RSS
Does the Xbox 360 sequel surpass the Xbox original?
May 30, 2007 | 12:59 PM PSTSimulation racing exploded onto the console gaming scene with the release of Gran Turismo and despite the huge number of titles that have flooded into the market since, only one has ever come close to stealing the throne from the granddaddy of them all. Forza Motorsport was tagged with the ‘Gran Turismo’ killer moniker from the second the first trailer ended, and to the great surprise of just about everyone it actually lived up to that title. Better graphics, online play and a slew of smart, accessibility-enhancing features pushed Microsoft’s first entry in the genre to the front of the pack. Expectations for the next-gen sequel were understandably soaring, right up to the second the gaming populace received their first look at the game in action and were smacked in the face with some uninspired visuals. For a major franchise on a console selling HD graphics, that’s the hype equivalent of pulling the hand-brake at 200mph.
Even in its final state, with all the texture passes and lighting applied, Forza Motorsport 2 still doesn’t quite muster the graphical pizzazz of other racers on the platform, including Microsoft’s own Project Gotham Racing 3 – a launch title. To be fair the only major problem with the graphics is the lack of full anti-aliasing, as jagged edges mar what should be smooth curves on the vehicles and flickering persists throughout the track environments. It’s not terrible, but it is noticeable enough to be distracting. Other minor problems drag down the overall presentation value as well, including lighting that – while technically sound – feels undeniably sterile, muddy environmental textures, and real-time reflection maps that jitter across the bodies of vehicles as if they were moving at their own single-digit framerate.
There are some strong points to the game’s presentation, not the least of which is the fact that the action on screen never drops below 60 frames-per-second, an achievement that players can literally feel in the smooth motion and noticeably faster, more natural response to controller input. The higher frames per second also allows for a far superior sensation of speed than any other simulation racer to date, albeit still nowhere near the standard set by arcade racers like Burnout Revenge. Moreover, all of the vehicles in the game showcase dynamic damage modeling such as scrapped paint, shattered glass, lost bumpers, and bent chasses to remind players of their overzealous driving. There’s not as much damage as we would like (Burnout has spoiled us) since car manufactures don’t seem to like having their products destroyed, but what’s there certainly adds to the aura of realism the game is shooting for.
Players will have plenty of cars to destroy over the course of their racing careers, as the developers have crammed over 300 cars from 50 of the top auto manufacturers in the world. Typically those kind of numbers entail a host of low-end cars nobody in their right mind would want to drive and a slew of slight variations on the same model, but in Forza Motorsport 2, each of the cars is unique and almost all of them are worth giving a spin around one of the game’s many real-world tracks. The physics model is incredibly deep and most players probably won’t realize or care about all of the calculations happening in the background, but the end result is that all of the cars feel distinctly different and react as one would expect them to. Perfect controls sure don’t hurt either.
The game also features a host of different gameplay modes to account for various tastes and skill levels. Those who are relatively new to simulation racers, or just want a quick ride in a hot car will probably want to start in Arcade mode where they’ll have immediate access to a slew of cars in every class and won’t have to worry about the effects of damage as they grow accustomed to physics-heavy driving model. In addition to the inclusion of such modes, in-game options like anti-lock breaking, traction and stability control and the dynamic ‘suggested line’ indicator all help to make Forza Motorsport 2 the most accessible simulation racer ever made.
The only ‘problem’ with these options is that the game doesn’t offer a particular effective means of weaning new players off of them. Any new player that starts playing Forza 2 using the suggested line or the ‘braking only’ variation is extremely likely to finish playing the game with the option still turned on. As such, players aren’t really getting any better at the game or simulation racing by using the features, they aren’t learning how to analyze curves and determine when to brake for themselves. If anything, they can grow dependent on such features to tell them how to drive and feel lost without them. Playing “Simon Says” with a flashing line on the pavement isn’t particularly fun and it would have been nice if the game offered a real tutorial that actually explained to gamers exactly what they need to know going into any given curve.
The bulk of the single-player experience is in the career mode, which works almost exactly as it did in the first Forza Motorsport. Players choose a region of the world to start in, which grants them access to a few lower-end cars from manufacturers in the area. Completing races earns the player money to spend on new cars and upgrades, as well as experience toward both the driver and the car. Leveling up the driver opens up new races and unlocks new cars to buy, while leveling up the car unlocks discounts on upgrades. Ideally the car-leveling mechanic would force players to spend a greater amount of time with lower-end cars instead of making a mad dash for the Ferraris but in practice the 5-level cap can be reached after only a few races, thereby rendering the system rather pointless.
