Forza Motorsport 2

Forza Motorsport 2
Cover art featuring a tuned Nissan 350Z drifting
Developer(s)	Turn 10 Studios
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Series	Forza
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Release	JP: May 24, 2007 NA: May 29, 2007 EU: June 8, 2007 AU: June 14, 2007
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Forza Motorsport 2 is a racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios for the Xbox 360 console. It is the second title in the Forza series, and is the sequel to the original Forza Motorsport and is followed by Forza Motorsport 3.

Overview

Forza Motorsport 2 is a racing game on the Xbox 360, the sequel to Forza Motorsport which was released for the Xbox in 2005. The Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel was developed in alongside Forza Motorsport 2 and is designed to work with the game.

Most cars in Forza 2 can be visually customized with both aerodynamic parts as well as graphics. 1,000 layers of graphics can be created with the livery editor to draw shapes, letters and pictures onto a car.^[1] According to the developer, it is preventing possible copyright conflicts, also reducing loads in online races. Paint schemes can be auctioned online to other players for in-game credits. Many players reproduced paint schemes appeared in real world, or creating Itashas through this system.

The game supports split-screen, System Link and Xbox Live multiplayer gaming. Split-screen allows two player head-to-head racing, while both System Link and Xbox Live allow up to eight players to participate in a single race. Using Xbox Live 'Silver', players can also buy in-game cars through the game's Auction House. A 'Gold' account is needed to sell and 'gift' cars.

Forza Motorsport 2 concentrates on circuit racing; point to point races which were featured in the original Forza Motorsport have been removed.^[2] Real world tracks Road Atlanta, Silverstone, Laguna Seca, Tsukuba, Mugello Circuit, Sebring International Raceway, Suzuka Circuit, and Nürburgring Nordschleife are licensed and included. Forza 2 is also one of the first racing games to prominently feature cars from the American Le Mans Series in both the game and downloadable content.

The damage and physics in the game have been revamped over the previous game, allowing for multiple settings: "simulation," which is the most severe, allowing for damage that can take a car out of commission; "limited," which scales down the severity of impact of crashes; and "cosmetic," where the damage is merely visual.^[3] The damage ratings for each part of the vehicle can be seen on the HUD (heads up display) accessed from the in-game menu.

Professional racers playtested the wheel to aid the development in trying to achieve realistic features and settings.^[4] Forza Motorsport 2 features force feedback with the use of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel.

Forza 2 runs at 60 frames per second in 720p resolution (HD), with replays running at 30 frames per second to accommodate additional after-effects.

Cars

There are 349 cars available (including downloadable content) in Forza Motorsport 2. They are divided into six production classes and four race classes. A car's class can limit races for which it is eligible.^[5] The final list of cars was revealed on April 20, 2007.^[6]

Production cars

Production cars include stock cars, as well as cars tuned by aftermarket tuning companies. Production cars can move between classes, but cannot enter the "R" classes.

• Class D: Standard production cars including the Ford Focus SVT and the Volkswagen Golf GTI
• Class C: Sport production cars including the Audi S4 and the Nissan Fairlady Z. It also includes classic sport production cars such as the 1982 Audi Sport Quattro.
• Class B: Performance production cars including the Porsche Cayman S and the Aston Martin Vanquish
• Class A: Above average-performance production cars including the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the TVR Tuscan R
• Class S: High-performance production cars like the Koenigsegg CC8S and the Porsche Carrera GT
• Class U: Supercars. Only two original U-Class cars are available in stock: the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve concept car, and the TVR Cerbera Speed 12. The Koenigsegg CCGT, Ferrari FXX, Ferrari F50 GT, Maserati MC12 Corsa and Ferrari F40 competizione become available after downloading extra-cost game content.

Race cars

Cars in these classes cannot be upgraded, and none of these cars can enter another class. Likewise, they cannot leave their respective class.

• Class R4: Heavily modified production cars and low-end purpose-built race cars including the #77 Subaru Cusco Advan Impreza and the numerous Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.
• Class R3: High-end purpose-built race cars including the Dodge Viper GTS-R and most Super GT cars.
• Class R2: Ultrahigh-end purpose-built race cars including the Porsche 911 GT1 and the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, among other GT-class American Le Mans Series cars.
• Class R1: Le Mans Prototype race cars including the Peugeot 905C.

