Like Forza Motorsport 2, only 8.6 times prettier... roughly...

Going back a couple of years now, we were pretty much addicted to Forza Motorsport 2. She was ugly alright, by the standards of the genre, but who needs looks when she'll allow you to live out practically any fantasy. Want to drive a Murcielago with unsteerable toe and a pair of tits on the front? You can. Want to tune a Beetle to the point where you can lay waste to your opponent's F1, with some tits painted on the front? You can. Want to paint some tits on the front? You can.

It's a known fact that many found the realistic handling of Forza 2 far too demanding, but more than that, without that true current-gen sheen, many lost the will to learn.

We're sure that there are dozens upon dozens of new features in Forza 3, but the one that Turn 10 is currently focusing on is the game's look. This game does not look like Forza, instead having far more in common with eye-popping race-candy such as GRiD.

The fact is, though, that it's a miracle we have anything nice to say about the game at all after waiting for an hour in the queue to play it. We're willing to admit that it was - nearly - worth it. Microsoft had set up a trio of simulation experience booths, each with triple screens to allow fully panoramic racing views, along with a racing seat that threw us around as we smacked into roadside detritus. We're pretty sure Turn 10 gave us the car with the jelly wheels and tractor beam headlights, but truth be told we're a little rusty at Forza, not to mention unused to being jolted, with moderate bum-hurt, at our every mistake.

We'd love to say we impressed the booth girls with our dominating performance, but sadly, no one appears to offer a standing ovation for mid-table obscurity these days. We didn't hear so much as a solitary whoop. Mainly because despite Forza 3's more friendly look, beneath still beats the heart of a sim - the type with skittish handling, unforgiving braking windows and no spinning green diamond above its head.

But then, that's always been Forza. Love it or hate it, the game demands hard work and skill. Seasoned players will know the rewards are most definitely worth the investment and with a bit of luck, the new-found gloss will hypnotise enough noobs to bring in a new audience. Go noobs!