The major problem with the career mode is that it’s simply too easy, even if the player isn’t a particularly great driver. The opponent AI, while very smart on the hard difficulty setting, is remarkably easy to beat on the medium setting. Players are awarded powerful cars at the end of each race, which makes the next race all the easier to win. In those rare cases when one can’t seem to win, a quick trip to the nearest dealer or a quick upgrade is generally all it takes to dominate the field. Granted, no one wants a sim racer where a stock Civic can beat a Ferrari, but there does seem to be a definite emphasis on sheer power over driving finesse. An emphasis on car power and tuning certainly plays towards the game’s strengths given the absolutely insane depth of the customization system. Almost every piece of every car can be replaced and tweaked, and all of the changes result in tangible differences to the car’s performance on the track. There’s an amazingly extensive visual customization system that allows players to combine hundreds of layers of vinyl, paint and decals to create one-of-a-kind creations. And what else is there to do with one-of-a-kind creations besides sell them for a huge profit?
Forza Motorsport 2 doesn’t really feel particularly ‘next-gen’ until one starts exploring the online feature set. In addition to the obvious ability to compete with other racers over Xbox Live, the game offers a host of community options to bring those players together off the track. The heart of the online experience lies on forzamotorsport.net, which essentially does for Forza Motorsport 2 what Bungie.net did for Halo 2. The website acts as an easily navigable hub through which players can access the latest news, browse the message boards, check any number of personal or general stats, the status of online tournaments, and several other facets of the Forza Motorsport community. Certainly the most welcome and impressive element of this community is the new auction house, where players can buy and sell cars in an eBay-like fashion. Those players with the artistic skill to make truly beautiful car skins will find the auction house to be a huge source of income, while the collectors among us will make it our first stop every day to check out the latest one-of-a-kind offerings. There’s little doubt that some players will forgo racing entirely and simply forge their own niche in the community as car decorators. The entire system feels incredibly cohesive and truly comes across as a huge step forward in the art of building active and enthusiastic online communities around games.
Forza Motorsport 2 is the best racing simulation ever made. Granted, as the first true simulation racer of the next generation it doesn’t yet have much competition to that title, but the fact remains that Turn 10 and Microsoft have created a title that raises the bar for the genre. The physics, customization options and online functionality are the best we’ve ever seen. Aside from the uninspiring visuals and few other minor issues, there’s no reason for any Xbox 360 owner to turn down this ride.
Even in its final state, with all the texture passes and lighting applied, Forza Motorsport 2 still doesn’t quite muster the graphical pizzazz of other racers on the platform, including Microsoft’s own Project Gotham Racing 3 – a launch title. To be fair the only major problem with the graphics is the lack of full anti-aliasing, as jagged edges mar what should be smooth curves on the vehicles and flickering persists throughout the track environments. It’s not terrible, but it is noticeable enough to be distracting. Other minor problems drag down the overall presentation value as well, including lighting that – while technically sound – feels undeniably sterile, muddy environmental textures, and real-time reflection maps that jitter across the bodies of vehicles as if they were moving at their own single-digit framerate.
There are some strong points to the game’s presentation, not the least of which is the fact that the action on screen never drops below 60 frames-per-second, an achievement that players can literally feel in the smooth motion and noticeably faster, more natural response to controller input. The higher frames per second also allows for a far superior sensation of speed than any other simulation racer to date, albeit still nowhere near the standard set by arcade racers like Burnout Revenge. Moreover, all of the vehicles in the game showcase dynamic damage modeling such as scrapped paint, shattered glass, lost bumpers, and bent chasses to remind players of their overzealous driving. There’s not as much damage as we would like (Burnout has spoiled us) since car manufactures don’t seem to like having their products destroyed, but what’s there certainly adds to the aura of realism the game is shooting for.
Players will have plenty of cars to destroy over the course of their racing careers, as the developers have crammed over 300 cars from 50 of the top auto manufacturers in the world. Typically those kind of numbers entail a host of low-end cars nobody in their right mind would want to drive and a slew of slight variations on the same model, but in Forza Motorsport 2, each of the cars is unique and almost all of them are worth giving a spin around one of the game’s many real-world tracks. The physics model is incredibly deep and most players probably won’t realize or care about all of the calculations happening in the background, but the end result is that all of the cars feel distinctly different and react as one would expect them to. Perfect controls sure don’t hurt either.
