The open-road is ripe for exploration.

+ Cars; cars; cars; + Visually stunning and detailed; + Horizon Festival backdrop is great; + Race challenges and events are diverse

- Repetitive radio soundtrack; - Forgettable storyline; - Less cars to unlock; - Lame NPCs and dialogue

The gaming silly season is in full swing as developers unleash what they feel will be a festive hit. It's the time of year when a vast array of triple-A titles are released on a week by week basis leading up to Christmas, hoping to claim the coveted number one spot.

PlayGround Games delivers a new spin on the Forza franchise with pleasing results. Our full review.

+ Slick presentation; + Controls are great; + Tons of events to complete; + Visuals are superb

Track variety; Microtransactions litter the world

" … we were lucky enough to use the Turn Ten Forza Motorsport codebase for Horizon so we started with that. Doing that meant the physics system, the way the cars handle and the way they react to the road is exactly the same.

An exceptional open-world racer, burdened slightly by the series' heritage and all the expectations that the Forza brand brings.

Accomplished open-road direction; Loaded with charisma; Excellent portrayal of empowerment and freedom

Missing some signature Forza elements

Forza Motorsports is Xbox 360's answer to the PlayStation 3's Gran Turismo series, and although Gran Turismo has been around for many more years, the developers behind the Forza franchise have managed to surpass its predecessor in every way imaginable in their newest release, Forza Horizon .

Forza Horizon is a game that showcases perfectly the positive side of the importance of a brand name, obsessed as it is with brand identity. If Resident Evil 6 gave us a glimpse of the negative effects of forgetting just how important a name can be, then Forza Horizon provides a textbook example of...

Those refined Forza handling models; A huge variety of events to take part in; Appeals to both newcomers and the sim crowd

Awful story; Open world perhaps not quite used to its fullest potential; Slingshot AI on higher difficulty settings

Forza Horizon combines Forza authenticity with a festival atmosphere and the freedom of the open road. It offers an immersive pick-up-and-play, open-road racing experience and features realism, diversity and innovation.