In general it’s not a game that makes it hard to pocket cash. Other club members will even earn you rewards while you’re not playing. Each one can take up to 1000 members, which means Playground Games must have a vastly different opinion on what a gamer’s friendship circle looks like to the rest of us. Horizon 2 has also beaten Sony’s Driveclub to the chequered flag when it comes to social gaming with its, er, very similar ‘Clubs’, which you can either start or join with your friends.
FORZA HORIZON 2 XBOX 360 REVIEW FULL
Despite knowing full well the car in front isn’t really being driven by Stuff‘s reviews editor Tom Parsons I still can’t help but want to beat it more than if it was just some nameless drone. The tuning menu is there, so those who want to can still tweak tyre pressure, brake balance and the like to their oil-filled heart’s content.ĭrivatar-powered opponents can be a bit overly aggressive (OK, we’ll admit we can be too) but seeing your friends’ names over the top of passing cars really does work to ignite the competitive spirit. Rain only has a minimal effect on the way your car handles (although it does make the road surface look a bit like a sea lion’s back) but for those wondering if Horizon 2 is too ‘My First Forza’ for them, put the steering in simulation mode, turn off traction control and ABS, and you’ve got a racing game that’s perfectly pitched for those who don’t want to powerslide round every corner at 120mph but also like a bit of a challenge. READ MORE: The 10 best Microsoft Xbox One games so farįorza Horizon 2‘s weather is dynamic, meaning it can start to pour at any time, but the illusion is spoiled rather if you then begin a race that’s not meant to include a shower and the clouds miraculously disappear as you hit the start line. Horizon’s Barn Finds return (and are just as well hidden as before), while new additions include Car Meets (essentially an excuse to sit and rev other people’s motors in a car park – meh) and 30 Bucket List challenges that require you to complete a task in a specific car: a point-to-point through trees in the pitch black behind the wheel of an old Lancia, for example.
![forza horizon 2 xbox 360 review forza horizon 2 xbox 360 review](https://news-cdn.softpedia.com/images/news2/Forza-Horizon-2-Review-460812-20.jpg)
Just like any other open-world game the environment is scattered with distractions, challenges and bonuses to encourage exploration. Before there was no real reason to have one in your garage, but with the added emphasis on cross-country racing those trucks and American muscle cars that nobody really wants can now find a home barging across the landscape before drifting vaguely left at the barnyard like a turbocharged oil tanker. That’s another benefit of the game’s more developed off-road side it gives the gnarlier cars a purpose. Each handles differently too, with noticeable differences even between equally powered cars.
FORZA HORIZON 2 XBOX 360 REVIEW PLUS
It’s three times larger than the last game, plus there are over 200 drivable cars on the disc, including everything from Ferrari’s 330 P4 to Local Motors’ open-source Rally Fighter. It’s all of the extra off-road opportunities that add acres to the world. What before was one of the weaker parts of Forza Horizon has become one of this game’s most thrilling, only really beaten by the championship finales, which see you racing against an aerobatics team along the French riviera in a Ferrari, or sprinting through the countryside in an old rally car in a race to beat an express train.
![forza horizon 2 xbox 360 review forza horizon 2 xbox 360 review](https://i0.wp.com/www.thexboxhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/forza-horizon-offroad-2.jpg)
![forza horizon 2 xbox 360 review forza horizon 2 xbox 360 review](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0d/db/8a/0ddb8a3d835faf9ef2dba1935f0e0647.jpg)
Barrelling through a field of bonnet-high crops at 100mph using the in-car view produces some genuinely heart-stopping moments. Whereas before they were just regular races on loose surfaces, off-road events are now exactly that. In fact, off-road events have been completely overhauled.