I've considered myself a very die hard gamer for the vast majority of my life and there's only ever been two styles of games I've never really been good at – racing games and fighting games. I always enjoyed playing games like

+ Stunning graphics; + Unbelievable attention to detail; + Forzavista; + Drivatar AI; + Accessibility for newer players

- Lack of tracks/cars at launch; - Lack of environmental effects

The more articulate car nuts among us need little reason to wax lyrical about their favorite vehicles, and no other series has so elegantly serviced our love affair with the automobile in recent years. If you were worried Forza 's Xbox One debut might skid off the track, rest easy.

+ Beautifully detailed and varied vehicles made real with faithful handling physics and killer sound effects, + Outstanding damage modeling; immersive car-specific cockpits; Drivatar A.I.

? Why can't any cars honk their horns

There's something about the racing genre that holds a special place in the gaming world. There's no story to push you forward. There's no allocating skill points to improve your character. There's no intricate series of button combinations to remember to execute an on-screen move.

Game play is great, Car responds like a real car would. Rearwheel drive car with some HP will spin the backend out if you punch the gas in turns, handbreak will break the tires lose, the new style of "AI" makes the game interesting because no race is the same.

Before I'd finished the first lap of the first race of Forza Motorsport 5's career mode, it was clear to me that I was playing a very good game. The quality of the visuals smack you in the face right out the gate. The interior of the cabin is detailed, almost photorealistic.

Forza 5 completes the transformation from racing simulator to a celebration of cars. Like its Top Gear influence, Forza 5 will appeal to the casual racer just as much as the motoring enthusiasts thanks to its deep assists and the evolving brilliance of the Drivatar system.

+ Stunning visuals; + Drivatar system; + New physics; + Top Gear content

- Only 14 tracks; and less cars than Forza 4

Part two of the three part Xbox One launch title retrospective pulls into high gear.

All of the usual Forza greatness; Beautiful graphics; drivatars; impulse feedback is amazingly utilized

Drivatars are jerks; fewer tracks; feels more arcade-like and less like a racing sim

Forza Motorsport races back onto our screens, this time as an Xbox One launch title, looking to showcase the new Xbox's power. When were introduced to Forza 5 on the Xbox One, Dan Greenawalt, creative director at Turn 10 Studios, pointed out that usually a full racing sim wouldn't arrive until some...

Sumptuous looks; sounds great; plenty of cars; customisation

Might be too serious for some; loading times are still a little long; in-game purchases look like the only way to get to top cars

Forza 5 is gorgeous and smooth as butter, and its utterly enchanting handling makes it a joy to drive hard, but this game is more than just a rock solid technical titan for the Xbox One. It's an essential destination for the automobile obsessed.

Stunning visuals; Genre-leading sound; Drivatar; Terrific handling

Light on tracks

For decades the weakest part of the racing game experience has been the AI. Artificial intelligence in racing games poses a grand challenge for developers, because if an AI racer drives perfectly it doesn't look real - and if they mess up too often their mistakes can look scripted (or, as was the...