Hey I'm Andy, from Northern Ireland, 22 year of age :) on here to review some products, probably mos...
Hey I'm Andy, from Northern Ireland, 22 year of age :) on here to review some products, probably mostly DVDs as I am a huge movie fan and can be quite harsh about even blockbuster films so keep an eye out for my reviews.
Member since:21.05.2009
Reviews:27
Although its been out for a while now, Forza 2 still remains one of the best racing games on the Xbox 360, only rivalled by Grid and NFS Shift. Now in the classics range, meaning you can pick it up for not much more than a tenner, is even more of an incentive to delve into your pockets and invest into the game. But is it really a 'classic', I mean can a 2 year old game hold up against new releases with better graphics and improved physics engines? With the new Forza on the way, is it really worth buying this older version? There is not short answer to be honest, it really depends upon the player on how much you will get out of the game.
Like any other racing game on the market, Forza come with its own career mode, which as usual, entails the buying of a car, racing small races, buying a better car, racing bigger races. Its really that simple. From the start, you actually have a fairly wide range of cars at your disposal, and this only increases the more you play the game. The volume of cars on offer here is truly incredible and they run from your run-of-the-day Ford Focus, to some crazy looking Audi racing cars I've never heard of. And the great thing is,
they all feel different, driving a new car feels like, well, driving a new car! And it really makes a difference if your car is rear wheel drive or front, if your car is mid-engine. The great thing about Forza is that all the little details matter, and you can feel them when your out on the track and you must drive accordingly.
The career is quite deep and has a good lot of features for you to dig your nails into. Firstly, every race you complete earns you experience, as you gain more experience you increase your Driver Level which gives you access to bigger and better races, and also unlocks a few more cars. Ontop of this, each individual car has its own Car Level, and when you move up a level you receive a bonus, cheaper engine parts for example. It's a nice touch that adds to the game. The game is split up into series championships if you like, each championship involves a number of races. The catch is not every car can enter every race, so your actually being forced to jump into new cars and tear them around your track, for example the FWD championship is only open to front wheel drive cars, so you are going to have to mix it up a bit. But that's not a problem at all, by winning a championship, not only do you get a decent bit of money, but the game also rewards you with a prize car which can be used in future races. Most of the time these cars are old, collectors types that handle worse than my teenage sister can handle her drink, but some of the cars the game throws at you are actually quite good.
The graphics for the game, even though they are a couple years old, are stunning. Each car looks superb out on the track, and even better in your garage. In the cockpit view, you can see all the dials and buttons you would expect to find in there. The tracks are very impressive, and are all (as far as I'm away) based on real tracks, and not only are they based on the tracks they're extremely accurate. All the big names are here, The Laguna Seca for example, and all are great to drive on. The sound? My god. Forza does it just right, the music in the menus are fairly catchy, but when you hit the track the only music you'll be hearing if from the V12 monster on your screen. This is the best thing a racing game can do, forget rocky soundtracks and fast beats, just let me hear the sound of the engine roar! The sound of the tyres screaming as I take a corner at 70mph, and boy do they scream.
The system to upgrade your car is one of the best I've seen. While there aren't many options to modify the visuals of your car, you do get plenty of a chance to tinker under the bonnet and lets face it, that's really what makes the difference. You can change anything from the Flywheel to the width of the tyres, and each change you make changes the way the car feels on the track. You are also able to create your own vinals for your car using the cars in-game vinal editor, however I did try a few and they didn't turn out so well. I don't know if it was my bad design work or the games bad editor that caused the problem!
The game can be quite challenging, and there is plenty to do. But I basically found that you can fly through the game with very little hassle just by making the right car choices. And eventually, I'm sad to say, the one trick pony does get a bit boring. Another race type or two would have been nice, just to add a bit of variation. It gets boring doing the same thing over and over and over again, if it wasn't for the fact that the cars feel so different the game would have become so tedious I probably wouldn't have finished it. Lucky that isn't the case.
With Forza 3 on the horizon, you might be convinced to keep your money and get that instead. But with Forza 2 for less than 20 quid, it would be stupid not to buy it, your still picking up a top class racer, probably still one of the best on the Xbox 360, and even with its flaws it still proves to be an excellent experience that will provide you with many hours of track based fun.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Great graphics and slick gameplay both solo and live Disadvantages: Misses the next rung of the ladder and lacks the variety of the first game
Advantages: Runs at a smooth 60fps, over 300 cars, expansive career mode and excellent car physics Disadvantages: Hard to find customised cars in the auction house, More tracks would have been good.
Oct 15th, 2009
very helpful by (100%):
