Review
Played on: Xbox 360
Released: 2007
Back in 2005 the original Forza Motorsport did a gallant effort going up against Gran Turismo 4 on the PS2, offering a similar, simulator focused, racing experience with lots of cars, racetracks and solid realism. But it did one mistake; it opted for 30fps, versus GT4's 60fps. Noticeably, it didn’t feel as responsive on the controller and smooth looking.
In a smart move, the sequel Forza Motorsport 2 launched on to the Xbox 360 with a rock solid 60fps, a framerate performance that would become synonymous with the series. While Gran Turismo 5 and 6 could boast a 1080p resolution on the PS3, neither could run locked 60fps on anything higher than a non-HD resolution of 480p. Meanwhile, FM2, 3 and 4 ran locked at 60fps at 720p.
Released: 2007
Back in 2005 the original Forza Motorsport did a gallant effort going up against Gran Turismo 4 on the PS2, offering a similar, simulator focused, racing experience with lots of cars, racetracks and solid realism. But it did one mistake; it opted for 30fps, versus GT4's 60fps. Noticeably, it didn’t feel as responsive on the controller and smooth looking.
In a smart move, the sequel Forza Motorsport 2 launched on to the Xbox 360 with a rock solid 60fps, a framerate performance that would become synonymous with the series. While Gran Turismo 5 and 6 could boast a 1080p resolution on the PS3, neither could run locked 60fps on anything higher than a non-HD resolution of 480p. Meanwhile, FM2, 3 and 4 ran locked at 60fps at 720p.
We have to remember that, prior to GT5, FM2 was almost alone on the new generation of consoles with this kind of simulator, car collecting and career focused experience. Gran Turismo had been building hype with the GT HD demo and the cash-grab GT5: Prologue, but FM2 was early in the generation as a full game experience, offering a significant jump up from previous generation efforts.
The early release and development focus on framerate would give Forza Motorsport 2 a limited, but clean visual appearance. Seeing rather crude beta screenshots prior to release, depicted kind of sparse detail, but definitive new generation visuals. Little did we know, before getting to play it in 2007, what a delightfully responsive and smooth racing experience it was in the palm of our hands! Turn 10 had focused in on the important key factors for making a quality simulation racer.
I replayed FM3 last year, review here, but now I’m going all the way back to the first Forza Motorsport on Xbox 360, released a week or two after I bought my Xbox 360 in 2007! Naturally, I picked it up on launch.
Back then, I was a little burnt out on the simulator racers, having played Gran Turismo 4 to death on the PS2. As such, I wasn’t as motivated as I should've been when I picked up FM2. Even though, reviews like the one below from Edge gave it fantastic scores.
The early release and development focus on framerate would give Forza Motorsport 2 a limited, but clean visual appearance. Seeing rather crude beta screenshots prior to release, depicted kind of sparse detail, but definitive new generation visuals. Little did we know, before getting to play it in 2007, what a delightfully responsive and smooth racing experience it was in the palm of our hands! Turn 10 had focused in on the important key factors for making a quality simulation racer.
I replayed FM3 last year, review here, but now I’m going all the way back to the first Forza Motorsport on Xbox 360, released a week or two after I bought my Xbox 360 in 2007! Naturally, I picked it up on launch.
Back then, I was a little burnt out on the simulator racers, having played Gran Turismo 4 to death on the PS2. As such, I wasn’t as motivated as I should've been when I picked up FM2. Even though, reviews like the one below from Edge gave it fantastic scores.
That said, I discovered the ease of playing online with the Xbox 360 and participated in quite a few local races set up here in Norway. It showed me how integrated online play had become on console, having previously only played over the net on PC. Sharing car setups, car designs and time scores was a breeze. I even recall making a British police car skin for a Ford Focus, buying in tons of them, applying my design and reselling them for a big profit! Fun memories.
My progression through the career mode went slow though, and I eventually moved on to other games. I've since lost that save and thus going back, I had to start from scratch.
My progression through the career mode went slow though, and I eventually moved on to other games. I've since lost that save and thus going back, I had to start from scratch.
This replay has reminded me of what a solid racer it truly was. From the lovely orange and black, menus with slick and simple navigation, accompanied by a ton of cool licensed music. To cars and events plentiful to choose from. When the actual race starts, you're reminded of how damn well the controls hold up.
Progression in the career is cleverly planned by the developers; a prize car unlocked in one race event usually will come in handy for another event later on. Prize money and cars is tightly balanced, there's no winning a prize car if you repeat a championship for instance. Plus, cars can only be gifted to friends or sold in the market place. It helps keep the player economy under control, forcing you to rethink purchasing brand new cars versus just upgrading a one you already own.
