Pretty much. I was expecting an obvious connection between Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon, but it seems like the only thing connecting them is the name and car models. If it was genuinely the FM feel but with an open environment (or even a slightly restricted "open" one like Horizon or Burnout Paradise) I would've been pretty well fine with it. But the issue people have with sound is like a metaphor (or simile) for the whole package... it just feels muted and without any real connection compared to FM4.
I was comparing it because all indications leading up to the game's release indicated that they were basically borrowing the entire driving/physics/tyre model from FM4, adding 50 new surfaces (or whatever) and making it "open" world. Make it casual by integrating the festival feel, but turn casual gamers into car lovers by having the driving be as realistic as possible.
Normally I wouldn't think of expecting an open-world game to have something close to realistic, but the game was begging for it. That it's turned into another title that appeals in no way whatsoever to appreciators of realism gives me another reason to skip it completely.
I've found the closest game to compare it to is Burnout Paradise. But even then, even though there's the same amount of restriction relative to the environment size as Horizon, it doesn't feel as restrictive because the vast majority of the game is set in metropolotain areas... not the countryside where there are rolling hills that just BEG to be driven over.
