Forza Horizon 2 has the good fortune of being released nearly a year after its main-line counterpart, Forza Motorsport 5. The lessons learned from the latter’s integration and subsequent improvements of downloadable content, the cloud-based drivatar system, and boosted career progression have greatly benefited the open-world spin-off. The solid foundation provided to developer Playground Games wasn’t taken for granted, either, as the studio has turned in not only a sequel that handily bests its predecessor but an absolutely thrilling racer that sits in the highest tier of the genre.
Forza Horizon was a surprising though natural departure for the series. Instead of the staid, elegant style of Forza Motorsport, FH adopted one of a wild carnival. The structured circuit system gave way to a more carefree approach, with players driving to events located throughout Colorado at their leisure. The open environment epitomized the contrast in styles: players could go wherever they wanted, when they wanted, and how they wanted. If they had the sudden urge to take their 2008 Aston Martin DBS down an unmarked, unpaved shortcut through the woods or just go off-roading for a bit, all they had to do was cut the wheel.
Being able to drive from one event to another also meant that players were always behind the wheel, making the rides even more prominent than the player’s character. A variety of techno, rock, and high-tempo radio stations not only provided licensed tunes to ride along to, but they also played messages from festival organizers, further reinforcing the party theme. Several elements were introduced to encourage exploring and taking advantage of the expansive terrain: some goofy, such as smashable signs that offered vendor discounts and hidden barns that housed repairable rides, and some more traditional, namely rivals that could be found zipping around and challenged to on-the-fly races. The celebratory vibe permeated every aspect of the game, from the presentation to some unfortunate faux hip characterizations that fell flat, and fit well with the series’ stylish, player-friendly approach. The spin-off was loud, fast, and supported by one of racing’s most robust backends.
Forza Horizon 2 takes everything good about the original and makes it better, while doing away with, minimizing, or improving its shortcomings. The rivals are gone, along with their wince-worthy dialog, as is the in-your-face attitude. The game still follows a festival theme, but it serves as a binding force rather than an overpowering one. Additionally, every rocky bump that Turn 10 Studios had to overcome for FM5 during and after development has added an extra layer of polish. The result is a game that is inviting, personable, and so focused on providing thrilling races that it doesn’t mind bending the rules a little in the pursuit of excitement.
In many ways, the game feels as if it is as much a Project Gotham Racing as a Forza Motorsport. That isn’t surprising, given the studio’s pedigree, but it is welcomed. PGR’s emphasis on stylish driving not only provides a basis for a scoring scheme based on flash, but it has also been smartly utilized as a way to improve the drivatar system. One of my biggest complains about FM5 was how aggressive the drivers were, often ignoring basic racing principles in an effort to ensure not that they won but that the player lost. While it was representative of how many actually race online, it was also very irritating. The months since FM5’s release have been kind to the system, as it has been massively improved and now offers a much fuller representation of the general online environment. A friend’s drivatar that I had previously witnessed intentionally slamming into others in FM5 popped up again in FH2, but it is now startlingly similar to the conscious, precise driver that he actually is. Playground Games also utilized the scoring system to further improve the drivatar system by offering additional experience modifiers based on clean driving. Being a part of the Horizon line, players can still gain experience by being a little reckless—‘touching paint’ with nearby cars, passing close by, drifting, maintaining a high speed, smashing into small objects, drafting, and so on—but they also earn a nice bonus by not ramming into others. A similar bonus is also awarded to those who get off the starting line without causing a pile-up, and any attempt to help mitigate overly aggressive, disruptive behavior from infecting the drivatar system is a massive plus. Drivers still act aggressively, but even when one intentionally hits another, the behavior is much more natural. The way points are accumulated also encourages minimal contact with other cars. A modifier gradually increases as moves are linked together, but if the player cannot pull off a trick or skilled maneuver after a few seconds, the points are banked into the experience pool that goes towards the next level. However, if the player messes up and hits an object too hard, they lose everything; this can be tricky at times, though, due to some poles and foliage being destructible while other similar-looking types are not, and a wrong guess will lead to a jarring crash. Overall, the system does an excellent job encouraging players to push their skills to the limit while discouraging poor sportsmanship.
The rest of the game follows the scoring system as a fantastic blend of the fast and exciting style of FH and PGR and the elegant, studied, and reliable style of Forza Motorsport. The main series’ presence is felt throughout the game: top-notch presentation with easy-to-navigate menus and info panes with optional in-depth stats, hundreds of unlockable cars, numerous customization options for performance and aesthetics, abundant means of earning extra credit (e.g., having others download custom paint jobs), and the series’ renowned host of aides. These assists allow players to easily get into the game by offering a driving line, help with banking and steering, traction and stability control, cosmetic or simulated tire damage and wear, and the ability to rewind time, but they also entice them to improve their performance by offering additional bonuses for playing without them. Alongside those elements are the more freewheeling additions from FH, such as the smashable signs that provide credits, experience, and fast travel, the barns that house fixer-uppers, speed cameras that clock how fast players are going and post to a leaderboard, ‘bucketlist’ challenges that have players take set cars out for quick spins, a wheel that can be spun after leveling offering cash or a new ride, and more far-out races against blimps and trains. All of these events and side activities not only ensure that a decent vehicle can be purchased for any event but also keep progression brisk, which returns the franchise closer to its roots and makes those ads for paying real cash for tokens to progress in FM5 a distant memory.