The game also features a host of different gameplay modes to account for various tastes and skill levels. Those who are relatively new to simulation racers, or just want a quick ride in a hot car will probably want to start in Arcade mode where they’ll have immediate access to a slew of cars in every class and won’t have to worry about the effects of damage as they grow accustomed to physics-heavy driving model. In addition to the inclusion of such modes, in-game options like anti-lock breaking, traction and stability control and the dynamic ‘suggested line’ indicator all help to make Forza Motorsport 2 the most accessible simulation racer ever made.
The only ‘problem’ with these options is that the game doesn’t offer a particular effective means of weaning new players off of them. Any new player that starts playing Forza 2 using the suggested line or the ‘braking only’ variation is extremely likely to finish playing the game with the option still turned on. As such, players aren’t really getting any better at the game or simulation racing by using the features, they aren’t learning how to analyze curves and determine when to brake for themselves. If anything, they can grow dependent on such features to tell them how to drive and feel lost without them. Playing “Simon Says” with a flashing line on the pavement isn’t particularly fun and it would have been nice if the game offered a real tutorial that actually explained to gamers exactly what they need to know going into any given curve.
The bulk of the single-player experience is in the career mode, which works almost exactly as it did in the first Forza Motorsport. Players choose a region of the world to start in, which grants them access to a few lower-end cars from manufacturers in the area. Completing races earns the player money to spend on new cars and upgrades, as well as experience toward both the driver and the car. Leveling up the driver opens up new races and unlocks new cars to buy, while leveling up the car unlocks discounts on upgrades. Ideally the car-leveling mechanic would force players to spend a greater amount of time with lower-end cars instead of making a mad dash for the Ferraris but in practice the 5-level cap can be reached after only a few races, thereby rendering the system rather pointless.
The major problem with the career mode is that it’s simply too easy, even if the player isn’t a particularly great driver. The opponent AI, while very smart on the hard difficulty setting, is remarkably easy to beat on the medium setting. Players are awarded powerful cars at the end of each race, which makes the next race all the easier to win. In those rare cases when one can’t seem to win, a quick trip to the nearest dealer or a quick upgrade is generally all it takes to dominate the field. Granted, no one wants a sim racer where a stock Civic can beat a Ferrari, but there does seem to be a definite emphasis on sheer power over driving finesse. An emphasis on car power and tuning certainly plays towards the game’s strengths given the absolutely insane depth of the customization system. Almost every piece of every car can be replaced and tweaked, and all of the changes result in tangible differences to the car’s performance on the track. There’s an amazingly extensive visual customization system that allows players to combine hundreds of layers of vinyl, paint and decals to create one-of-a-kind creations. And what else is there to do with one-of-a-kind creations besides sell them for a huge profit?
Forza Motorsport 2 doesn’t really feel particularly ‘next-gen’ until one starts exploring the online feature set. In addition to the obvious ability to compete with other racers over Xbox Live, the game offers a host of community options to bring those players together off the track. The heart of the online experience lies on forzamotorsport.net, which essentially does for Forza Motorsport 2 what Bungie.net did for Halo 2. The website acts as an easily navigable hub through which players can access the latest news, browse the message boards, check any number of personal or general stats, the status of online tournaments, and several other facets of the Forza Motorsport community. Certainly the most welcome and impressive element of this community is the new auction house, where players can buy and sell cars in an eBay-like fashion. Those players with the artistic skill to make truly beautiful car skins will find the auction house to be a huge source of income, while the collectors among us will make it our first stop every day to check out the latest one-of-a-kind offerings. There’s little doubt that some players will forgo racing entirely and simply forge their own niche in the community as car decorators. The entire system feels incredibly cohesive and truly comes across as a huge step forward in the art of building active and enthusiastic online communities around games.
Forza Motorsport 2 is the best racing simulation ever made. Granted, as the first true simulation racer of the next generation it doesn’t yet have much competition to that title, but the fact remains that Turn 10 and Microsoft have created a title that raises the bar for the genre. The physics, customization options and online functionality are the best we’ve ever seen. Aside from the uninspiring visuals and few other minor issues, there’s no reason for any Xbox 360 owner to turn down this ride.
February 8, 2010
