My Thoughts on Forza 2 (Xbox 360)
By William on Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 at 3:25 AM PST In Microsoft
I spent the past couple of days playing Forza 2 and I’d have to say I am slightly satisfied, yet not overly impressed with the racing sim everyone is talking about. 300+ cars, 40+ tracks and great music should have been enough to keep me excited but I just don’t think this game will live up to expectations with most racing simulator enthusiasts. I couldn’t help but think to myself that I’d almost rather be playing one of the old Gran Turismos on my PS2. I’ll break my review into simple sections for you.
Customization: The customization is very extensive in Forza 2, so if that’s your thing it’s truly a winner. You could spend endless hours customizing every little detail of your cars. One thing I do like is the ability to take photos of your vehicle and upload them to the Forza server to view later on the web. This sim definitely gets my stamp of approval as far as customization and is just as good if not better than any other racing sims I have played.
Graphics: The graphics are great. I don’t think it’s quite as ground breaking as some claimed it would be, but it’s enough to keep me happy. In some ways, I think it is almost too realistic. The car damage so highly spoken of for the game is a little on the hokey side. It’s not accurate in the least bit and either under or over-exaggerated in nearly every event.
Gameplay: This is where the game gets an average rating from me. Even with 40+ tracks, the racing seems to get a little too repetitive each time. The AI in the game isn’t all that great and your opponents are fairly predictable. I was actually surprised that there were no races in the rain which I really love in many other racing games. The cars do handle realistically and probably better than most racing games.
All in all I would call Forza 2 a great game. If I had to give it a number, I’d say 8.5/10. It is better than the Gran Turismo series in many ways, but I don’t think it’s even close to what we need to expect out of the future of next-generation racing. I’m not sure I am just burnt out on racing, but there was really nothing new about this game to keep my attention for long periods of time. There’s nothing ground breaking in the title. There’s nothing to write home to mom about. If you like racing games a lot, then it’s probably a good pick. I’d suggest renting it first though.
Finally, someone who isn’t afraid to critique a little. I had a feeling this wasn’t as perfect as was being touted. Still a very good game for the racer fans though.
It seems like you reviewed the game after having played it for a couple of days in career mode on easy or medium difficulty. To me that seems shallow. I’m not a fan boy and Forza 2 isn’t my first choice for racing, but I do know a game has a lot to it when it’s been the only game I’ve been playing for the last 2+ weeks.
While you touched up on the customization, I don’t see any links to what people have been doing with it and also the new auction house feature. It’s a first in a racing game and very innovative, and at the same time needs some work to bring it up to snuff. You also failed to touch an all the online features. The amazing amount of options and rules you can use for the online games is not something I have seen in online games. Finally, I enjoy participating in tournaments.
I concur that the graphics are not quite mind blowing and the damage is hyped because this is the only game with damage. However, I love turning on damage to simulation level and having it impact my car performance as it makes me think 5 times before pulling a fast one on the AI/other players. As for the AI, I’m in complete disagreement with you. Perhaps you are not playing the AI on the hard level. I have played many racing games and this is the first and only game where the AI have character. Start trading paint with them and they do the same, brake too early and they will nudge you from the back, brake check and they react. Then you have the AI characters – that M. Rossi guy is always aggressive especially on the last laps and I have had races where I’ll try keeping him behind all through the race only to have him aggressively pass me on the last cruicial lap.
I’m sorry if I have to sound disapproving and I know you have a right to opinion, but I personally feel that this review is shallow and there is a lot more to this game which would elevate it to the “ground breaking” status.
There’s a reason I mentioned that it was only played a couple days. I also did not play it on easy mode, so I stick with my opinion on the AI but everyone will have their own opinion. I think an 8.5 is about a fair evaluation. Sure I could have touched on a lot more aspects of the game, but this is why I made sure that people realized this was a quick review and my first thoughts on the game.
This was not meant to be the end all review of Forza 2.
somewhat, exactly. After a couple of days I realized it wasn’t a perfect game, but if you love racing it’s a great game and I mentioned that. The guy above acts like I gave it a bad review. For me to give a game a perfect rating is an extremely rare thing.
I respect your right to opinion. I guess my main concern with the review was that I you said that there was nothing “ground breaking”, while I personally felt that this game pushed the boundaries beyond what other racing games did. Hence, in my opinion, this is in many ways that landmark game that changes or evolves the genre by a huge step. Features like the auction house, the paint shop and the accessibility and appeal to a wide audience makes this game unique. The best part is that you can pace the game and tune in the difficulty to what you are comfortable with and that makes it very approachable.
Again, I’m not trying to disapprove your review. You clearly mentioned that it was a quick one and you did it after a couple of days with the game. I also agree that the game is in no way perfect. It has it’s flaws with presentation, etc. I have no problem with the 8.5 rating. That is your scoring metric and I respect that as well.
I feel that after you spend enough time with it, there is this aspect that sucks you in further as you start battling the AI with tighter restrictions on the cars in the career mode. That is just one of my positive experiences with the game. I just wanted to put forth my opinion on info like that and the depth of other features that I have experienced with the game. I’m not necessarily a big racing gamer but am enjoying the game immensly as are many of my friends. The overall feel I got from your review was not to buy the game if you are not into racing and that’s where I disagree.
I’m a petrolhead, I love cars and loved GT on the PS2.
Forza 2 is the best driving game ever made. It has its flaws, but the depth of the game combined with the sense of speed and realism is fantastic!
Stevo,
I definitely agree that it’s a great game. I can’t wait to see what racing games we will have in the future from the Forza series. I really wish they would add weather conditions.
i totally agree with this because i am a gran-tuismo fan for life and used to play it all the time until my ps2 died. I don’t agree with Rhett mash i’ve been playing for months on end and i think it has lost its flare almost completely. i hope the company thinks twice before they make another one and at least add nighttime tracks and different weather conditions. I also think that the customizing is great but, they need more after-market parts and older cars and more of a selection of years ie.1920 and up/maybe more jdm cars.