Forza3 expands on the short-comings of it's predecessor and makes for a truly magnificent and massive racing atmosphere.
Most people look at these games and don't have the patience to individually tune every aspect of a vehicle just to get it to handle properly or really take of from a corner. I, myself, am one of these people. Forza 2 really took great effort and detail into their tuning engine, but Forza 3 did this, and more. For people who are in the same boat I'm in, I don't understand what some aspects of tuning will do to the car. This is why Forza 3 made something called the "Storefront." The Storefront is a revolutionary purchasing or sharing community that allows you to buy and apply a tuning setup that make that TVR Sagaris stick like it's a McLaren. Also in the same aspect of tuning setups is paint jobs. You go online and see people with these amazing paint jobs and you ask yourself, "How did they do that?" But fear not people, the Storefront allows you to also buy custom paint jobs for your cars and apply them with no stress to you. A community like that is what truly defines a racing game to a racing atmosphere.
Game play in the Forza game is much the same, but you will instantly notice the significant improvements to the graphics engine. It looks absolutely spectacular. Turn 10 went out of their way to give you a simulated look of the interior of the car. I sell vehicles for a living, and let me tell you that the interior of the 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 is nothing short of spot on. The little details like that are truly what set me back. Looking at you hood when you're driving in the cockpit and seeing the reflection of the mountains in the background is almost surreal. The graphics tend to be so good at certain points that it will sometimes trip you out and lose your place on the track.
The last thing I would mention is the sheer value of this game. I bought the collector's edition, which I must say is the best value on a video game that $90 has ever gotten me. Including a 2GB Flash Drive, key chain, 10 bonus cars and 5 new tracks, the additional $30 was more than covered here. The massive size of the game is enough to blow you away as well. I've spent maybe 25 hours so far in the game, and I only have a totally completion of 15%. The game definitely gives you more than your money's worth, regardless of what package you're looking for.
The bottom line of Forza 3 is that it has left some pretty high bars to reach for other games of it's genre. The value, game play, and addiction factor is incredible. Any fan or enthusiast of racing games should pickup Forza 3 without hesitation. Even you are a fan boy of Gran Turismo, pick this game up to educate yourself on what Forza has done to put itself on the same level as Gran Turismo. And who knows, you might just actually enjoy yourself!