Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360) - 5/29/2007

[squirrel]

Well, I waited to see it appear in our release thread and it didn't. I've only just picked it up (had to spring for the collectors edition, regular version was sold out) and have only gotten about 20 minutes in it due to other commitments. But so far I quite like what I've seen (I did play the demo). Certainly the physics model and damage modeling are superior to PGR3. Track backgrounds and visuals are not quite as good as PGR3 although the cars themselves are stunning.

One thing I've noticed that I also experienced in PGR3 but to a lessor degree - I'm way faster with a controller than I am with my wheel. Now I don't have the Msoft wheel, I have a Joytech Nitro, so I don't get all the Forcefeedback Goodness, but even if I did I think I'd be faster on the controller. Granted, wheel's have a 'warm-up' time to get used to and are certainly offer more immersion but I wonder if F2 is 'tweaked' for the controller? Various topics on the Xbox forums and other places seem to confirm other people find they are faster lap for lap with the controller.

Either way, so far I like it alot.

[Moaner]

I have played the hell out of this the last two days.  If you are in the mood for a driving sim, you are in for a treat.

Initially, I justified the purchase of my 360 by telling myself Forza 2 will eventually be released.  Since then I've lost some interest in racing and had completely forgotten about the game.  That is until EB called and told me my preorder was in.  I have been glued to the TV since I brought it home.

The driving is absolutely fantastic, upgrading is fun and intuitive, and the painting stuff is insane.  Online play looks smooth as silk although I've just touched on that aspect of it.  The career mode is huge but doesn't look as long as say GT3.  Graphics are meh at a standstill but look really nice at 180mph.  BTW the sense of speed is great!

Seriously, this may be my GOTY.  I love me some driving goodness and Forza 2 has it in spades!

As for the controller vs. wheel debate, I have never used a wheel for a console driving game so I'd assume I too would be much faster with the controller.  The only game I've used a wheel for was GTR 2 and that was at a friend's house.

PS:  I want a F13 car but suck with the editor.  If anyone spends some time on one let me know!

[Rasix]

Bought this.  I've never gotten into a driving game before, but I want to give this one a shot.  The demo was just a lot of fun and adding customization and a career mode in will just make it even better.

Time to make some F13 flavored rice.

[MisterNoisy]

One of the few games I decided to preorder, which was a good thing, because everyone was sold out on release.

Been playing the ever loving hell out of it, and while the graphics aren't amazing, they're pretty good.

The paint editor is a ton of fun, too:

[schild]

Damn. I think I'm gonna get Forza 2 when I return Shadowrun. Le sigh.

[Rasix]

Getting disc cannot be read errors and it's locking up now in mid race. 

Uhh.. so.. what's the deal here?

[Strazos]

Return your 360? 

[squirrel]

Getting disc cannot be read errors and it's locking up now in mid race. 

Uhh.. so.. what's the deal here?

Heat, or box issues in my experience. I had problems last summer with NFS:MW  and it was heat related, I had to get more airflow to my xbox. All was fine until a few months ago when I had these errors in Fight Night 3. That resulted in a dead xbox and a 10 day cycle to get a new one. Likely it's just heat, see if you can move it to a more ventilated area. Or get ready for UPS pickup. Sorry :(

EDIT: Yeah the custom paint and vinyl is cool - some folks are really good at it. Samples (no importing of outside textures, all done using in game layers and vinyls):

[Rasix]

Getting disc cannot be read errors and it's locking up now in mid race. 

Uhh.. so.. what's the deal here?

Played some Dead Rising to make sure my 360 wasn't dying. 

Looked at the Forza disc and actually cleaned what I'd term "crud" off it.  Then played for like an hour or so more with no problems.  Still, I am worried. 

I'm getting better at the whole driving aspect of it.. but I'm still absolutely terrible.  Probably my worst genre outside of rhythm games.  I made a f13 logo car, but it's pretty shoddy quality.

[Nebu]

This game is one of the primary reasons I was considering buying an X360 a while back.  Now I'm getting the itch again and I blame you!

[Rasix]

This game is just an absolute joy. It's my current GOTY.

[Trippy]

The official pace car of f13 is a Mini Cooper?

