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Posted on June 13, 2007, William My Thoughts on Forza 2 (Xbox 360)

I spent the past couple of days playing Forza 2 and I’d have to say I am slightly satisfied, yet not overly impressed with the racing sim everyone is talking about. 300+ cars, 40+ tracks and great music should have been enough to keep me excited but I just don’t think this game will live up to expectations with most racing simulator enthusiasts. I couldn’t help but think to myself that I’d almost rather be playing one of the old Gran Turismos on my PS2. I’ll break my review into simple sections for you.

Customization: The customization is very extensive in Forza 2, so if that’s your thing it’s truly a winner. You could spend endless hours customizing every little detail of your cars. One thing I do like is the ability to take photos of your vehicle and upload them to the Forza server to view later on the web. This sim definitely gets my stamp of approval as far as customization and is just as good if not better than any other racing sims I have played.

Graphics: The graphics are great. I don’t think it’s quite as ground breaking as some claimed it would be, but it’s enough to keep me happy. In some ways, I think it is almost too realistic. The car damage so highly spoken of for the game is a little on the hokey side. It’s not accurate in the least bit and either under or over-exaggerated in nearly every event.

Gameplay: This is where the game gets an average rating from me. Even with 40+ tracks, the racing seems to get a little too repetitive each time. The AI in the game isn’t all that great and your opponents are fairly predictable. I was actually surprised that there were no races in the rain which I really love in many other racing games. The cars do handle realistically and probably better than most racing games.

All in all I would call Forza 2 a great game. If I had to give it a number, I’d say 8.5/10. It is better than the Gran Turismo series in many ways, but I don’t think it’s even close to what we need to expect out of the future of next-generation racing. I’m not sure I am just burnt out on racing, but there was really nothing new about this game to keep my attention for long periods of time. There’s nothing ground breaking in the title. There’s nothing to write home to mom about. If you like racing games a lot, then it’s probably a good pick. I’d suggest renting it first though.