August 14, 2007 - To market a game to Need for Speed fans and Gran Turismo fans simultaneously seems like a task only a fool would set out to do. Luckily the guys over at Microsoft Games Studios are not fools, only madmen and women with a common goal--creating the ultimate driving experience for everyone. Forza Motorsport started this wave of fused semi-genre's, and Forza 2 is back to defend the title by improving the hell out of the series.

Forza slammed players into an easy to pick up and go driving experience that still felt like the real thing. It found the perfect median been arcade and simulation whilst still delivering an incredibly deep content level to ensure that everybody could find a part to cherish. Now, Forza has come to the next generation, thus amping its power to entangle you further. It's got over 300 cars (I like to think of them as my Spartans) from about 50 different manufacturers, a Santa's sack full of licensed performance parts, twelve racing environments including real world selections (mostly common ones like Laguna Seca and Nurburgring), and of course the gameplay has been tweaked to a key so that the already ridiculous models your driving around look and feel even better. There's so much more kids, so grab a towel because you'll need it for the drool.

More cars, more tracks, more modes, and more features means there's more than you'll really know what to do with. If you haven't got the point by now, Forza 2 has made some great jumps from its predecessor. The amount of cars on its own is astonishing, scrolling for what seems like days to find one to call your own. Having a friend who can't decide on anything in general can make a multiplayer match take a fortnight to start. Even without that kind of trait, it's easy to get lost, skimming through everything from a Cobalt to a Lambo Gallardo and beyond. After the selection you'll be hitting the twelve tracks in an attempt to earn the 47 different event ribbons that are available. Which ultimately means you'll be squealing around the same track many a time. The classics I mentioned are among the best, but all twelve are decent. The only time these tracks will get tiresome is when the lap amounts increase, or if you sit and have a Forza marathon, thus repeating tracks time and time again.

Having a list of cars longer than your 8th birthday present list would be totally pointless without a decent set of drive mechanics. Each class of cars drives individually, and further performance upgrades or tweaks can alter the feel even further. This means a Cobalt is definitely going to feel like a Cobalt compared to a Gallardo. Heck, a Cobalt will even feel like a Cobalt compared to an Integra. Of course this means there's a bunch of statistics and parts that will go into the build of each car. Fortunately, this is primarily where Forza fuses semi-genres, giving you the ability to either slap on the marked upgrades and go, or sit and tweak your ride for each race.

No matter how you approach the game, it all seems to play nicely, especially when you can scale the difficulty to your own skill level. Forza 2 can either ease you into simulation driving nicely with several driving-assist features, like stability control, antilock braking, and traction control, or you can leave them on and attempt to keep the pedal to the metal. The dynamic driving line assist is the most helpful of all, essentially putting a colour-coded map on the road to tell you when you should be accelerating and when you should be decelerating. Of course green means go, yellow means slow 'er down, and red means hold your freaking horses. Furthering this option from the original Forza is the option to only show braking/caution spots. I personally got through the career by slapping on the marked (new) upgrades and using only the brake line, although I did start to familiarize myself with the tracks later on as there are only twelve and hence making it a possibility of detaching yourself from the "training wheels." If you come from the other side of the pack and are a die-hard simulation gamer, you'll probably disable all of this and spend time setting up your ride, which is all possible. Doing this will of course make Forza 2 frustratingly hard for some, but incredibly fun for others.

If there had to be a definite answer as to which side Forza leans on more, it has to be simulation. It's at the roots of the title and you can't change that. Thus, switching all of the assists on does not simply turn it into Need For Speed. Bottom line, you'll still have to drive smart. If you take that turn too fast, you're going to get passed or possibly wrecked. But driving too defensively will also not be beneficial as the AI is very eager to take your position. They aren't overly aggressive, again because this isn't a no-holds-barred match, so unless you give them a good reason to, they won't try to take you out physically. They are also smart enough to jack a corner a little tight or long if they can't pass you clean, permitting you haven't been playing bumper cars with them earlier. Certain opponents are more easily intimidated and will give up their position easily, but the more aggressive opponents can potentially push you off the track if they require a certain line. In general they stick to their personal lines and drive quite professionally.