The Forza Motorsport series for some has arguably surpassed the legendary Gran Turismo series; in my personal experience Forza Motorsport 4 was the definitive racing game on the home console, piping even the recent Gran Turismo 6 to the checkered flag.

Drivatar is the future of racing A.I; Plays great; Looks great; Top Gear presenters is a great touch; Vibration feedback in the control pad works great

Lacks number of cars and tracks in comparison to Forza 4

Forza Motorsport 5 is the latest edition of the racing franchise taking advantage of the infinite power of the cloud, setting a new bar for racing games.

Forza has always been a series that rejoiced in the intoxicating mix of beauty and power ; oil and paint. Gear ratios, camber and suspension stiffening cross paths seamlessly with decals, vinyl groups and paint mixing. Can Forza Motorsport 5 bring that balance to a new generation?

Driving still feels great; Trigger feedback is a game changer; Looks gorgeous; sounds great; Livery editor is still exceptional

The career structure feels barely good enough; No more prize cars or rewards; Lots of content cut; lots of content for sale; No auction house for livery; tuning setups or cars; The music is a bit weird – all choirs and orchestras

Turn 10's next-gen racer looks remarkable but doesn't handle as well as Forza 4

Remarkable visuals; Meticulously detailed; Ai system carries potential

Punishing car handling; Limited number of tracks; Microtransactions

Despite a long history of gradual improvements, the racing genre doesn't always reflect the real-world track life: there is one winner, and dozens of losers. Not so on the track – position and rank pay off, and every single car and driver are there to compete, though many aren't ready to be number...

Breathtaking graphical presentation; Lifelike and throaty sound; Drivatar concept works in concept and in practice; Wide difficulty scale options

Drastic reduction in tracks and cars; No weather or nighttime races; Multiplayer timeout issues; Questionable economic choices

Ignore the nonsense, though, and it can still be electrifying. Take an Audi R18 e-tron away from the messy drone of the career and set about beating a Rivals hot lap time around Spa and it's sublime: the diesel engine roars stealthily, the sun streaming through the Ardennes' thick forest.

Sometimes not receiving a game by the publisher, as we have to indicate at the bottom of our reviews nowadays, is a blessing in disguise. Not only can I play through the game at my leisure without having to meet a strict embargo, but I can gauge the reactions of professional critics and user...

Gorgeous 1080p; 60fps graphics; Superb individual car details; Wonderful presentation; Drivatars; Carries over many Forza features

Limited tracks means highly repetitive career mode; Gutted features for the sake of making tokens attractive; Microtransaction-heavy for a game that isn't free-to-play; Lack of wheel compatibility; Forcing everyone in Forza community to grind a lot; Tags

Coin doublers. I first bought one of those in Jetpack Joyride . I played it for a few hours, then decided I wanted access to more coins to buy more things more quickly. It was hardly excruciating giving over the price of a Mars Bar to get double my coin income, and seeing as I got the game for free...

I awarded Forza Motorsport 4 a perfect score on the Xbox 360 and bought hundreds of dollars' worth of sim-racing peripherals to play it. It is safe to say then, that I am a fan of the Forza series and a sim-racing enthusiast.

Native 1080p @ 60fps; Unmatched sound design; Great 16 car online multiplayer; Works great with new Xbox One controller; Drivatars bring life to offline races

Unwanted monetisation; Less tracks; Less cars; Less value

The last Forza Motorsport game I played before this was Forza Motorsport 2, and coming from that this game is a massive leap in all departments, from how the cars look and feel, to just how the game plays.