Before You Begin

There are a few issues that we need to cover before you start playing in order to avoid any misunderstandings - actually the most common being when your loyalty rewards and the related Achievement unlocks - which is only AFTER you have unlocked the Yellow Wristband.

That bears repeating - many of the bonus items that can be obtained when you buy the game, and in particular bonus cars, do not unlock and enter the game until you get that first Wristband unlocked.

Before you start the game you should read the following sections on the bonus items/cars, and the like, because some of that will be of interest to you before you start as well as after, and perhaps of more significance, there may be things you need to do BEFORE you load Horizon for the first time and actually play the game.

To help you in organizing your mind (and game) we should briefly cover the more likely issues that may crop up, so bear with me and we will get that done now...

Pre-Order Assets

If you pre-ordered the game (which means you ordered your copy prior to the official release date) depending upon where you pre-ordered the game you may have received special bonus content (codes) as a result.

Among the possible items and assets that you may have available to you are the following:

A free code for a 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 with Forza Horizon livery for use in FM4.

Codes from the Microsoft Store (if you ordered through it) for 1600 MS Points and a $10 store coupon.

A free DLC code for one of the following pre-order bonus cars (which one depends on what retailer you pre-ordered the game from):

• Amazon: 2012 Aston Martin Virage

• Best Buy: 2011 Mercedes SLS AMG

• Gamestop: 2009 Ferrari 458 Italia

• Gamestop: 2010 Volkswagen Golf R

• Microsoft Store: 2010 Nissan 370Z

• Newegg: 2010 Nissan 370Z

• Target: 2010 Nissan 370Z

• Walmart: 2010 Nissan 370Z

Retailers outside of North America may have offered different cars. The cars above are now available as purchasable DLC via LIVE as a single DLC Pack for 400 MSPoints. You may want to check if they are a car you want. Bear in mind that all of the cars that you add to your game, including those purchased via DLC (which you pay real-world money for) are only ADDED to the GAME, and NOT to your garage. To add the car to your garage you will still need to pay for it in the game, using credits or tokens.

The opening CS and play for the Tutorial has you Viper along temporarily to meet yourself

FYI the following prices apply to the DLC Cars:

• 2009 Ferrari 458 Italia (240,000CR)

• 2010 Nissan 370Z (34,000CR)

• 2010 Volkswagen Golf R (42,000CR)

• 2011 Mercedes SLS AMG (250,000CR)

• 2012 Aston Martin Virage (200,000CR)

All of these cars are upgradeable in the game, but some may have limited upgrade options.

The Forza Horizon Demo Bonus Car

Prior to the official release of the game Microsoft LIVE added the Forza Horizon Demo to the LIVE game space. The Demo is available free to all Xbox LIVE Gold Members, and requires a 1.57GB download, which means it will take time and you need space for it on your hard drive.

The Demo offers a taste of what can be found in the game, including a dirt track circuit race, a Showcase Event in which the Ford Mustang races against a P51 Mustang aeroplane, a Street Race, and a limited Free Roam option.

It allows the player to obtain cars but you should be aware that NONE of the cars you obtain in the Demo will transfer into the retail version of the game.

Having said that though, you may be pleased to learn that the scores you achieve via speed traps and zones in the Demo ARE retained in the retail game and its Leaderboards.

IF you played the Demo all the way through BEFORE 30 November 2012 doing so will result in you being awarded a special bonus car as a result. That is a Dodge Viper GTS that features a special livery design - but bear in mind that after 30 November 2012, playing the Demo will NOT earn you that bonus car. You can still buy the Viper in game (bit without the special livery).

VIP Status and the LCE

Forza Horizon comes in two distinct versions - the regular retail version ($59.99), and the Limited Collector's Edition ($79.99), with the main difference between the versions being that the LCE comes with VIP status and a VIP Car Pack.

The LCE version includes a special flag for your account that marks you as a VIP, and

In addition to the same basic game disc, the LCE also includes codes for the following digital content:

VIP Cars:

• 2011 Koenigsegg Agera

• 2011 Lamborghini Sesto Elemento

• 2011 RUF Rt 12

• 2012 Audi R8 GT Spyder

• 2012 Pagani Huayra

Exclusive LCE Livery Cars:

• 1983 Audi Sport quattro with LCE Livery

• 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR with LCE Livery

• 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor with LCE Livery

• 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R with LCE Livery

• 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 with LCE Livery

The October Car Pack:

• 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.

• 2010 Alfa Romeo 8C Spider

• 2012 Ferrari 599XX Evoluzione

• 2012 Gumpert Apollo Enraged

• 2012 Lamborghini Aventador J

• 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302

Horizon Accelerator Token Pack:

This features 3 free Car Tokens (additional Tokens can be purchased within the game using Microsoft Points) which are used to buy cars, boost popularity, or obtain a Treasure Map revealing special locations within the game.

There are some restrictions in place on the LCE, and specifically how it applies to the gamer tags using the console upon which it is registered. While all of the gamer tags on that console can access the special cars that are part of the LCE, only the gamer tag that actually registered the code will be flagged as a VIP in the game.

After you decide which car you will use hit the Paint and Decal Workshop and give your car a special look to unlock another Achievement!

Cars and Your Garage

Forza Horizon offers players a selection of 127 base cars plus 9 “Barn Finds” and an unspecified number of “Unicorn Cars” (those are rare and special cars that can only be obtained as prizes or gifts from Turn 10. In addition to this, other cars will be made available as expansion content via DLC, special events, and the like.

Cars are either found (in the case of Barn Finds), won (in the case of Unicorns) or bought in game, and regardless of how they are obtained, the ones you own are stored in your in-game garage, which has a maximum capacity of 550 cars.

The car that you start the game with is the VW Corrado, and that is the car you will use to get to the point where you unlock the first (Yellow) Wristband, after which you can access your garage and obtain any Loyalty or bonus cars that you either previously added codes for or otherwise added to your game.

In the case of the pre-order cars and DLC cars, once the codes are added to your account, you will find these cars for sale in the Autoshow. In addition to that it is possible to obtain and download (for free) some of the special, bonus, and VIP cars on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace even when you do not have the LCE or VIP status, or other required paid content and licenses, BUT those cars will NOT be allowed to be purchased in your game unless and until you actually obtain the required licenses.

You can own multiple copies of a car model, and you can customize each with a different set of vinyls or upgrades to the car.

You can sell any cars that you have purchased in the game (cars bought with credits) back to the Autoshow for HALF of the car's CR value (you will NOT get tokens refunded), but be aware that any cars that you bought with tokens, Unicorn cars you won, and ALL cars that were received by gift (including from friends) have a restricted sell-back value of only 100cr (plus part value). Barn Find cars cannot be sold or gifted once you have collected them.

The regular cars can be gifted to friends, but cars received as a gift from Turn 10 (Loyalty Reward Cars and Unicorns), and all cars bought with tokens can NOT.

This should nicely bring you up to speed on the above subjects, and clear up any potential misunderstandings about the bonus cars and how they are obtained.