With all of the hype surrounding big releases such as NBA 2K12 and FIFA 12, a lot of gamers are forgetting about another game that is consider best in its genre.

Forza Motorsports 4 releases next week and the demo for the game recently dropped. The OS writing staff has had a chance to play the demo and write up some impressions.

Jayson Young: Aside from the gorgeous visuals and lighting, Forza Motorsport 4's greatest asset is the option to make the driving experience as realistic or forgiving as the player wishes.

Multiple levels of AI assists are available for every car function, allowing the user to toggle on/off anti-lock brakes, steering correction, realistic damage, etc., until the driving feels realistically fare, but not impossible.

CPU-driver difficulty is the only question mark with the demo. "Medium" AI opponents drive like their cars are permanently stuck in second gear, but "Hard" difficulty CPU cars follow near-perfect lines and can only be passed with careful drafting technique and minimal mistakes during cornering.

Some middle ground between the blowout "Medium" difficulty and the perfectionist "Hard" setting needs to appear in Forza 4's retail version.

Robert Kollars: As Jayson mentioned, the visuals are a bit more refined this year, and that is never a bad thing. The car models are gorgeous, the tracks are very well done and the surroundings are beautiful, as evidenced by the faithful recreation of the Bernese Alps. 

Turn 10 has always done an excellent job of making it feel like your tires are actually gripping and ripping the road. The game also allows for any level of driver to hit the road and experience a challenge. This is such an important factor, as it really adds to the depth of the game and allows the user to adapt the difficulty as needed.

The most glaring issue so far with the demo, as Jayson also pointed out is the AI's inability to pursue from all vantage points of the track. The Gran Turismo series has always been plagued by this, and while it's not nearly as bad in the Forza series, it is noticeable. The AI becomes all too predictable in the ways in which they attack each course, allowing the user to take advantage. 

For those who are familiar with the Forza series, there seems to be a lot of the same here ... but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. If this is your first time taking the Forza series out for a spin, prepare to have an awful lot of fun.

Bishop Tart: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland makes for a beautiful, snowy backdrop - with mountains all around you. It really is one gorgeous looking game, and dare I say it, Forza 4 is the best looking racing game on the Xbox 360 (that being purely based off of the demo).

Playing the demo on easy or medium brought little-to-no challenge, with the AI, as previously mentioned by Jayson, seeming to be stuck at a set MPH. Hard, of course, brought the biggest challenge. For avid fans of the series and simulation racing games, hard difficulty is the best way to go. With all of that said, though, being able to fully customize settings such as steering control, AI difficulty, racing line, etc., it makes Forza 4 a much more customizable and enjoyable experience.

Speaking of the AI, they seem to do a better job of trying to block you at the beginning of races on the two lower difficulties, and they do so without getting too overly aggressive. This makes for more exciting races without the annoyance some simulation racing games bring with rubber banding, and overly eager AI.

The demo also does a good job of letting you test out three very different cars, from some of the best horsepower around in a Ferrari, to a 1970 muscle car that will not have the best handling. The handling of the cars feels very realistic, with the Ferrari 458 Italia turning the best out of the three cars in the demo, and the Mercury Cougar almost spinning out on corners and being harder to steer. 

Up on the D-pad brings up overlays that tell you how your cars friction, suspension and tires are all doing. This can be a little hard to navigate through during a race, though. It's a nice addition, but I'm not sure many people will even notice it's there.

For newcomers, this demo is sure to surprise you with gorgeous visuals and some fantastic racing. For fans of the Forza franchise, expect tweaks to an already fantastic experience. It's safe to say, Oct. 11 can't come soon enough.