Famous drivers

Famous racing car drivers from racing series such as Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Formula One and Le Mans Series will appear in exhibition races if the player selects racing cars for the race. Some drivers include Allan McNish, Pedro Lamy, Johnny Herbert, Max Papis, Kamui Kobayashi and Christophe Bouchut.

Web integration

New for Forza 2 are scoreboards similar to those found in Halo 2. Each user can log into the official website for Forza 2 using their Xbox Live account. In addition to leaderboards, features included are online auctions for in-game cars. Cars purchased through auctions will come with all statistics related to that car such as mileage, total repair cost incurred, number of previous owners, etc.

Other features include tournament scheduling and the ability to take in-game photos and upload to and view five at a time on the Forza 2 website.^[7]

Downloadable content

On August 1, 2007, the first downloadable content for the game was released, the "Nissan Tournament Pack", free of charge. It featured three Nissan cars. A second downloadable content was also made available containing a paintable Peugeot 908 race car.^[8]

On September 21, 2007, the "September Car Pack" was released, containing 11 individual cars.^[9]

On October 26, 2007, the "Motegi Track Pack" was released, featuring a new downloadable track, Twin Ring Motegi. The track is playable in the form of four variations, including three road courses and an oval.^[10]

On December 7, 2007, two packs of downloadable content were released. The first being the Road America track and the second being the "December Car Pack" featuring 11 cars.^[11]

On March 19, 2008, the "March Car Pack" was made released, in the form of 13 individual cars.^[12]

Download content for Forza Motorsport 2 is no longer supported.

Special editions

Forza Motorsport 2 was released in three editions: the regular edition, the Limited Collector's Edition and the platinum hits edition. The Limited Edition features a 157-page booklet containing insider details on the game as well as tips on how to obtain the game's Achievements. Car manufacturer detail is also provided along with three Limited Collector's Edition-exclusive cars. The three cars are the Subaru Impreza S204, Saleen S281E, and Challenge Stradale. Various online game stores also offered a bonus code to unlock the Nissan 350Z featured on promotional pictures with preorder purchase.

The Limited Collector's Edition was available in Australia, Asia, Canada and Europe, but not in the United States.^[13]

A special edition titled Forza Motorsport 2 Platinum Hits was released for the North American market on August 19, 2008. This edition includes a bonus disc containing the cars and tracks available as downloadable content at the time of its release, the cars of the Limited Collector's Edition and the Nissan 350Z originally offered as a preorder bonus.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 90/100[14] Review scores Publication Score Edge 9/10[15] EGM 8.67/10[16] Eurogamer 9/10[17] Famitsu 36/40[18] Game Informer 8.25/10[19] GamePro [20] GameSpot 9.2/10[21] GameSpy [22] GameTrailers 9.1/10[23] GameZone 9/10[24] IGN (AU) 9.2/10[25] (US) 8.9/10[26] OXM (US) 8.5/10[27] 411Mania 9.6/10[28] USA Today [29]

Like its predecessor, the game received "universal acclaim" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[14] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of all four nines for a total of 36 out of 40.^[18] In Australia, Hyper's Dirk Watch commended the game for its "excellent handling and fantastic customisation". However, he noted that the game was "not particularly user friendly and feels almost identical to Forza".^[30]

Ongoing game balancing

A series of exploits and physics engine bugs have affected the fairness of online multiplayer and competitive hotlapping since the game's launch. A bug in the initial release gave the simulated Lotus Elan an unrealistic and unbalanced performance advantage over other vehicles.^[31] A patch which aimed to resolve this issue introduced a second bug which again could be exploited to gain an unfair advantage.

On September 9, 2007, in an attempt to address these issues in the context of an extremely large scoreboard database and limited tool set, Turn 10 Studios began wiping ^[32] accumulated scoreboard times and online rankings for players who had:

• A top 5000 scoreboard time using a Manual Transmission vehicle before August 25, 2007;
• A sub-10 second laptime;
• A top 2000 scoreboard time using a Lotus Elan.

There was also a glitch that allowed a certain car to be sold for billions of dollars, going past the 999,999,999 limit the system registers.

See also

• Racing game
• American Le Mans Series

References

External links

• Forza Motorsport 2 at MobyGames