Released on 08/06/2007

• Forza Motorsport 2 Review

  Forza 2 kicks up a cloud of next-gen racing dust.

  2005's original Forza on Xbox was already a very accomplished racing sim with realistic physics and incredible car customisation, and with the sequel Microsoft Game Studios have delivered more of the same but taken the whole experience up a notch.
  

  If you're playing the game on a high-definition display, the first thing you'll notice is the stunning quality of the visuals. Photo-realistic is a term often misused to describe videogame graphics but Forza 2 achieves it better than most. Lighting, textures and effects all look amazing and everything moves at a rock-solid 60 frames per second.

  This visual realism is worth mentioning because it compliments the levels of realism Turn 10 has achieved with the handling of the cars. For example, the Ferrari 550 Maranello race car is a right handful with all the driver aids turned off - power oversteer is always just a finger-twitch away. Conversely, the four-wheel drifts possible in an F430 are sublime and utterly controllable.

  As close as it’s possible to get to driving a real car in your living room.

  And it's this appreciable difference in handling between all the cars that is so satisfying. Rear, front and four wheel drive feel has been replicated in such fine detail that any petrol head will be in their element pounding round the various circuits. Use the wireless, force-feedback steering wheel from Microsoft and you'll be as close as it's possible to get to driving a real car in your living room.

  The sound is another area where the developers have done a fantastic job. You can tell what car an opponent is driving behind you just by the sound alone. Take a standard Honda Civic Type R, add a racing air intake and exhaust system and the resulting change in engine sound is so satisfying - you can really hear the difference all the performance upgrades make, immersing you further into your virtual racing cockpit.

  Jump straight into the action

  Game structure is also very much like the last Forza game. Arcade and Career are the two main areas. Arcade lets you jump straight into the most exotic cars in the game for a quick racing fix. Career is where you start with a pretty standard car and using your winnings, tune the performance with a myriad upgrades and customize the look with styling add-ons, paint and graphics.

  And it's this area where Microsoft believes a lot of players will be spending most of their time. The scope for custom paint jobs is staggering and the Internet is already loaded with images of some amazing designs. This is even more impressive when you consider the (good but limited) tools you are given to decorate your vehicle.

  Once you've created your automotive masterpiece you can auction the car to the highest bidder - you could even end up racing against your old car! The idea is to create a massive community of racers, modders and artists all populating different areas within the Forza 2 world and all sharing a love of cars. Looks like it's working so far.
  

  As a simulator, the comparisons with the Gran Turismo series are inevitable and justified. GT has been the benchmark since it first came out and in reality, both titles are of the highest quality with only subtle but important differences. Forza 2 however is arguably more 'fun' and isn't that why we play games in the first place?

   

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • Great handling.
  • Car customisation.
  • Amazing visuals.

  

  • Replays not always smooth.
  • Menu navigation a bit awkward (especially with steering wheel).
  • Erratic difficulty levels.

  Review by: Graeme Jones
  Review Published: 08.06.07

  Published: 08/06/2007

• Video Games Awards reveal games & more games!

  Video Games Awards reveal games, games, and more games

  This weekend saw the Video Game Awards rock the US of A, and while there were prizes, speeches, and parties, there were also announcements of new games. Lots of them. Here are the biggies.

  Mass Effect 3 is on the way from BioWare. The sci-fi sequel will see Commander Shepherd protecting the Earth from alien invasion, and will be hitting the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 somewhere around Christmas 2011. We love the first two games, so we're excited.

  Sticking with RPGs, Bethesda's unveiled Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the sequel to sword and sorcery classic Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It's coming out in November, 2011, but we've got no firm word on which platforms it's going to land on just yet, or what kind of epic fantasy story it's going to tell.

  Hellboy director Guillermo Del Toro's working on a game for THQ called inSane. Aside from the fact that it's out in 2013, that's literally all we know about it from the reveal.

  Prototype 2 is on the way from Radical and Activision. The sequel to the superhero open-worlder features an interesting twist: rather than pick up the story of wall-crawling mutant Alex Mercer once more, you're cast as the man who has to bring him down. No platforms have been revealed, but the game's on the way in 2012.

  Finally, we knew it was in development, but now we also know Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception will be hitting PS3s in America on 1st November, 2011. Whether Europe gets it the same day we don't yet know, but it's nice to know roughly when to expect it.

  But it wasn't only action and role-playing fans who have things to look forward to following this weekend's Video Games Awards in the US. Sports gamers are getting a few treats, too, with new instalments for the SSX and Forza series being announced.

  SSX: Deadly Descents reinvents the classic snowboarding game for the current console generation, although no formats - or dates were revealed.

  According to the publisher, EA, players will explore the story of a team who seek to be the first to descend the faces of the most treacherous mountain ranges on the planet. The team will travel the world to face the worst that Mother Nature can throw at them. From the peaks of the Himalayas, where the air is so thin that riders have to descend through the death zone at breakneck speeds to keep from blacking out, to the solid ice ranges of Antarctica, where a sunlit line is the only survival option when temperatures drop 50 degrees centigrade in the shade.

  Sounds great. If you're a driving fanatic, though, you'll be excited to hear about Forza 4. The latest game in Microsoft's simulation racing series will be revving up on the Xbox 360 in the second half of next year, and although details are scarce, you can expect some kind of tie-in with Top Gear, apparently, and some Kinect integration to boot.

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