Let’s get the obvious out of the way first – I sadly didn’t get a chance to play the Top Gear test track. While it was available in places at the show, the little time I had with Forza 4 didn’t have it available. What I did get to do, though, was test out Forza using the new Kinect head-tracking and see how Turn 10 are using the license of the world’s biggest motoring show in game - and it’s very cool indeed.
 

I'm pretty sure this wasn't cleared with Air Traffic Control

One of these features is probably a major dream of any car fanatic – the new ‘Autovista’ feature. This is a virtual showroom that allows you to select a good chunk of the amazing marvels of engineering that are featured in the game and get up close and personal with it. You can get super close to everything from those ceramic brakes to the paintwork and the engine and examine it.

Select something to look a little closer and the camera will pull in closer still and rattle off some really cool, detailed information about whatever bit you’re looking at. Top Gear fans get a further bonus – Jeremy Clarkson appears in this mode as a disembodied voice, offering his often-funny opinion on the cars in the game.

Autovista is the same mode that was used to debut the game at E3 last year when it was just a concept. You’ll likely remember it used Kinect then – and it does too now – but fans will be happy to hear that it’s not a requirement. In fact, none of the modes in Forza 4 require Kinect at all – but many do support the sensor.

The other major use of the sensor comes as I previously mentioned in the form of head-tracking. Sit it atop your TV and if you’re like me and sit down to play the game with a racing wheel you’ll find a new level of fidelity on offer. Turn your head to the left, and so does the character on screen – likewise for the right. This allows you to quite deliberately look into a corner to check where other racers are, or even check your mirrors properly.

Gran Turismo 5 also packed head-tracking with the Playstation Eye, but it’ll probably come as no surprise to hear that this worked better here than there due to how expensive and packed with tech the Kinect sensor is. It’s by no means a vital addition, but it felt really good to me and didn’t lose me once during my gameplay session – and I can get pretty animated during a race.

The core career mode progression will feel largely familiar to those who played Forza 3, with the game still doing that clever thing where it offers you a selection of events based on what cars you own and what you’ve seen before. The game will deliberately try to nudge you towards new vehicles and tracks, but the choice is ultimately always yours.

Not every race is just a straight-up circuit race and different styles of race will emerge over the course of the career, too. Harder events will crop up if you’re doing well, with the game dynamically adjusting the difficulty on the fly based on how you’re performing in races. All the decorating and customization features return and can even be imported from Forza 3, but Turn 10 has also looked at how to beef up that functionality, too. ‘Car Clubs’ allow players to have a shared online garage – it’s essentially like clans for racing games, sharing stuff like decals and cars between each other – while another feature lets you challenge other users directly to one-on-one battles based on lap times.
 

Well... that looks nice

Everything I saw of Forza 4 screamed ‘more of the same’ – but speaking as somebody who bloody loved Forza 3, I’m not arguing. It looked and felt a little better, but best of all it’s packed with some exciting new features and tracks to get my teeth sunk into. There are more features to come that weren’t on show at E3, a Turn 10 rep told me, including more plans for what the team will be doing with that Top Gear license. Look out for more detailed information on Forza 4 out at GamesCom and other shows later this year.