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| Source // MobyGames |
The 1001 list is taking us from one console-exclusive racer to another next, as we wash away the mud and get out the turtle wax for the Xbox's competitor to Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport 2.
As you might imagine, being locked to the PlayStation - through choice, might I add - I was very much on Team Turismo, and it'd be a long time before I was even in a position to see first hand what the Forza series offered players. Quite a lot is the answer, and often before Gran Turismo offered the same things.
Thanks to board gaming, of all things, I've been getting more familiar with the Forza Motorsport series, and this first release on the Xbox 360 is where we're kicking off, described as 'more of the first game, but better'. Excellent.
Where are my keys?
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| Source // YouTube |
Fun Times
After reminding you how shiny and high definition its car models are in a bunch of showroom style swoops around Porsches and Skylines, FM2 drops you onto a menu with two main modes to grab your attention, the arcade and the career.
Heading into the arcade mode will let you play with all manner of cars around tracks, including licensed real-world circuits and those handmade for the Forza series. You can pick the road cars you see on the street or the supercars you'll never get close to even touching, and then tear around for a few laps in the hopes of finishing first and unlocking more cars to use.
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| Source // MobyGames |
If you only care about having a quick race, this arcade mode is pretty good. While I have absolutely no memory of doing so, I've apparently gone through all of the races to unlock a bunch of stuff, though I haven't yet finished off the time trial mode to unlock a load more.
With more car classes to choose from than you'd imagine, there's already quite a bit of depth in this arcade mode to keep players busy, but it's the career mode that we all want to go through, right?
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| Source // Gamefabrique |
After choosing a home region and bog-standard starting car, the career mode opens up not with the license tests of Gran Turismo, but with racing around a track. A test track designed to ease players into circuit racing, sure, but a track nonetheless.
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| Source // Gamefabrique |
Races are walled off according to your experience level and whether you have a car that meets the entry requirements, such as having been manufactured in North America, or have its engine in the front - not too limiting, these requirements, but it's early days.
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| Source // Gamefabrique |
If you're eligible, you'll be put onto the grid according to how high your car is rated. This is a feature I really like, as it gives a quick, rule-of-thumb guide to how good your car is. Each car has a letter, with D-rated cars worse than A-rated ones, and a number, where the higher number should outperform the lower.
That score is broken down further into ratings for Speed, Handling, and so on, giving you the ability to quickly glance around your garage and see where your good cars are. And these stats can be boosted by bolting on new parts, new tyres, shedding weight, replacing engines - if you've got the money and desire to tune your cars, Forza provides a sizeable toolbox to help you out, though some car knowledge would be beneficial.
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| Source // Gamefabrique |
This test track can be split into as many as 8 individually challenging courses - I know because I've recreated them all for Rallyman: GT - each one putting your car through fast corners, slow corners, chicanes, and generally giving you the experience needed to drive these cars.
Along with the car stats, the driving feels a little arcadey, but I think that's just the perception I get from the presentation of Forza Motorsport. It's a welcoming game, with so many car assists available to stop new drivers from sending it into each and every gravel trap, and you're rewarded with more money if you turn these off and make the game more challenging.
But if you went into the career mode first, you'd be forgiven for thinking that there's only one location to race around. Multiple layouts, sure, but this test track gets old fast, and you'll wish that you could climb the ranks faster and get racing anywhere else, in anything faster than your parents' runabout.
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
Amusingly, some races are so open you can put any car you want onto the grid, and because they're formed up with the fastest cars at the front, you'll have yourself an easy race if you turn up with the right set of wheels.
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| Source // MobyGames |
Those sets of wheels can come from all over the world, stretching back in time, as some 350 cars will be available by the time you're finished, all built with high definition, 60fps gaming in mind. While you can point out some graphical woes, there aren't that many, and they're usually found on the track that you're whizzing by, not on the cars you're spending so long looking at.
