is some minimal amount of pop-in; Uhh; Playground Games; we call ‘em sheds here guys

Baz tears it up across the ditch in the latest Forza Horizon title from Playground Games.

Australian setting is an absolute winner; Terrific car roster and detail; Great arcade-style driving; Plenty to do

It dawned on me while travelling in excess of 250kmh through heavy traffic in Surfers Paradise that driving really expensive cars at high speed is so much easier on the left hand side of the road. Forza Horizon 3, the ninth instalment of the Forza series, is entirely set in Australia.

The Forza Horizon series is about as big as it gets for arcade racing games. The next game in the series, Forza Horizon 3 , is releasing soon for the Xbox One and Windows , and the game takes you to Australia where you'll face other cars in street races, off-road adventures, and on racetracks.

Awesome open world Australia

Some races get repetitive

Racing fans should definitely consider picking up Forza Horizon 3 , but even non-racing gamers will derive enjoyment from the free-roaming antics, stunt jumps and challenges. And if for some reason you're not enjoying it, well, at least it's a looker. Just don't expect the wheel to be reinvented.

Forza Horizon 3 continues the spin-off's trend of delivering fantastic open-world arcade-style racers. The combination of Forza Motorsport 's physics, deep car roster, and presentation with Project Gotham Racing 's performance-based scoring system is as addictive today as it was in 2012.

The worst thing about 'Forza Horizon 3' is that it may have stolen me away from the 'Forza Motorsport' series for good. There's an important freedom to be found in the Australian festival racing, and the land is a gorgeous one when alight or after the rain.