If you’re not already lusting after Gran Turismo 5 on PS3 then chances are that you fall into the Xbox 360 camp, and that means you’re a Forza fan. In that case you’ll be pleased to know that Forza 3 will be in the shops in October, and is already available for pre-order at Amazon.

Microsoft Game Studios and Turn 10 Studios have promised big changes for Forza 3. For a start, the graphics have been completely overhauled with ten times the number of polygons used than in Forza 2 and each car now has even more detail, including beautifully rendered interiors. There are over 5o manufacturers featured in the game with a choice of over 400 cars, including new supercars such as the Aston Martin DBS and Audi R8 V10. There is also a big improvement in the number of tracks, with over 100 real-world locations to test your cars on. Another new feature is the ‘season mode’ that creates a personalized racing calendar with more than 200 events including Circuit, Oval, Drag, Drift and Timed Events. The best features of Forza 2 have been carried over to the new game. There are extensive tuning options, custom liveries in the paint shop and, of course, a multiplayer mode on Xbox Live. By releasing in October Forza 3 is going to steal a lot of sales from Gran Turismo 5, helped by the fact that an Xbox 360 is significantly cheaper than a PS3. I honestly don’t know which I prefer, but looking at the video and screenshots below I do find myself tempted to put an order in for Forza.