Each race win in the career mode increases your bank account, but progress can also reward you with discounts on cars and parts, and even free cars to fill out your garage. The more you drive with a given manufacturer, the more discounts you get on parts to make their cars better.
The whole system - almost by design - feels like an RPG. Each completed race shows you your progression towards the next level, where you'll unlock more stuff. There's even a pop-up window that says "You've got this much money, this much progress towards the next level, what do you want to do now?", and reminds you that you can carry on with a cup, or tune your vehicle, or buy a new one with your winnings.
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| Source // MobyGames |
Forza Motorsport 2 wants you to keep playing, and keep playing your way. You're free to use the cars you want to use, equip them with the parts you want to buy and bolt on, and even paint them not only whatever colour you want, but with thousands of layers of decals, allowing those with the skill and patience to recreate seemingly any racing livery under the sun.
Back in the day, you could sell these designs for in-game currency, as players around the world bought into your hard work to make their cars look better. Gran Turismo introduced such a thing 10 years later.
It very much makes Forza Motorsport 2 a racing game of doing things your way, rather than the way you're told to do so. Yeah, your progress is gated and funnelled through increasingly difficult races and level progression, but if you want to put in a wildly overpowered car to make your life easier, you can. Heck, at some point, you can outright pay an AI driver to race for you, with better drivers taking home more of the winnings as their fee.
There's a lot of content to dive into in Forza Motorsport 2, and it serves as a great starting point for learning about the series.
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| Source // Gamefabrique |
Frustrations
If only I could get off this bloody test track. I have had races elsewhere, and my career is progressing along at a steady pace, but the more I drive around this place - even for a few laps at a time - the more I despise it. Even the grass is dying of boredom.
This welcomes everyone into the career mode, but once you're over the beginner driver hump, you'll have more fun on tracks across the world. Some I recognise, many I don't (though, again, thanks to recreating them for board games, many I actually do now), all serving up a nice driving challenge.
Not least because of the handling of some of these cars. I either bought or won a Renault something or other, and used it to take part in a number of races where I found it horribly slidey. If it wanted to spin out on a corner, it often would, but I liked its performance otherwise and stuck on some new parts to make it better.
But could I eliminate the roll and the slide? Nah. Even with grippy tyres, it slid around, and if you don't finish first, you're doomed to repeat the race on this God-forsaken test track. I was so close to selling it in frustration, but just bought a Ford instead and had a much, much better time.
It's all part of the learning process, I suppose. What cars I like the feel how, how my driving style works and doesn't work with them, and the more time I invest in something I like, the more I'll be rewarded.
Final Word
Forza Motorsport 2 is a fine game. It looks great and doesn't skimp on the content, easily going toe-to-toe with Gran Turismo and, arguably, coming out on top in some regards. In others, it feels a little too arcadey, a little less premium, a little more street racer than professional, but that's just my opinion really. Ask someone who grew up with Forza instead of Gran Turismo and similar charges could be levelled in my direction.
When I wasn't annoyed at how one car handled or how often I was racing around the test track, the only thing that really jumped out at me was that the music would cut out before you started racing, and wouldn't come back until you'd finished. Racing to the sounds of engines and tyre-squeals can be alright, but it can also feel like something is lacking.
To be fair, though, it's not the only racing game to drop music, and it's not like I recognised any of it anyway. If anything, I think I must just be eager to get behind the wheel of something that isn't designed for the school run.
Will I play Forza Motorsport 2 some more? Quite possibly. There's no real reason to do so - you know what you're going to get from a racing game - but it's far from an unplayable car crash of a game. This really is a great start to a series.
Fun Facts
I completely forgot about the collision models, which will scuff up and crumple your car if you use the track walls - or your competitors - as brakes. From cosmetic damage to full-on race-ending simulation modes, you'll need to drive properly here. Got there before Gran Turismo again.
Forza Motorsport 2, developed by Turn 10 Studios, first released in 2007.
Version played: Xbox 360, 2007.