Wednesday 07 Nov 2007

What is a game? Something that is easy to pick up and then have loads of fun with. Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System proved this by defining it years ago by giving you the chance to really have fun when playing a simple game. Now, in this day and age, we see that “games” are becoming more and more realistic to such an extent that it is actually quite “serious”… so, it’s not a “game” anymore? Nope, it’s just a different kind of game that provides the enthusiast with an endless amount of fun.

Rewarding but lacking soul

Playing Forza Motorsport 2 can be quite frustrating the first time you pick up that controller, but bare with it. Provided you have the time that is needed to invest in this game it can be exceptionally rewarding. It feels even more like a simulation than Gran Turismo 4 - this could be a great thing if you love anything to do with cars or a terrible thing for those that felt that Gran Turismo 4 pushed the limits when looking at a simulation racer.

Forza Motorsport 2 really has everything - photo realistic cars and tracks, realistic physics and crash modeling, an unbelievable amount of upgrades for your cars engine or body parts, but it does not seem to have something that Gran Turismo oozes of – soul.

The tracks feel exceptionally boring (very same-y) and the tracks used are those from around the world and really do exist which means there is not even one track that has been created from scratch with a bit of artistic imagination. Sad for some, great for others!

So far it sounds very negative, but, if you love simulations then everything I mentioned above should be a dream come true, which means the next bit of information is going to come as a marvelous surprise!

Auction action

One great aspect of this game that I would like to put some emphasis on is the “Auction” section. Seeing that you are connected to Xbox LIVE, Turn 10 Studios has added a little feature to the game that improves the value of your experience immensely. Once you have created a piece of art and added it to your car you can take that car and auction it off to thousands of people online and make some extra cash! Not just that, but you can actually search through the auction for a car that you might like.

Are you a Nintendo fan stuck with an Xbox 360? Then buy yourself a car with “Legend of Zelda” artwork all over it. It really is quite amazing what this feature brings to the game! I must admit that some of the artwork found through the search was just mind boggling as these images are created from scratch, there is no way of importing jpeg’s or the like. The world truly has some real artists out there! Click here to see what these talented people do to create some of these art pieces.

If you enjoy the motor racing industry and have a passion to “Pimp Your Ride” then this game is going to be spinning in your Xbox 360 for some time to come!

Pros: Amazing paint editor; perfect simulation racing game; online auction.
Cons: People after arcade racers stay way clear; tracks can be bland.

Rating:
Contributor:	Dawid

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