Latest news with #Forza
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Is 16 Old Enough to Race? Porsche Thinks So
Three weeks after you turned sixteen, what were you doing? If you're like me, maybe you were trying to figure out something about a car. More likely, you were fantasizing about your favorite cars while playing Forza or Gran Turismo. What you probably weren't doing was driving an actual Porsche race car on an actual racetrack. But that's exactly what Italian kart and Formula 4 racer Elia Weiss will be doing. Weiss will be driving a 99X Electric in the upcoming Formula E rookie test. The single-seat car, specially designed for Formula E, accelerates from zero to 100 km/h quicker than an F1 car - around two seconds, the automaker says. The rookie test is a race featuring untested, usually younger, Formula E drivers, with the goal of both exposing newcomers to Formula E and gaining valuable experience. Stuttgart is making history by choosing Weiss as their driver, with the second-youngest driver in Formula E history being chosen last year by McLaren, at 17 years old. Considering that 16 is the minimum age allowed by the DMSB, this is an accolade Weiss will hold forever. For reference, the average age of a Formula E driver hovers around 31. Although Weiss may be young, he's got a fair bit of experience making things go quickly around a racetrack. Weiss won the German karting championship title just last year and conducts sim racing tests with OEMs like Audi, BMW, and Porsche. Further padding his resume is his upcoming participation in Italian Formula 4. The rookie says he has already practiced a bit with the Formula E car in a simulator. "I was able to get to know the systems, felt right at home there, and got on really well with the engineers. Other than that, I'm preparing myself as best I can." He goes on to drive home the importance of fitness and strength when piloting the rapidly accelerating Formula E cars. You aren't alone if you're wondering how Weiss got a gig like this. According to The Race, a few Porsche bigwigs noticed Weiss two years ago at the Karting World Cup finals. The publication raises some solid questions, though: most other Formula E rookie test programs are utilizing older drivers, and certainly racers with a few more competitions under their belts. The answer, perhaps, is hidden in comments made by Florian Modlinger, Director of Factory Motorsport Formula E. "The energy management [of Formula E cars] is complex, which means that the mental challenges in particular are incredibly tough in Formula E. This reduces the pool of potential drivers." Thinking about regen and energy usage, according to Modlinger, isn't a skill every racer has. "While he was a guest in our simulator, we were particularly impressed by how he interacted with the engineers," he says of Weiss. He goes on to say that the 16-year-old "comes across as a much more mature racing driver." Experience is just one component of victory on the track. Especially in a budding motorsport like Formula E, there are other variables OEMs and teams need to account for when choosing drivers. All eyes will definitely be on Weiss come the July rookie test, especially with rival teams placing older and more experienced drivers in the same position. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Phil Spencer Just Lowkey Confirmed The Halo: Combat Evolved Remaster Making 2026 A Massive Year For Xbox
What might have been the biggest news of the Xbox summer showcase didn't come in the form of a surprise trailer but rather straight from the mouth of Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. While there was no footage to debut, the executive quietly let slip that a new Forza is coming next year as well as the 'return of a classic' that's been with Xbox from the beginning. It's hard to imagine that's anything other than the previously reported Halo: Combat Evolved remaster. 'As we think about bringing a new generation of players to these iconic franchises I'm excited to share that players will get to celebrate 25 years of Xbox with a new Fable, the next Forza, Gears of War: E-Day, and the return of a classic that's been with us since the beginning,' Spencer said near the end of the livestream. That tiny, innocuous-sounding snippet was full of news. The Gears of War prequel didn't previously have a release window and the newest Forza hadn't previously been mentioned at all (will it be Forza Horizon 6 or something else?) But the detail most fans will be glomming onto is the hint at the original Halo's return. That game, previously reported by The Verge's Tom Warren to be a remaster of Halo: Combat Evolved in Unreal Engine 5, will presumably follow in the footsteps of the recent remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,which Microsoft shadow-dropped last month. If that ends up being the case, the Halo remaster will likely be the original game running with overhauled graphics and some tweaked systems, though unlike Oblivion, there is already an HD Master Chief Collection players can use to access Bungie's hit 2001 shooter. We'll have to wait to learn more to see if Combat Evolved gets a more fundamental reworking to make it stand out on modern platforms. Whatever it ends up being, it's almost a guaranteed thing that a Halo remaster will be coming to PlayStation 5 as well, potentially serving as the perfect starting point to bring the iconic Xbox exclusive to Sony's console for the first time ever. And while that multiplatform push has left some fans wondering why they bothered buying an Xbox console at all this generation, Spencer's last-minute sound-bite suggests next year will be full of nostalgia for those who have been with the platform for decades. All of the core, previously exclusive franchises will be there, and playable on Microsoft's new Xbox-branded ROG Ally PC gaming handheld to boot. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Verge
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Did Microsoft just tease a Halo CE remaster?
