Forza 2 Shifts Racing into New Gear

Let's get this out of the way right off of the bat - I'm not a car guy. I can't even drive a manual transmission. The only money I've ever poured into my car has been in the monthly, cringe-worthy payment that I make to my creditors every month. That said, Forza Motorsport 2 offers something both for the crowd that doesn't know the different between a steering wheel and a wheel bearing, and the crowd that knows what a small torque adjustment can do to your car's bottom-level acceleration. It's the best racer on the Xbox 360 bar-none, and is quite possibly the best racer ever made.

Where most racing games fall into one of two niches - either arcade-like and unappealing to the hardcore fan, or hardcore and unappealing to the casual fan - Forza Motorsport 2 finds a way to indoctrinate both casual fans and hardcore tuners into it's unique brand of racing. Forgiving difficulty levels, countless customization options, and a collectible-heavy career mode combine into one of the best values $60 can buy.

Graphics and Sound
Now be honest - when you hear about a new racing game, you immediately want to know what the cars look like. At the end of the day, a well-tuned driver means nothing if it doesn't have the looks to go along with the muscle. In this area, Forza Motorsport shouldn't disappoint. Each of the cars that I've seen - and I haven't seen them all since there are a countless number to unlock - has been spot-on. I think I spent the first 20 minutes of my gameplay just fawning over the vehicles in the front-end, rotating them every which way and checking out the curves as if they were a leggy supermodel.

To be fair, once you get the cars in-game, Forza isn't the prettiest game on the 360. At high speeds, you will notice some jagged edges on the cars (though, when you're actually in a white-knuckle showdown, are you really going to notice?) The backgrounds are all nice and give each track its own sense of style, but none o them are particularly awe-inspiring. There are enough of them - 25 by my count - but none of them stand out as on-par with a level from, say, Dead Rising or Oblivion.

It's not all bad - or, I guess, mediocre - once you get into the game engine, though. The damage models on the cars are also very well-done. When you've roughed up your vehicle, and there's smoke spewing from the front, it really looks and feels as if you've done a number on it. And trust me, you will do a number on your car on occasion.

The game does run at an absolutely rock-solid 60 FPS - and I haven't run into a single bit of lag yet. To see a racer run so silky-smooth, especially when some companies can't get any of their games to run that well, is truly a treat. You honestly have to see it to appreciate it.

The sound effects are standard driver fare - stock engine noises and crash sounds when you bump into walls or opponents. The crowd picks up when you drive past a grandstand, and the front end music is certainly not the worst I've ever heard in a game. The electronic-heavy soundtrack actually fits the theme of the game and the slick interface very well.

Gameplay
Turn 10 could've simply copied the gameplay from the original Forza on the Xbox and called it a day, and no one would've thought any differently. In fact, simply doing that likely would've made it the best racer on the 360. Still, the team tweaked the physics engine to make it even more realistic - if there is such a thing. Every single car feels different; muscle cars are heavy and provide a ton of power, while coupes are quick off the block, handle well, but can't get a lick of top-speed going. It's a system that truly encourages you to experiment with different cars to find out what kind of style best suits you.

Of course, as is the hallmark of the series, every aspect of a car can be tweaked to your liking. I mean EVERY aspect. You never know just how much of a difference a few PSI on your tires and a new set of springs until you take it onto the course. Of course, with the included simulator, you can get projected results for your new setup without ever having to sit through a loading screen.

I wouldn't blame you for thinking that this simply sounds an awful lot like Gran Turismo or any of dozens of other racers that you may have played. Trust me, it's not the same at all. The differences really shine in the Career mode. Yes, if you like mind-numbing license challenges with no real-race applications, or button-mashing mini-games to simulate autograph signings, then maybe Turismo or NASCAR are the game for you, but if you want a title that encourages you to level up, build a squad of cars, and actually spend your time playing the game, then you may never need another game again.

Thanks to the adjustable difficulty levels, the career mode can be a hard or as easy as you want it to be. Make the game easier and turn all of your assists on, and you will likely win the race without much trouble, but your payout will also be less. Challenge yourself, and you'll get more. Credits, of course, are used to mod your ride and buy new cars from the various vendors around the world. And by various, I mean tons. Most any type of car you can imagine is in this game, and the career mode - with its unique car level system in which each car can level up separate from the driver - encourages you to unlock and drive as many of them as possible. There's quite possibly nothing like taking a PT Cruiser and turning it into a lean, mean, race-winning machine.

As mentioned, the game can tend to be quite easy for anything more than the novice gamer when the assists are all on, but a slight tweak on the options screen will have even the most dedicated veteran crying for his mommy before too long. The AI can, at times, be especially unforgiving - so if you're looking for a challenge, you've come to the right place. The game encourages you to get better through tweaking your car. Just like in real life, a great driver in a crappy car is not going to win a race. Forza understands this, and really makes you want to modify your cars so you can leave AI eating your dust.

Once you've conquered your virtual opponents, there is an extremely robust Online mode with one-off races, tournaments, and a marketplace in which you can trade modded cars with other gamers. You can even watch races in progress, if that's your thing.

Creativity/Fun
In terms of the driving, let's be honest. There's nothing particularly groundbreaking here. At its core, if you take out the modding tools, the game is still about driving around a track, beating your opponents, and winning credits (money). That's all be done before. Of course, the game excels at the modification of vehicles, and offers a more realistic, fun driving experience than you will find anywhere else. The tracks are all unique and take some time to learn the nuances, so those who've tired of driving around in circles in NASCAR should quite enjoy this one. Even if racing games in the past have bored you, you will find something you like here. To use a driving reference, it doesn't re-invent the wheel, but it does an absolutely wonderful job of perfecting it. Gran Turismo has long called itself the "Ultimate Driving Simulator," but there may just be a new contender to that throne. Unquestionably, the Xbox 360's best racer has arrived.