One of the things that just continues to blow my mind every time I am playing this game is just how deep the game is, the way the cars handle, the attention to detail in everything and the incredible Forza physics all play a part into just how much fun this game is. Let me just start my review by saying that if you are a lover of any of these 3 things, a detailed open world, beautiful, One of the things that just continues to blow my mind every time I am playing this game is just how deep the game is, the way the cars handle, the attention to detail in everything and the incredible Forza physics all play a part into just how much fun this game is. Let me just start my review by saying that if you are a lover of any of these 3 things, a detailed open world, beautiful, colorful graphics, or cars of any kind, this is the game for you.



I am going to do this review in three categories with some final thoughts at the end and I am basing my review on the Xbox One version of the game. If you don't have an Xbox One for whatever reason, this game is absolutely worth getting one for, even if it's just for this game, it's worth it, here is my opinion of why..



The Game.



Why, oh why has it taken developers so long to realize that there is absolutely a market for a game like this? Realistically driving and racing cars in a gigantic, beautiful open world? YES PLEASE. As i just mentioned, the handling in this game is geared more towards simulation than "arcadey" handling and as a result, you have an incredibly deep "easy to learn, hard to master" approach to this racing game. Each of the cars feel truly unique, especially if you are racing them at their stock settings and upgrades. I have been playing this with a wheel, I can feel every detail in the in the cars (of which there are more than 200 of) and how they handle and it's easily one of the most fun driving games out there. I am a lover of older cars, anything from the 50s to the early 2000s and each car that I have driven feels exactly the way that the cars would feel besides improved traction and braking, but it's understandable why these slight adjustments were made considering how beautiful and varied this world that playground games has created really is.



The World.



The setting of FH2 is based on the Southern European area of Italy and France, the world feels fresh and large due to the new and unique setting, and the activities are plentiful with more than enough in the single player alone to keep you busy for more than 80 hours. There many types of races to keep you busy and even the killer Showcase Events, which put you up against jets, trains and even hot air balloons for example, and then there are the out of race activities. There are billboards to smash, RPG Elements, old run down cars to find and restore, and so much road (and off-road) to explore.

The game is based around a fictional car and music festival called Horizon and the atmosphere of the game is done so well that even someone who doesn't really enjoy the type of music that the game is mainly celebrating (specifically electronic), it's hard not to appreciate the love and effort that went into creating the atmosphere and world.



The Visuals



To me, graphics should always come after gameplay, but in this game it is incredibly hard not to talk about how beautiful it is. The car models themselves are impressive, with each and every single one of them featuring a beautifully detailed cockpit, but the biggest difference I have noticed with this game and it's new generation of visual effects are just how much love has gone into creating every single last detail and making it beautiful. The paint has depth and detail, each individual rain droplet is beautiful, even when you go into photo mode and zoom in, it's obvious it's not just a low res texture, the chrome on the cars sparkles beautifully in the sun and when you are driving off-road, the dirt kicks up and goes all over your car and wheels in a way that's beautiful and realistic, and then the rain can actually wash it off and make the car clean again.

One of the most common criticisms of this game that I have heard is that the game looks "cartoony" in comparison to other games coming out soon that base their colour pallet around what you see when you are driving in real life, but it's far from that. The game is an absolute joy to look at and if you ask me why I would take this art style over something less colourful and more darker/realistic is because every moment I have experienced in this game, looks BETTER than real life in my opinion..

Videos on the internet simply don't do this game justice, if you want to be truly blown away by what this console is capable of, play the game.



I could go on and on about the features and details of this game and I haven't even mentioned the incredible player based AI and the online component yet, but I need to wrap this up.



Final Thoughts.



This game is one of, if not the best racing game I've ever played and is easily Game of the Year for me, I will be coming back to this for years to come. If there is anything left to be desired, it's more world, more cars and more activities, not because there is not enough, but because I cannot get enough. This is the game I've been waiting for and it's finally here, and shows no signs of slowing down.



FH2 earns an easily deserved 10 out of 10. … Expand