If you like fast cars, this game will make you fall in love with them!
Positives:
>> Graphics run at 60fps for ultra smooth pace and cars are extremely accurately modelled down to the finest details including individual LED's in the tail-lights.
>> Performance Index system for car classes gives an easy way to gauge how car upgrades affect performance making it possible for online races to be fair even when racing with a wide variety of different vehicles.
>> Physics engine updates 360 times per second to accurately replicate real world physics in the game and provide in-depth telemetry data for things like tire pressure, suspension movement, tire temp, G forces, damage and much more. >> Every car handles just like in the real-world and tuning changes make a noticeable difference. Driving in this game with all assists off may require the casual driver to do some extra research to learn how to actually race properly but it will surely pay off.
>> Paint editor has so many options that you could spend weeks just designing your own personalized paint job then sell the car on the auction house for oodles of cash. Just look online, there are some jaw-dropping designs I never thought were possible.
>> All car's sound very authentic depending on the engine under the hood and the addition of exhaust systems and turbo/superchargers make their presence known. Good engine sound is very important in a racer and this game does it great to give you that guilty pleasure feeling of hearing a that big block V8 roaring up to speed in a muscle car. Tire squeel and crashes also sound perfectly real for once. And depending on what kind of music you like, you'll either love or hate the soundtrack but I like most of it since there is a wide variety of tunes and most of them are really catchy.
>> Photo mode lets you snap pics of your cool rides and upload them for the racing community to see and extensive leaderboards track all the stats which will always give you something to strive towards and new challenges. The online community is pretty good overall. Most players seem to want to drive a clean race.
Negatives:
>> The high frame-rate and highly sophisticated physics system use up the majority of the 360's horsepower making the graphics themselves look a little underwhelming. There is not enough anti-aliasing to remove jaggies and some textures lack advanced lighting effects. However replays do run at 30fps with 4x antialiasing so you do get a graphical treat when you get to sit back and watch the replay where they count the most.
>> The AI is pretty good but there could be more difficulty levels. Easy and medium are usually a push-over while hard is rediculous.
>> There are some sound anomalies/glitches especially during high speed crashes.
>> Very poor 8 page instruction manual barely covers the basics when this game really needs detailed explainations and tips on how to tune. There are some decent tips in the game but no bio's for individual cars.
>> No mirror available for hood view which is perplexing
>> Online competition is unbelievably fierce and will require intense, long hours of practice to earn you wins but the satisfaction is worth it. I also think the online options for a custom game are still a bit skimpy.
>> Many common cars like Toyota Camry SE, Pontiac Gran Prix, Honda Accord, Buick Lucerne etc missing from the lineup
Forza 2 is a true next-generation game. It really steps up to the plate to deliver pretty much all you could ask for in a racing game. Even though the enormous number of options are great, it's the physics engine that really makes the game shine above all. You will feel intimately connected to your cars as you learn how to take turns and push the limit while customizing the cars throughout the game. Forza 2 WILL make a gear-head out of you and I think that's a great thing.