Forza Motorsport 2
Our final verdict after some obsessive play. Could this be THE perfect racing game?
 | Version Xbox 360 | Developer Turn 10 | Publisher Microsoft | Genre Racing sim |
| ||
| |||||||
| |||||||
Page: 1 2
When the summer comes, there are no games to play and we're forced to leave the house to 'socialise' and 'be friendly' and 'talk' to people. Then there's hayfever. Summer is rubbish. But Microsoft is here to save the day and keep our pasty faces out of the sun, away from the dangers of idiots and pollen - Forza Motorsport 2 is here, ready to steal away the hours and convert many, many people who once claimed "I don't even like driving games." The poor fools!
"The hype machine may go into overdrive on many occasions, but this is one of those times where it never went too far."
|
This game is lovingly crafted with so much thought put in to every aspect, it's quite astounding. From the way that every competition is followed by a post-race menu, surmising the current player status and asking what you wish to do next, along with presenting the options, all the way to the simplicity and incredible depth of the car customisation (meaning even utter numptys like me can make something that looks half-decent). Everything smacks of thought, and every aspect of the game maintains these standards.
"Buy a new pen and some nice writing paper, because the parents need to hear how good this game actually looks."
|
Screenshots are one thing, but in motion this is a stunner - it's easy to get lost in the intricacies of the backgrounds and slam straight into a wall, smashing the crap out of the car (more on that later) and ruining your chances of finishing in the top three. But it doesn't matter, because this is a game that will keep you playing for a long, long time. Long after the eyes start to leak blood and after the hands adopt the perma-claw position, Forza will keep you playing. It craves attention, forces you to play on and rewards you accordingly. It's the total package of racing games.
Forza 2 is extremely fluid thanks to its 60fps frame rateProject Gotham 3 showed 360 owners what the future of racing games was going to be, but the experience wasn't a perfect one - the Ferarri F50 could be purchased within an hour or so of starting the game, as long as it was played enough, and after that there was no point in buying any other car unless the game forced you to. Online games saw the racing field full of F50s and nothing but, and the game became a personal irritant as a result. Things work differently in Forza 2. Yes, the fastest cars are the goal here, but the extensive customisation options open the world up a huge amount and make the races a great deal more varied - a tweaked Skyline can compete with some of the fastest supercars, it would seem.
It's this variation that keeps things interesting and stops the process from becoming mundane early on - those who can't be bothered tuning their machines (or simply don't have the know-how) can download tuning setups for their monsters, thus bypassing the trial-and-error way in which things were done in the past and on the GT games - like I said, this is a game with a lot of thought put into it.
"Some custom designs are truly special; My puke-green Bentley with "IAN" emblazoned on the bonnet is sure to go down as the stuff of legend."
|
Page: 1 2
| Video Coverage (Latest Videos & Video FAQ) | |||
| PLEASE DO NOT DIRECT LINK TO ANY MEDIA FILE ON KIKIZO | |||
| Description | Dur. | Size | Details |
|
Forza Motorsport 2 Behind-the-scenes documentary |
6:31 | 85MB | DF, SD, 16:9 640x360p30 2.1Mbps |
|
Forza Motorsport 2 Direct feed trailer (X360 - Microsoft) |
01:33 | 34MB | DF, ED, 16:9 856x480p30 3.0Mbps |
Satoru Iwata Video Interview - the late Nintendo president spoke with Kikizo in 2004 as 'Nintendo Revolution' loomed.
Kaz Hirai Video Interview - the first of Kikizo's interviews with the man who went on to become global head of Sony.
Ed Fries Video Interview - one of Xbox's founders discusses an epic journey from Excel to Xbox.
Yu Suzuki, the Kikizo Interview - we spend time with one of gaming's most revered creators.
Tetris - The Making of an Icon: Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers reveal the fascinating story behind Tetris
Rare founders, Chris and Tim Stamper - their only interview? Genuinely 'rare' sit down with founders of the legendary studio.
The History of First-Person Shooters - a retrospective, from Maze War to Modern Warfare