Xbox chief Phil Spencer just casually revealed Gears of War: E-Day is coming in 2026, 25 years after the launch of the original Xbox. It's arriving alongside a 'the next Forza,' according to Spencer, and 'the return of a classic that's been with us since the beginning.' That classic sure sounds like the Halo CE remaster I wrote about last year.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Should you buy the Car Pass DLC in Forza Horizon 5?
Image via Playground Games If you're tearing up the roads of Mexico in Forza Horizon 5 and eyeing that shiny Car Pass DLC, then you're in for a treat. The Car Pass DLC gives you access to 42 extra cars, with 8 unlocked instantly, and the rest rolling out one per week. It's all about boosting your garage with unique and rare vehicles not available in the base game. But is it really worth the money? Every FREE Car In The Forza Horizon 5 Car Pass Is the Car Pass DLC Worth Buying? Yes—if you love collecting and trying out fresh rides. The Car Pass is perfect for players who get a kick out of driving something new every week. Whether it's a vintage classic or a modern hypercar, there's something thrilling about logging in and finding a new toy to test drive. But here's the deal: you're not getting everything upfront. After the first 8 cars, you'll need to wait each week for the rest to unlock. That's great for ongoing excitement—but not ideal if you want instant gratification. Pro tip: You can buy individual Car Pass cars later, but it'll cost more over time than grabbing the full pass upfront. Who Should Consider It? If you love having a stacked garage, the Car Pass is a no-brainer. These aren't recycled cars either—many are brand-new to the Forza franchise. Some are exclusive and hard to come by unless you buy them individually, which adds up quickly. If you're someone who races with just a handful of your favorite cars, or you're already satisfied with the base game's hundreds of vehicles, the Car Pass might feel unnecessary. Plus, the game regularly adds free cars via seasonal playlists. We Bought The BEST DLC Cars in Forza Horizon 5! What's the Catch? It's a slow rollout: You'll get just one car per week (after the initial 8). So, no instant mega-garage. You won't know every car in advance: Not all 42 cars are revealed upfront, which might be frustrating if you're picky. It only includes cars: No expansions, treasure maps, or other goodies—those are sold separately. Better Value in a Bundle? The Car Pass is included in the Premium Add-Ons Bundle and the Premium Edition of the game. If you're already eyeing expansions or VIP perks, the bundle might save you more in the long run. Final Verdict The Forza Horizon 5 Car Pass is like a drip-feed of car candy for fans who live for new rides. It's not essential, but for collectors and hardcore players, it adds great value—without overwhelming you with everything at once. Just want a few cars? Skip the pass. Want a garage that turns heads? Go for it.
Metro
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Metro
Forza Horizon 5 PS5 review - no longer only on Xbox
One of the Xbox's most acclaimed exclusives is now available on PS5 and it's the best open world arcade racer ever made. Microsoft's blockbuster Forza racing franchise comes in two contrasting flavours. Its Motorsport games are sober, poker-faced affairs that sit comfortably alongside Gran Turismo in their dedication to simulating car racing as accurately as possible. Forza Horizon, on the other hand, is open world, centres around a colourful made-up festival of speed, and generally takes itself a lot less seriously than its sim-orientated older brother. They both feature a vast line-up of cars and tracks, fastidiously authentic car handling, and a range of different motorsports. They both also clearly want you to enjoy yourself, letting you rewind time when you mess up a series of corners or a tricky overtaking manoeuvre, but Horizon's open world and far more varied set of challenges make it look and feel about as riotously entertaining as a driving game could possible get. More important than all of that, is that alongside Halo, Forza is a founding pillar of Xbox exclusivity. The term killer app now sounds quaintly old fashioned, but the Forza franchise has helped encourage a generation of players to buy an Xbox just to play the game. Its playful brilliance, marrying accurate car physics with an irrepressible sense of knockabout fun has been a Microsoft system seller for decades. Until now that is. Forza Horizon 5 is the first game in the long running series that you can enjoy on PlayStation. It's a momentous occasion. Like the moment you could finally play Sega's jealously guarded mascot Sonic the Hedgehog on a Nintendo GameCube, or saw Mario on your mobile, there's a peculiar cognitive dissonance that comes with playing Forza using a DualSense. Exactly how committed Microsoft is to the multiformat concept to is anyone's guess, but for PlayStation owners this is a watershed moment. Set in an artfully designed microcosm of Mexico, Forza Horizon 5 is a near perfect apotheosis of the series so far, helped by the extraordinary