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We adore Forza Motorsport, but it takes the business of racing very seriously indeed. That’s why the Forza Horizon spin-off series is the perfect counterbalance. It’s a breezy vacation, content with just setting you loose on sweeping highways in a variety of obscenely expensive cars. Cars like the Lamborghini Centenario, which will adorn the newly announced Forza Horizon 3’s packaging like a carbon-fiber objet d’art.
After Colorado, USA, and Europe in the previous games, Forza Horizon 3 whisks the titular Horizon Festival to the antipodes. Disregarding for a moment the fact that the majority of wildlife in Australia would very much like to eat you, the terrain itself presents its own challenges. That’s why there’s an increased emphasis on off-road racing, with lolloping Trophy Trucks and LeBlanc favorite and dirt-chewing Ariel Nomad just two of the entertaining new additions in a 350-car-strong roster.
Expect local talent from Holden and Ford Australia to feature in the selection of new machinery, and many of those cars will be customizable, too, not just with the usual spectacularly tasteless liveries but also bodykits, rims and aero bits to make them your own.
Of course, a road trip isn’t much without company, which is why Horizon 3 will have four-player cooperative play throughout the main story mode. What’s more, new cross-platform multiplayer means Xbox One owners can cruise the outback with their PC brethren for the first time. It’s not quite the fall of the Berlin Wall, but it’s about as close as video games are going to get.
We’ll have more on Forza Horizon 3 very soon, but for now feast your eyes on the brand-new announcement trailer and try not to cringe yourself in half during the bit where the ultra-rare Centenario goes for a little paddle at the beach.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
