Forza Horizon is back, and bigger than ever. The folks who developed this game also managed to overhaul progression by quite a bit. IF you thought Forza Horizon 4 was a beast with all the different ways to progress, you have not seen anything yet. And the new modes they've thrown in are crazy fun. Can it be overwhelming getting started? Yes. Is it still fun? Absolutely.

They managed to make things like the stories better and more engaging, by giving each discipline their own unique little story, and even giving more personality to your driver. The stories also are a good way to get accustomed to the different disciplines if you are a Forza Horizon newcomer, so definitely don't skip those early on.

Weekly seasonal events are also still a thing, but they've tweaked them a bit. For example, you earn points instead of percentages. And you also now have car restrictions for seasonal PR stunts, which will make things a lot more interesting when completing them. For example, your PR stunt for a speed trap will not work by cheesing it with a 599 XX Evo anymore each season, and will now call for you to use a specified type of car. While some a small few may not like this, I'm sure others will enjoy it, as it will sort of give you more incentive to explore more types of cars.

I personally grabbed the Premium Edition, and I think that is well worth it. But even if you grab only the standard or Deluxe, there is still a ton of content day 1 to get you started. However, if you look forward to the expansion packs, just grab the Premium now and get it over with. The savings are more than worth the extra $40 usd. On top of that, you get a boat load of extras besides the expansions, such some cool VIP perks, tons of extra cars, and more.

And the cars are absolutely amazing this time around. I mean they've always been amazing, but I think they actually managed to make them look even better this time. And some nice tweaks too, such as improved tire smoke, improved engine audio, and even for a select few cars, functional convertibles. Sadly the convertible option is not for all actual convertibles, but it is there for some.


Mexico is the latest venue for Horizon, which has seen many other locations in the past. Last outing we had a fictionalized tour of Great Britain, but while something felt oh so right, something also felt lacking. The Britain map was no doubt fun to drive around, but it was not that fun to actually look at. It sometimes had a dreary look to it Even at times the radio announcers would joke about this. Not compared at least to something like Forza Horizon 3, which was absolutely fun to look at. Bright, cheery, tropical, and just a blast to look at. But when playing 4, something seemed lacking in 3, 3 felt kind of, well, flat compared to 4. which was, well, a much more fun to drive around map. Lots of elevation. I don't know if that makes sense, so let me sum that up. 3 was amazing to look at. 4 was fun to drive on. Well, 5 manages to to get the best of both, and go bigger than both at the same time. The map is roughly 1.5x bigger than Forza Horizon 4. There are tons of elevated spots. Like massively elevated. Hell, there's a freaking Volcano in the game! There's sand dunes to go off roading on near a massive sprawling beach. Desert areas full of cactus to smash through. Latin inspired villages and towns. Tons of tunnels to rip through. Jungles! Ancient temples to drive around. There's just so much, and it is all gorgeous to look at, and most importantly fun to drive around.

Note: Now for those who grab the game today, keep in mind, the game is still early, and you will probably experience some bugs (even some crashes), as a lot early access testers have talked about, but the folks at PGG/T10 have acknowledged these issues and are working on a patch to drop either tonight or over the next couple of days. They've already fixed some things, such as server issues that were problematic early on. So at least they are not sitting on their rears doing nothing.

[h1]¡Bienvenido a Horizon México![/h1] Forza Horizon is back, and bigger than ever. The folks who developed this game also managed to overhaul progression by quite a bit. IF you thought Forza Horizon 4 was a beast with all the different ways to progress, you have not seen anything yet. And the new modes they've thrown in are crazy fun. Can it be overwhelming getting started? Yes. Is it still fun? Absolutely. They managed to make things like the stories better and more engaging, by giving each discipline their own unique little story, and even giving more personality to your driver. The stories also are a good way to get accustomed to the different disciplines if you are a Forza Horizon newcomer, so definitely don't skip those early on. Weekly seasonal events are also still a thing, but they've tweaked them a bit. For example, you earn points instead of percentages. And you also now have car restrictions for seasonal PR stunts, which will make things a lot more interesting when completing them. For example, your PR stunt for a speed trap will not work by cheesing it with a 599 XX Evo anymore each season, and will now call for you to use a specified type of car. While some a small few may not like this, I'm sure others will enjoy it, as it will sort of give you more incentive to explore more types of cars. I personally grabbed the Premium Edition, and I think that is well worth it. But even if you grab only the standard or Deluxe, there is still a ton of content day 1 to get you started. However, if you look forward to the expansion packs, just grab the Premium now and get it over with. The savings are more than worth the extra $40 usd. On top of that, you get a boat load of extras besides the expansions, such some cool VIP perks, tons of extra cars, and more. And the cars are absolutely amazing this time around. I mean they've always been amazing, but I think they actually managed to make them look even better this time. And some nice tweaks too, such as improved tire smoke, improved engine audio, and even for a select few cars, functional convertibles. Sadly the convertible option is not for all actual convertibles, but it is there for some. [h1]¡Viva México![/h1] Mexico is the latest venue for Horizon, which has seen many other locations in the past. Last outing we had a fictionalized tour of Great Britain, but while something felt oh so right, something also felt lacking. The Britain map was no doubt fun to drive around, but it was not that fun to actually look at. It sometimes had a dreary look to it Even at times the radio announcers would joke about this. Not compared at least to something like Forza Horizon 3, which was absolutely fun to look at. Bright, cheery, tropical, and just a blast to look at. But when playing 4, something seemed lacking in 3, 3 felt kind of, well, flat compared to 4. which was, well, a much more fun to drive around map. Lots of elevation. I don't know if that makes sense, so let me sum that up. 3 was amazing to look at. 4 was fun to drive on. Well, 5 manages to to get the best of both, and go bigger than both at the same time. The map is roughly 1.5x bigger than Forza Horizon 4. There are tons of elevated spots. Like massively elevated. Hell, there's a freaking Volcano in the game! There's sand dunes to go off roading on near a massive sprawling beach. Desert areas full of cactus to smash through. Latin inspired villages and towns. Tons of tunnels to rip through. Jungles! Ancient temples to drive around. There's just so much, and it is all gorgeous to look at, and most importantly fun to drive around. Note: Now for those who grab the game today, keep in mind, the game is still early, and you will probably experience some bugs (even some crashes), as a lot early access testers have talked about, but the folks at PGG/T10 have acknowledged these issues and are working on a patch to drop either tonight or over the next couple of days. They've already fixed some things, such as server issues that were problematic early on. So at least they are not sitting on their rears doing nothing.