 Review By: Nick Arvites |
Developer: | Turn 10 Studios |
| Publisher: | Microsoft | |
| Genre: | Racing | |
| ESRB: | Everyone | |
| # Of Players: | 1-2 | |
| Online Play: | Yes | |
| Accessories: | Xbox Live (online play), Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel |
One of the late gems on the original Xbox was a racing title called Forza Motorsport. Dubbed by many as a Gran Turismo killer, the game delivered one of the best console racing experiences ever. Unlike the usual fare on the system (Project Gotham and its ilk), Forza brought in a realistic simulation racing title complete with damage, online play and both performance and aesthetic car customization. Forza was one of the top Xbox games by the end of the system’s life cycle, making Forza 2 one of the top anticipated games for the Xbox 360.
Forza Motorsport 2 brings the same, albeit refined experience to the Xbox 360. Forza 2 brings improvements and upgrades from the last installment in the series, causing the experience to ultimately feel familiar, yet new. However, many gamers will have to weigh in the improvements to see if Forza 2 is worth the price. This may seem like a strange thing to say, especially since this review ultimately scores it highly, and I will firmly hold my ground saying this is the best simulation racing title out yet for this generation of consoles.
The biggest fault that should concern every potential player of Forza 2 is the lack of new tracks. Forza 2 essentially brings back the same tracks from the previous game, adding a few new infield configurations while eliminating all of the point-to-point races. I didn’t really like the point-to-point races in Forza 1 and don't miss them, but to have no new tracks is inexcusable. In fact, several tracks from before are missing. Fans of Alpine Ring, Tokyo Circuit, and Rio de Janeiro will be disappointed with their glaring absence. While the included tracks are solid and I enjoy playing them, they get stale rather quickly. The relatively small number of tracks is artificially expanded by offering multiple infield courses on a few tracks and putting them in reverse. While this is a good short-term fix, Turn 10 would be stupid to not release new tracks in a DLC pack in the near future.
The car list is massive, and there’s a car to fit every scenario. To set any confusion aside, there are no trucks in this game, and no, it wouldn’t be cool because you’d just get dusted by something smaller and faster (ask me what “DUDE IT WOULD BE COOL IF” conversation I’m sick of hearing on Live). Customization makes a return, and the system feels a bit tighter with the car ratings. The performance index provides a number grade to correspond with the letter grade to each car. This allows you to jam as many modifications into the car without going over while still being efficient about it. Modifications work in the same way as the last game, although there are a few new parts. Notably, there are more brands present and there are more tire choices and upgrades (specifically: tire width, rim size, and rim brands). Tuning your car is also more or less the same, although the little help blurbs on the side of the tuning menu make the process slightly less scary and difficult to learn.
The car painting feature has been improved and tweaked, although it still proves too difficult for most people out there. While you’ve certainly seen some of the great designs from Forza 2 on the Internet already, they’re extremely hard to create and take time. The system is the same as it was in the original game: users take various shapes and precut designs, place them, change sizes and skew them, and then adjust the colors and transparency. Thankfully, Forza 2 adds in a few new shapes and several type fonts for the (thankfully included) letters. Ultimately, the car painting options are a great timesink and can produce very impressive results. However, I think it would ultimately help more people if there were at least an MS Paint-esque freestyle drawing control. One of the best improvements to the paint design system is the ability to link layers to copy a particular part of your design. For example, if you create a custom logo, you can link the various shapes used to create it, and then just paste the completed design. You can save designs to your catalog, making it easy to recreate your design.
Posted: 2007-06-16 13:01:00 PST