SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Review: Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360)

I’ve raced around with true motorsports simulation titles on the PC. I know from where I am coming, and I can say with a certain amount of authority that I can do things in FM2 that would see my car turned into a wad of crumpled metal and fiberglass in some other unnamed PC simulation titles. However, if you PC racers are out there screaming “Ha! I told you so! Consoles can’t handle a simulation title!”… well, first seek professional help for screaming at an inanimate object, but then understand that I say this with a caveat.

FM2 is not meant to replace my PC simulation titles. It is meant to augment them, kinda like a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. No, really. FM2 is assuredly a simulation by comparison to other console titles, yea even unto some PC titles. However, in the PC simulation market, there are some that rise above others in terms of fidelity, so the console market is no different.

Forza Motorsport 2

Cobalt Crash

The physics model in FM2 is light-years ahead of anything I’ve ever experienced on a console and FM2 is the only console racing simulation that features a full damage model that affects how your car drives. When used with the Microsoft Wireless Wheel, the force feedback effects you feel as you navigate the various tracks is as convincing as any simulation title on the PC. There are no ‘generic’ physics models for classes of cars. Each individual car feels different. It’s not just feeling the difference between a Murceilago and a Honda Civic. It’s also feeling the difference between a VW Golf GTI and an Eagle Talon TSi.

So, is it not a simulation because it can’t stack up with a particular title? Hardly. It’s a simulation title because it makes all the nods to realism you’d need to classify it as one…

…with one glaring exception. Hello, Turn 10? Are you listening? The lack of an in-cockpit view is my biggest gripe with this title and its omission is to its detriment. It was the one feature this title needed to put it right up there at the adult’s table. Although, I’ve seen some thoroughly worthless in-cockpit views in some simulation titles, so that may or may not be its Achilles heel for some on the fence. It does offer first-person bumper and hood views.

We Need Cars…Lots of Cars…

The single-player game can be summed up in one word: sterile. If you’re expecting the atmosphere and immersion into the world of racing of some other racing simulations, you won’t find it. The single-player game is all about unlocking cars and competitions, winning cash in order to upgrade and tune your cars to their peak.

Forza Motorsport 2

Maple Valley

There are two single player modes, Arcade and Career. Arcade isn’t really what it sounds like, either. It’s not all arcade physics and uber-handling cars like a Need For Speed clone. It includes Time Trials and a Free Run that allows you to take any car you’ve unlocked (as well as anything in your garage) out on any track in the game and run laps to your heart’s content. The Free Run mode also features a ‘ghost’ car so the driver can compete with previous lap performance.

People who bought the original Forza will notice that the tracks look familiar. They should. They’re the same tracks, just better looking, but there is one rather exciting addition, “The Green Hell” is now in FM2, so you now have the opportunity to send your Saleen S7 into the pine trees of the German countryside. Running the Ring is a challenge to even the most experienced racing simulation enthusiast and that Turn 10 saw fit to include it here is one more point in their favor.

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