Just like the sequels, events are controlled by car rating. However, there's no auto-upgrade option here. You’ll need to tweak power out of each car, by buying parts and keeping within the rating needed for any given event. Learning what type of stats you want the car to be perform better in, is key. A ton of extra power isn't always the best solution in making the car perform better. Maybe a better set of wheels, instead of a powerful engine part, will allow you to take corners quicker?
There’s also levelling of individual cars, brand loyalty and the driver. The higher driver level you are, the more events and cars become available. What brings the experience down for the long run, however, is the rather low number of racetracks. There's a lot of repetition here. It's far from bad, but these days you're used to a larger number of them.
There’s a lot of cool custom models of famous race cars, nothing dating past 2007 when it released either, making the roster a throwback to an era over 17 years ago. The line-up of cars differentiates itself from vehicles in racers these days. A typical trait from it's time, were cars influenced by the popularity of import vehicles. Made popular through movies like Fast and Furious movies and games like Need for Speed Underground.
There’s a lot of cool custom models of famous race cars, nothing dating past 2007 when it released either, making the roster a throwback to an era over 17 years ago. The line-up of cars differentiates itself from vehicles in racers these days. A typical trait from it's time, were cars influenced by the popularity of import vehicles. Made popular through movies like Fast and Furious movies and games like Need for Speed Underground.
How about a silver, Tommy Kaira styled, Nissan Skyline R34? A black and dangerous looking, Chevrolet Lingenfelter styled, Corvette? Or a white and red, Tom’s styled, Toyota MR2? A lot of cool models indeed.
Just like all the later titles in the series, that unique and amazing feel of driving with a controller is very much present. Although it can be played with a steering wheel for an even better experience, I nostalgically remember owning the Xbox 360 Wireless Steering Wheel, the controller setup is fantastic and serves as a great option for most players.
Just like all the later titles in the series, that unique and amazing feel of driving with a controller is very much present. Although it can be played with a steering wheel for an even better experience, I nostalgically remember owning the Xbox 360 Wireless Steering Wheel, the controller setup is fantastic and serves as a great option for most players.
That said, it’s a tricky racer to master, even with medium opponent difficulty it can be challenging. Turning off all driving aids is very tricky, with powerful cars easily coming out control if not handled properly. There’s also a fairly relentless damage model if you wish to turn that on too. While the damage is not visually exciting; mostly scratched bodywork and bumpers falling off, it will mess up the car performance and handling realistically.
Graphically, FM2 is quite sparse. I remember vividly what a massive jump in visuals FM3 was from this. However, the visuals grow on you. Soon you'll notice the small details like shiny windows on buildings, grass alongside the roadside and super sharp skyboxes with varied lighting for each racetrack. With it's clean 60fps look, it holds it ground nicely to this day even though it's 720p.
Graphically, FM2 is quite sparse. I remember vividly what a massive jump in visuals FM3 was from this. However, the visuals grow on you. Soon you'll notice the small details like shiny windows on buildings, grass alongside the roadside and super sharp skyboxes with varied lighting for each racetrack. With it's clean 60fps look, it holds it ground nicely to this day even though it's 720p.
Car models are quite simple, lacking finer detail and a convincing shiny bodywork of later versions, with the cockpit view still absent. There's also the rather low number of eight cars on the racetrack for each race.
Sound design is surprisingly solid, great selection of licensed menu music and a good usage of surround when racing. Allowing you to hear where you tires are hitting the curb and opponents are approaching from. You can tweak all aspects of the sound too; tire, engine, opponent sounds etc. can be individually altered.
FM2 would be surpassed by it's own sequels in it's generation, but it serves as an important release for being the, proper full game, simulator release for consoles in that era.
FM2 would be surpassed by it's own sequels in it's generation, but it serves as an important release for being the, proper full game, simulator release for consoles in that era.
It set the blueprint of the solid framerate and excellent controller feel of the entire franchise. Although it became overshadowed by Gran Turismo 5's hype, sporting better visuals, it’s thorough focus on gameplay and visual consistency makes it stand the test of time more favourably.
If you're planning on revisiting Forza Motorsport titles on the Xbox 360, then 4 is the recommended one, a massive package of cars and racetracks. However, there's some thing neat about seeing how Turn 10 cemented the franchise here. Going back to appreciate it, is not a bad idea and the gameplay will quickly prove it!
