Forza Motorsport 2

You'd think by looking at the score I don't particularly like this game. You'd be wrong of course because this in no way is a bad game. It's the only game that has been on my 360 since I had it delivered and it will probably be the only game on my 360 until I complete it. But be warned, if your ideal racing game is of the Burnout type then you should avoid. Because you have to drive correctly and you have to setup cars to be able to drive correctly (and it's very handy that you can download setups for the more lazy types such as myself). If you don't do these things you will hate it. You'll be spinning all the time, doing endless amounts of rallycross across gravel, bashing into walls etc. etc. But the first time you get your ridiculously overpowered motor to go flying around a tight corner with barely a hint of tyre squeel because you have the perfect setup it gives you the ultimate high (obviously that's a slight over exaggeration but you get where I'm coming from). So why only 3 stars then? Let's start with the graphics, they're not bad but I expected them to be better, it just doesn't feel that much of an improvement over Forza 1. It doesn't look anywhere near as crisp as the GTHD Concept on the PS3, but that is only a demo so I'll reserve judgement on that until it's released. Plus it would have been nice if the trees in the background moved even a little bit, just to add to the realism, I know it's a minor thing but it's just something I noticed while driving around. Now the sound, why does everything sounds so similar? With all the next-gen power and storage available why doesn't every car in the game sound like it's real world counterpart? If you pay so much detail to the look and handling of the cars surely the sound should be a breeze for the people that create these things. If I'm flying around with a big throbbing V8 under the accelerator I'd like to hear that coming out of my surround sound system, not some nondescript whiney noise. Though this isn't the only game guilty of this.

But now we come to the main reason why I marked this game down. The tracks. Yes we get Sebring and Mugello which are ok but nothing more than that. Real world circuits they may be, but that doesn't automatically mean they're brilliant. Especially Sebring as it's totally flat, though the final bumpy corner is always fun if you get it wrong! So we get 2 new tracks. But these are the ones we've lost from the original Forza:

Alpine Ring
Blue Mountains Raceway
Fujimi Kaido Down Hill
Fujimi Kaido Hill Climb
New York Circuit (the long version)
Rio de Janeiro
Pacific Shipyards
Road America
Tokyo
Testtrack Drag Strip
Testtrack Oval

And some of these had multiples with reverse versions!!! Plus they've gotten rid of those little cone challenge things too which were a welcome distraction from the main racing. Yes it's nice to have more cars but there are far too many multiples of some of them (exactly how many racing 911 GT3's do you need?). The only reason you'll buy most of the cars is to complete the collection and will probably never be used once bought. Think about it, which would you rather have, 10 different cars to race around only 1 track or 1 car with 10 tracks to choose from? I would choose the latter any day. This is a sequel. On a much more powerful machine. So why do we get so much less? This is unforgivable as far as I'm concerned so it could never get the full marks from my perspective.

Having said all that though I still think it is an essential purchase. And if you've never played the original Forza and are into realistic driving games ignore what I've said, you must own this.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings.

I had waited so long for this title and it did not disappoint. It is so good in so many ways. You can just pick a car and race (arcade) or get involved and waste weeks (career), its really up to you. All the cars Ive tried feel and drive differently. The light fast modern ones really feel different to the old American heavy ones. The draw distance is amazing too, absolutely no pop up to be seen. On simulation setting the damage really plays its part, you wont use the other cars to slow you down in corners as one good crash and your damage will count you out of the race. All these settings can be changed to make the game easier for younger players or realistic for the budding racer. Traction and stability control, automatic gears, racing line and damage to mention a few are all adjusted from the menu. The graphics on a 42 HD Plasma are awesome, replays look real and the sound of the cars all sound different, especially through a good surround system. Overall I am not able to find fault with this game and I played PGR3 and GTR2 to death so I know what I'm on about. But it now, its great.

If you're after a racing sim this is a must buy. One of the best racings games I have played full stop. The cars handle like they should do, rather than screaming round a corner at 90 degrees. Admitidly the pace of the racing is way off games like PGR3, but thats because this is a driving game for people that want an experience as close to the real thing as possible.

Graphics are very good as is the sound of the cars but the ambient sounds aren't as good as they should be. Although there is no in-car view, which will get on some players nerves. The damage models of the cars is fantastic, when you crash your car will need fixing which will hit you in the pocket. The damage done to the car really affects the handling of the car, and you can even see what parts of the car are damaged.

Once you've bought your first car you can start to modify it. When you add turbos and larger tyres you can feel the difference in each car, some add-ons even make the car sound different. This is where the game excels, the amount of cars and what you can do with them will keep you busy for ages.

This is by no means a perfect game. It will not please all driving fans, those that want out and out speed will be much better off with PGR3 or Dirt, but this is a highly polished and very well made game. To call this game anything worse than good is foolish, and anyone who says so should ask mummy what its really like driving a car.

Okay sure... the graphics are good with good definition on the cars, yet the tracks are simplistic and boring so nothing to brag about there... I recently played the demo and the handling of the cars was dreadful, the only way to have a succesful drive was enabling the arrow system that shows you when to brake and accelerate. The races are very slow ironically, there is no real injection of pace to the game and all in all its very dull and repeatative... i have never played a racing game with such poor gameplay and so im giving it a pitiful 2 stars!

If your looking for an easy to drive unrealistic arcade game such as the NFSU series you will hate this game. But if you are patient enough and competent enough to learn the line around the courses and when to break you will reap the rewards from this game. With the simply fantastic graphics and realistic driving experience it makes this a game a joy to play. there is also alot of depth with the customisation and sheer amount of races and cars which you can aquire. This is only enhanced by the online features you get with the live auction house a brilliant idea rewarding the people who don't just race but design and "pimp" cars up. Overall this is a brilliant game but don't buy it if your not willing to drive properly or you will find it an incredibly tedious game