We're in the middle of the summerhole right now, which basically means that there are not a whole lot of new games to talk about right now. This leads to me dusting off some games that I haven't played for a while and showing some old favourites some love. Now, This whole idea will be the basis of a new segment of articles that I'll publish over the next couple of weeks: "Looking back", a quick look back at some older, but still very enjoyable title. So, let's kick it off with "Forza Motorsport 2".
Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360) [2007]
The Forza series is probalby an unkown entity for most of you, since it's a franchise that appears exclusively on the Xbox and Xbox 360. Basically, it's Microsoft's answer to Sony's hugely popular and successful Gran Turismo series, which means it is a racing sim.But don't let the word "simulation" scare you away. Forza Motorsport 2 is actually much more accessible than you might think, with a ton of helps and cruches that are designed to make the game enjoyable for even the most casual racing fans.
Ideal lines, traction controll, extra car stability, eased AI drivers and the ability to turn off real time damage are only some of those ways that help to make Forza 2 the perfect blend between Arcade and Sim racing.
The game features a wide selection of cars. Old Jaguars ...
What's just brilliant about this game, is it's vast and amazingly big lineup of cars. No matter if it's slow, fast, old, new, ordinary or exotic: Forza 2 got the lot, from a 1970 Porsche 917 to a 2005 Vauxhall Astra. And the ebst thing about it: All cars are upgradable in just a crazy amounts of ways. Turbos, new engine blocks, clutches, fuel pumps, tyres, breaks, suspeansion and even the paintjob can be completely customized and tweaked to your liking to ensure that you get the most out of your multi horse-power machine.And those changes are not some generic number-tweaking, they actually affect the way your car handles and feels in a very big way. Stiffening up your suspension will realistically result in more understeer, while adding a supercharger will naturally make your car a lot more harder to controll. It's incerdibly deep.
The game-design is another strong point of Forza 2, because there is always something new to do for you. The deep career mode gives you a variety of different race events to choose from, each with their own requirements and special rules. You won't even have to buy new cars, since after every event you complete you are being awarded with a brand new machine and a set of coins, with which you can then in turn make it even stronger.
Unfortunately, since Forza 3 is already out and Forza 4 is emerging on the horizon, the otherwise incredible online component of Forza 2 finds itself in a lack of players that actually still invest in it. Still, you might be lucky and find one or two fellow players online.
... and shiny new Ferraris
Even four years after it's release, Forza 2 still is an incredibly fun game to play and will suck you in again in no-time. Sure, the graphics show their age and you might be thinking about picking up Forza 3 if you're already at it, but with the price of a used copy being at under 10€, anybody who owns an Xbox 360 and likes playing racing games from time to time can't go wrong by picking up Forza Motorsport 2. I dusted it off and started playing it again just about 1 week ago and I can fully recommend it!Verdict:
Burn it!
Leave it!
Try it!
-- Play it! --
Burn it!
Leave it!
Try it!
-- Play it! --