Forza Motorsport 5 Walkthrough and Guide

First, welcome to the newest entry in the Forza Series, what I personally think is the best Forza yet even if it has fewer Cars and fewer Tracks.

Probably the biggest issue with success and play in FM5 will come down to two factors: getting into the sport, and getting through the bits you don't actually like. Now the former you should have no trouble with, but the latter, you may.

It is a well established fact that Forza Faithful are a unique bunch in terms of their love for the game, but it is also a well-established fact that most drivers don't have an equal love for every class of racing. Particularly because unlike the previous games in the series, the track selection is not as wide here.

That may not seem like all that big a deal but it is.

The reason for that is simple really -- some Tracks are made for a specific range of classes, and they are comfortable and challenging for that range, but once you get outside of that range, particularly in terms of the P-Class, S-Class, and R-Class Cars, it can go from being lots of fun to real work.

Thanks to the goal-oriented Achievement-based system that is used to reflect accomplishment in the game you are going to want to, at a minimum, complete the single-player mode of the game (probably prior to really getting into the online multi-player side). That is good. But it raises the issue of driving the classes you may not care for.

The first thing you need to embrace here is the idea that you really are not expected to love every class equally. And you won't.

There will be classes of Cars you are more in tune with -- classes that you feel a stronger kinship to and enjoy more.

Hopefully you will not discover that you are a driver who despises the faster classes, because in their own way they can be as much fun as the highly competitive but relationally slower classes that happen to feature the really attractive Cars in the game.

Personally I suspect that the types and classes of Cars really plays a larger role in this than most people think. There are simply car models and even manufacturers that you are going to like and prefer over others. There is nothing wrong with that.

Like a lot of you, with this game being my only chance to indulge in driving Cars that, let us be realistic, most of us can not even afford the annual insurance payment on let alone afford to own and drive, well, hey, that is part of the magic that is Forza.

So the best advice that I can give in terms of dealing with this issue is to suggest that you try to find, within each of the classes, a car you actually like and enjoy driving -- even if you have already maxed Affinity for that maker. Don't allow the Achievements system to influence your choices to the point you end up driving Cars you don't care for.

Remember -- You Are Having Fun!

First Race and Welcome to Forza Motorsport Achievement

The Two Sides of FM5

Now that we have discussed the fly in the ointment, it is time to turn to the two halves of the game... Or the other fly in the ointment.

The focus for the guide is going to flow in two parts -- getting you through the single-player campaign mode first, and then preparing you for the much longer and possibly more challenging online multi-player.

Bear in mind that just because both of those sections exist, does not mean you are obligated to participate in both. It may actually help you a lot to recognize it if you turn out to be a racer who prefers one side to the other and so instead of pressuring yourself to complete both, you focus on one and then do the other as an every-now-and-then sort of effort.

Sure that will slow down the visual progress or bragging rights that are the Achievement System, but you should consider that this game is not really about the Achievements you can unlock, it is more about having fun and racing. And if you are not having fun while racing, something is wrong.

Speaking of Achievements

Or perhaps speaking of Achievements and Challenges? Either way these place a tremendous amount of pressure on you as you play the game because -- and this is natural -- there is a measure of competitive spirit that can crop up, especially when you have mates playing the game too.

It would be a very good idea for you to decide early on how you plan to deal with and address the question of Achievements and Challenges in the game because they can -- if you let them -- take over the tactical decisions on how you play the game.

They don't have to though.

For example there are basically three specific and influential sets of Achievements you will likely find yourself shooting for: the Affinity, the single-player medals, and the online medals.

Of those the first -- the Affinity -- is likely to be the more challenging, especially if you find yourself drawn to the Cars of a specific manufacturer. In that case it might be very difficult for you to obtain the Affinity you need spread across eight makers.

The best advice that I can give is simple - don't do that. Try to experiment with the different Cars for the different makers to find the ones for 8 or 10 that you really like and enjoy driving, then use them strategically to complete the Affinity portion.

It will be hard on you to do that strategically because you will find that certain makes -- Ferrari, Audi, and the like -- will appear more frequently in the race leagues, which means you can easily max out their Affinity early. Best tactic is to keep track of the Affinity for the makers you have chosen and try to work them evenly.

Tuning?

Finally there is the question of Tuning - this is not really required for the single-player campaign but you will find it is very helpful when you are racing online, with other players.

The Tuning Section of the guide was written to demystify the whole issue of tuning, but it does not address specific tune setups. For that you have two choices:

1. Learn how to Tune. This is something you should have as a goal and work towards, but thanks in part to the very proactive Tuning community in the game, is not something you must do because of the next option...

2. Download tunes for specific Tracks or actions while you learn.

All in all, since this is only really applicable to online racing, you can take some time during the single-player campaign to learn how to tune (and I suggest you do that) since the first ficus for this guide and your game will be the single-player campaign.

That wraps up the Introduction - now go! Race! Have fun!