The drivatar system has also been worked into the open world, as the rival cars zipping around the pedestrian traffic are now driven by the drivatars of other players, and as with the previous rivals, these can be challenged at any time for a sprint. Just as players aren’t equal, neither are the drivatars, and players that take on pro-level drivers can expect greater rewards if they win. This system completely replaces the narrative rivals from the first game, which has the downside of making the player’s driver feel less involved in the world, despite the random characters that are still met at garages and new events. There’s no real contest, though: the experience is far more enjoyable without grating, put-on personas spouting terrible insults. However, this did seem like the perfect opportunity to introduce a character-creation system, so that players could have an avatar more representative of themselves during cutscenes and as drivatar models. The player’s bland character stands out in a game all about style.
The openness of the world also allows the game to have a wide variety of event types as well as a friendlier approach to off-road driving. Events are hosted at set destinations throughout Europe: Sisteron, Nice, Saint-Martin, San Giovanni, Montellino, and Castelletto. The Horizon Festival is itself a destination as well and allows access to an additional garage to check out acquired rides and the autoshow to purchase more. Players can pay a fee and fast travel to an area or drive there instead, which is a fair compromise; newer players get a better feel for their cars and lay of the land while saving their money for their next purchase, and high-level players can spend some of their piles of cash to save time. Also, in the case of road trips, additional experience can be earned by reaching the destination before a generous countdown hits zero. Each trip to an area consists of a handful of events within one of the 10 championship groups, and whoever has the most accumulated points at the end of the final race leaves that area as the winner of the selected championship group; for example, within muscle, players can choose to compete in Retro Muscle Championship or Modern Muscle Championship. In keeping with the user friendliness of the design, three championships are suggested when it’s time to head to a different area, but the game also allows for any available championships to be selected if none of recommended set are to the player’s liking. If a championship is selected that requires a car that isn’t in the garage, then the game offers several recommended options, and of those a handful are marked out as preferred. And in another smart move, unlike when FM5 launched, the vehicle lists aren’t packed with download-only rides.
The open environment also leads to fewer performance penalties when taking vehicles off road. Several difficulty options can be altered to make the game closer to the Forza Motorsport line, but the design’s encouragement of players to tackle the various surface types means that there will always be a less strict adherence to handling and momentum. Some vehicles certainly handle off-roading better than others, but any can be taken through the valleys, flower-filled fields, and stands for thrills. And it certainly is thrilling to take a car into the wild, barreling down a hillside and racing between trees, plowing down roof-high flowers, and flying over empty ravines as the nerves increase alongside the steadily rising experience bonus. The changing weather also adds a wonderful element of randomness, with slippery roads providing even more of a challenge, especially during nighttime storms.
Every element in the game has been designed to take advantage of one another’s strengths. This is also true of the single-player and multiplayer components. Online events can be designated as a waypoint from any spot on the map and engaged when in the starting area, or selected from the menu. Groups of racers can meet up and go on events as a group or break apart, with each bouncing from single player to multiplayer whenever they feel like challenging others. Racing against drivatars and other players is largely seamless, similar to how the events themselves are worked in throughout the areas. The map really is one giant playground, and the player has ample opportunities to share in that experience with others or enjoy it all by themselves.
Two minor items stood out during my time with FH2. The first is the general uselessness of the subtitles. Only the text during the handful of cutscenes is transcribed, and none of the area or event descriptions; a megaphone icon indicates someone is talking, but those hard of hearing will have to crank up the volume or be left to guess as to what was said. Another item that will affect a larger portion of the player base is the dull perk system. As players level, they are given skill point to use towards a set of perks that are laid out on a grid. After a perk has been unlocked, the other perks nearby become accessible for unlocking. The further out the player gets from the center, the more points that are required to unlock the perks. The perks seem fine, such as the player’s vote on multiplayer destinations counting for more and extra rewards for beating rivals, but they never made such an impact that I couldn’t wait to assign new points. By the end, I had plenty of points and several locked perks but didn’t feel the need to bother. So they are an interesting idea, but not nearly as exciting as the rest of the game.
Overall: 9/10
Forza Horizon 2 is a joy to play. It is not only a vast improvement over the original but, in many respects, manages to surpass Forza Motorsport 5. The emphasis on arcade-style daredevil racing, an addictive point system, hundreds of unlockable cars, and the superb Forza foundation makes this a must for any Xbox One owner.
(This review is based on a copy provided by the publisher.)