Edit: huge thread with lots of more custom design images:

http://www.ndrifters.net/forum/index.php?topic=64.0

[Yegolev]

I bought this on Friday when I got Atelier Iris 3 and have not been able to play either of them.  It is good to know that I should not get a wheel.  I have resisted getting one for this many years and I was thinking now might be the time, but hooray!

[MisterNoisy]

BTW:  While I can say I'm not quite good/insane enough to do some of the more intricate work (though I'm pretty happy with my slightly reworked Bomberman tC), I'd be more than happy to take a crack at custom paint for people here free of charge.  :)

[Trippy]

You painted my car!

Edit: is BMW not a licensed manufacturer? I just noticed your earlier pic doesn't have a proper BMW front end (i.e. it's missing the trademark kidney grill). Or is that supposed to be an aftermarket customization like your Haman-style wheels?

[murdoc]

Dammit, I was successfully resisting buying this... now, not so much.

[MisterNoisy]

You painted my car!

Edit: is BMW not a licensed manufacturer? I just noticed your earlier pic doesn't have a proper BMW front end (i.e. it's missing the trademark kidney grill). Or is that supposed to be an aftermarket customization like your Haman-style wheels?

It's a Scion tC (my car irl), though I'm sure it'd be flattered to be called a BMW.  ;)

[Rasix]

The official pace car of f13 is a Mini Cooper?

Edit: huge thread with lots of more custom design images:

http://www.ndrifters.net/forum/index.php?topic=64.0

What's wrong with the Cooper?  :-D

So.. many.. anime cars. 

It's really amazing what people can do with the tools given.  (There isn't someway to free draw is there?)  Having no artistic talent somewhat hinders what I can do.

[schild]

I am so getting this tomorrow or Wed. Tonight though, I finally beat Atelier Iris 3. 42 hours in thus far. Blurgh.

[Trippy]

You painted my car!

Edit: is BMW not a licensed manufacturer? I just noticed your earlier pic doesn't have a proper BMW front end (i.e. it's missing the trademark kidney grill). Or is that supposed to be an aftermarket customization like your Haman-style wheels?

It's a Scion tC (my car irl), though I'm sure it'd be flattered to be called a BMW.  ;)

Wow that's amazing. They ripped off the E46 coupe profile almost exactly (mine has the original-style headlights, not the fucked up 7-series slanted-style though) except the Scion has a stubbier tail. Even the door handle is a similar shape as my car (the circle-style "indention" is different though).

[Trippy]

The official pace car of f13 is a Mini Cooper?

What's wrong with the Cooper?  :-D

Nothing, I just figured the f13 car would be 1) Japanese, since this is schild's site we're talking about, and 2) a little more "exotic" or obscure (again because of schild).

[Strazos]

RSX for Schild?

[schild]

Considering it's what I drive. I'm going to get this game. Godddddddddddddamnit.

[Trippy]

RSX for Schild?

I was thinking of something a little more obscure to us folks here in the states but popular in Japan. Like a Skyline or some such.

[Chimpy]

RSX for Schild?

I was thinking of something a little more obscure to us folks here in the states but popular in Japan. Like a Skyline or some such.

Maybe the car that folds out of a suitcase? LINK

[Yegolev]

I played some of this last night, and I cannot put into words just how stellar this game is.  I have played Gran Turismo 1-3, PGR and the first Forza; this one easily beats them all.  Primarily this is due to the controls.  I finally have noticably-analog control over my steering, acceleration and braking.  I don't know if it is because the 360 controller is so awesome or if it is because the developers really spent a lot of time working on it, but it is probably some of both.  Any thought of buying a wheel has gone out the window.

I am also having a lot of fun with winning in a Civic.


The online options have not been touched yet, other than to upload this picture of me coming in second place with a totally busted front-end.

[schild]

Can you use the d-pad to drive? How's the drift? Does it EVEN COMPARE to Ridge Racer 4/Rage Racer?

[Yegolev]

Cannot use D-PAD to drive, and while that would indeed be a valid question in any other racing-sim game that I have played (hell, any racing game, ever... I'll go that far), you will just have to believe me when I say it's not a fucking issue.  Analog works in Forza2.

I don't drift much, however I was pretty damn happy with the results from using the emergency brake in a hairpin.  It's not like I did it well, but WOOHOO, it worked better than I imagined it would.  Course I am driving a FWD, sticking to the Civic because I like it, it wins and CAR LEVELS are a sinister addition.  I also did a bit of agricultural racing and, well, I was pleased with how I was able to maneuver in dirt, all things considered, and I was indeed drifting at the time.  I will need to buy a 4WD before I can really say.