variety of roads and countryside you'll explore. As in past Horizon outings, roads are strictly optional, and even exotic supercars can cheerfully plough through crash barriers and small trees, bouncing across swamps and scrub land on their way to your next destination. From the azure seas of its coastal roads, through gloriously colourful jungle, mangrove swamps, desert, and, at the heart of it all, the biggest mountain the series has ever seen, Horizon's Mexico has been built purely for entertainment. There are hairpin-laden switchbacks for drifting, long straights to test your car's top speed, and the narrow cobbled streets of old towns to tear through at suicidal velocity. The game's hugely varied set of challenges encourages a range of approaches using its collection of over 500 vehicles. There are speed cameras to trigger, dirt rallies, night races, performance car challenges, vintage events, and racing meets featuring various nationalities' automobiles, delivered through the game's rotating Festival Playlist that changes as it cycles through four seasons. There are also plenty of non-race events to keep you distracted, such as the discrete open areas created to let you show off your drifting and stunt skills. Driving around a brightly coloured and tourist free recreation of the spectacular ziggurats at Chichen Itza, you can do doughnuts and make unlikely jumps off its ancient ruins in a way that in real life might not go down too well with Mexico's Department of Antiquities. Chichen Itza is just one of 12 Horizon Realms built for exactly those type of stunts, with leaderboards to compare your skill scores with virtual tourists from around the world. These were previously timed, one-off events that once expired you could never replay, but are now continuously available with the launch of the PlayStation 5 edition, in a change that's also available as an update for Xbox players. A common complaint about open world driving games, and one that dogged both Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown and The Crew 2, is that while races are tightly focused competitive affairs, that really get the adrenaline flowing, driving between them can end up being unexpectedly dull. Forza Horizon 5 prevents that in several ways. The first being the variation in its landscapes, with roads that demand quite different driving styles. The other is in the range of things to do as you plunge cross country, from A to B. There are experience point-giving signboards to find and smash, others that reduce the cost of fast travel, and rewards for discovering new roads as well as just about everything you do on them. Overtaking, near misses, drifts, burnouts, and even smashing through roadside cacti all clock up rewards in an endless procession of miniature victories as you drive to your next event, sometimes on roads and sometimes bouncing across the wilderness in-between. It looks and sounds just as wonderful on PlayStation, and while it makes perfectly adequate use of the DualSense's haptics, it's not markedly different from playing on Xbox, whose controllers generally don't offer the same degree of subtlety in their physical feedback. It's certainly a world away from Gran Turismo 7's masterclass in haptics, which let you experience everything from road feel to rain effects through the palms of your hands. More Trending Load times are possibly fractionally shorter, but aside from the higher resolution patch available to PS5 Pro owners, this is almost exactly the same game as it was on Xbox Series X. That includes some fairly prominent microtransactions, that the game leads you towards early on in your driving career, which in a full priced title feels like an unwelcome imposition. In terms of pure driving fun though, Horizon is in a class of its own, and while PlayStation owners can't yet play Forza Motorsport, they still have Gran Turismo 7, giving them access to arguably the two best driving games of the modern era – which is not a claim Microsoft can make for Xbox. For PlayStation owners the news is all good and, if you like racing games, Forza Horizon 5 is a joyous, brightly coloured extravaganza of motoring, even if you can't help feeling it would be even better without the toe-curling dudebro petrolhead banter. In Short: Thrilling open world driving peppered with a massive variety of challenges, events, racing styles and carefully orchestrated, motoring mayhem, as one Xbox's tentpole exclusives arrives on PlayStation 5. Pros: Wonderful miniature recreation of Mexico, incredible diversity of cars and events, and brilliantly engineered simcade handling model makes the open world lively and engaging. Cons: Premium upsells in a paid-for game are always gross. The contrived wisecracking is as embarrassing as ever. Doesn't take full advantage of the DualSense controller. Score: 9/10 Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PCPrice: £54.99Publisher: Xbox Game StudiosDeveloper: Panic Button (original: Playground Games)Release Date: 29th April 2025 Age Rating: 3 Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. 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