The Brilliance of Forza Motorsport 2

Forza Motorsport™ 2 throws down the simulation racing gauntlet when it ships to a world of eager racing fans in late May. With its critically acclaimed foundation already set in the original Forza Motorsport™, the sequel expands on the winning formula, and then shatters it with next-gen solutions to every feature and gameplay mechanic.

Think that spoiler is stock?

A single preview could not hope to accurately quantify the sheer volume of top-tier features and evolutions Forza Motorsport 2 brings to the table, but we can examine a few of the really worthwhile elements. We'll be focusing primarily on features either specific to the offline career mode, or those held in common with the Xbox LIVE® multiplayer experience.

Region Choice
Your FM2 career begins with a choice, as you select among North America, Europe, or Asia as your default region. Essentially, this choice sets the price-point for cars within and outside your region. Naturally, cars manufactured within your region will cost less, whereas exports will carry a heftier price tag. New players would do well to strongly consider their favorite manufacturer and driving style, before selecting their native region.

The chief benefit of Drivatar is its almost
unnerving ability to learn on its own.

Unlocking Levels
With every race you run and every win you achieve, points for both Driver and Car levels are added to your total. The more Driver levels you earn, the more discounts you'll score from car manufacturers and the more opportunities you'll have to further your career. Naturally, the Car level is unique to each vehicle. The higher you go, better deals can be obtained for upgrades to your ride of choice.

It's All About the Cars
First and foremost, what kind of cars are on offer? The answer for FM2 is a whopping 300-plus licensed cars from dozens of different manufacturers. Whether you're looking for the opulent comfort of a Jaguar XK Coupe, the throaty roar of a muscle car like the GT40 Mkll, or the exotic lines of the TVR Tuscan S, Forza Motorsport 2 has got you well covered. Check here for the full list on the official FM2 community Web site.

Radical A.I.
Forza Motorsport introduced the Drivatar artificial intelligence engine to gamers, but with Forza Motorsport 2, the technology has begun to truly shine. The chief benefit of Drivatar is its almost unnerving ability to learn on its own. This is artificial intelligence in the truest sense as it learns from its mistakes, adjusts to its surroundings, reacts naturally to the other drivers, and generally alters its strategy in a very human way.

Pretty, but wait until you see the user-created paintjobs.

Developers spent less time harnessing the power of Drivatar in the first game, and more time trying to understand its power. Now, Drivatar has matured, and often with startling results. Even the designers cannot precisely predict what it's capable of doing, though they assure racers that they have tamed the A.I. to the point of realism.

Design and Paint
Though we'll go into far greater detail in our FM2 customization feature, it bears repeating here to praise the wonderful FM2 paint/design engine. To put it simply, with a thousand layers (you read that right) to work with, every conceivable color and type of paint, all the decals, shapes, custom designs, fonts, and miscellaneous extras you can shake a gearshift at, the only limit on the look and design of your ride is your own imagination.

Licensed Destruction
Where other hardcore simulation racers have shied away from real-time damage modeling for one reason or another, FM2 (like its predecessor) fully embraces the feature. From spider-webbed windows to crumpled front-ends and ripped off bumpers, every licensed car will suffer realistic damage when slamming into competition, concrete barriers or any other obstacle that presents itself.

Physics FPS
A common question when first viewing a game is how smooth is its frame-rate? While it's certainly important for the visuals to be locked in at thirty or sixty frames-per-second (you'll be flying along courses at a slick sixty FPS in FM2), the team at Turn 10 has ratcheted up the physics engine to well beyond 100 FPS.

Time on the test track is imperative.

The pitch-perfect physics picks up on every bit of traction between the tire and road, notices every crack and crevice on the course, responds with precision to every bump, shimmy and course correction, and generally makes thousands upon thousands of needed calculations between the frames you see for every race you play.

It is a fabulous truth that with all the great features we have just listed, we have been woefully inadequate in summarizing even a portion of what Forza Motorsport 2 has to offer. The scope and detail of the game is astounding.

We haven't even touched on the auction house, photo mode, Web integration or the multiplayer features, let alone the car upgrades, and tuning options which are so central to the simulation experience. Don't worry though, we've set the hamsters to work on breaking down every major aspect of FM2, and we'll be back with more information.

Article by Ryan Treit