I have not played any Ridge Racer, just GT1-3, PGR, MRII, Forza1.  I should probably list GTHD for completeness, but it can't even sniff the jock strap of Forza1, nevermind Forza2.

[MisterNoisy]

The Top Secret S15 Silvia you win later on is insanely good at drifting just by nailing the throttle, no handbrake required.  Same goes for most other overpowered rear-drive cars - add power, lots of tire for controllability and remove as much weight as possible and you can make any RWD car a drift monster.

Comparisons to Ridge Racer, etc are right out - the closest console analogue would be the Gran Turismo series, tho yea - FM is significantly better imo.

[schild]

Well, then we'll see. I'll pick it up tomorrow with Crush and the other new releases. Here's hoping it's as good at GT3 ASpec.

[Yegolev]

It's undeniably better than GT3 A-Spec, except for the "has rally cars" part, of course.

[Bstaz]

This game is sweet.  Though be careful it makes driving on the highway in real life hard.. you keep wanting to go faster!  Bonus though, when someone cuts you off in traffic you think, "Well at least they didn't bump me"

I had a hard time figuring out how to drive in the game, until I also realized the great analog control of the brake, gas, and steering.  The only other car game I had played was Xbox Colin MCree off road game.  I kept tapping the break / gas / steering fully to control the car , that was locking up my brakes, spinning my tires, fully turning the wheels.  You need to go really gentle on the controls.

As for drifting and stuff.. you can pretty much set your car how you want to drive.  I forget how I had did it but I had the same car basically drifting around all the turns, then changed the setup and now it sticks to the road. (tire pressure, tire type helped).

Online is great,  you can earn credit for your career and level up your cars.  If you can pick up some of the high class car races on the oval tracks your odds of winning are a toss up and if you can come in near the front you can collect some fast credits.

Bonus Tip:

Add big rims,  front and rear wings to your car to get it down graded in points, you gain a bit of weight but it opens up more points for upgrades.  Then just turn the aero settings off on the wings.  At the lower classes ( D )  you don't go fast enough for the wings to be a help so they are a penalty to the car overall due to weight.

[MrHat]

So, the last great driving game I played was GT3, never played Forza, I'm assuming the car customization options are fantastic (under the hood, tires, etc.)?  I mean, they're really involved?

Also, this uses RL cars and RL car parts right?

[Yegolev]

So, the last great driving game I played was GT3, never played Forza, I'm assuming the car customization options are fantastic (under the hood, tires, etc.)?  I mean, they're really involved?

Yes.  GT3 plus.  Tire pressure, tire width, brand names under each tire type of sport, racing slick, rim size, and so on.  Toe-in, camber, brake balance, differential settings, sway bar stiffness, spring damping.  The usual, plus you can apparently completely swap your engine.  Something I was surprised by, I am apparently able to put either a supercharger or a turbo on my Civic, after which I will be locked into the specific upgrades for each (intercooler for turbo, for ex).  It's not Spreadsheets on a Track exactly, but you won't be hurting for things to tweak.

Also, this uses RL cars and RL car parts right?

Yes, sir.  There are a few things like "FORZA Spoiler" but mostly it's brand name.

If there is anything you take away from my drooling, let it be just how much better this game is than any other driving sim I have played and it's because of the driving.

[MisterNoisy]

Yes.  GT3 plus.  Tire pressure, tire width, brand names under each tire type of sport, racing slick, rim size, and so on.  Toe-in, camber, brake balance, differential settings, sway bar stiffness, spring damping.  The usual, plus you can apparently completely swap your engine.  Something I was surprised by, I am apparently able to put either a supercharger or a turbo on my Civic, after which I will be locked into the specific upgrades for each (intercooler for turbo, for ex).  It's not Spreadsheets on a Track exactly, but you won't be hurting for things to tweak.

Whole powertrain swaps are a little over the top in some cases - that tC in my picture is a rear-drive car now (powertrain swap with the Altezza), and an absolute monster (currently detuned to class b/699PI).  Still fiddling with the chassis tuning, but it's hilarious using it in region specific races against a whole field of Corvettes.