Wet and rainy roads make it more difficult to maintain control, and night driving poses a serious visibility threat. To spice it up even more, Forza Horizon 2 accounts for both a day and night cycle and changing weather. Mastering the multitude of available cars is a major asset to the game’s replay value. There’s a noticeable difference between how different cars perform, which keeps things fresh and interesting and also contributes to the different types of races one can engage in. Those that are more familiar with “kart racing” (such as myself) will find these real-world physics difficult to deal with at first, but that only adds to the fun. Things like gravity, friction, inertia, and momentum are all accounted for to make driving as close to the real thing as possible. The racing itself is exactly like Forza 5. Exploring is essential to completing and discovering some of the nooks and crannies in Horizon 2, such as “barn finds” and “bonus signs.” However, in order to buy new cars, you’ll need credits, which are earned through races, but the point is that there’s plenty to do besides engaging in one race after the next. Aside from flying off of a cliff or into a lake, cars can travel virtually anywhere – through fields and crops, up stairs, on the sidewalk, it’s all fair game. Any and all points on the map are 100% accessible from the get-go. In fact, you don’t even really have to do anything if you don’t want, you can simply drive around aimlessly hour after hour.
The cool part is that you don’t have to be in an actual race to experience the terrain of Forza Horion 2. Players have to deal with trees, guardrails, outdoor cafes, traffic, and all sorts of “real world” factors that are normally tightly controlled on a racetrack. Street races through small towns, long circuits down by the coast, and winding, twisting runs across the countryside give Horizon 2 an informal feel. Instead, they utilize the cities and surrounding landscape to fashion courses out of. The races and tracks themselves aren’t based off of actual circuits such as those in Forza 5. Much like Forza 5, the experience is highly customizable, so it can be perfectly tailored to one’s own skill level.Īlthough this is a regular race, the smoke trails in the sky remind me of a particularly fun event in which the player races against circling aircraft. In addition to “winning,” there are numerous extra challenges, bonuses, unlockables, secrets, and even a couple of add-ons to keep the player interested for a very, very long time. There’s a structure to the game but there’s also a great deal of freedom to be had. Forza Horizon 2 introduces the player to a festival taking place around the border of France and Italy. Although it’s available on the 360 as well, I can’t imagine it looking and playing nearly as well as on the newer Xbox One.Īpparently this game has a great deal in common with the original Forza Horizon, but I’ve never played it, so I got to go into it with absolutely no preconceptions. When GameStop recent had a sale on their Xbox One games, I gladly picked it up. Developer: Playground Studios, Turn 10 GamesĪlso check out our review for the DLC expansion, Storm Island!Īfter having a blast with Forza Motorsport 5(and I don’t typically care much for these hyper-real racing games), I was excited to see this open-world variant hit the shelves.