Forza Motorsport 2
Turn 10 reclaims pole position.
Simon's take
For many players, racing simulators, that beloved playground of the most terrifying kind of PC nerd, are everything a videogame should not be.
They're about labyrinthine tuning menus, reams of incomprehensible breakdown statistics and unsalvageable races lost 20 seconds after the starting pistol fired for no crime more serious than taking an over-plucky run at the first corner. They're about non-words like Camber, Toe, Caster, Downforce, Telemetry and Torque and the ten million incremental tweaks you must make to each in order to shave point zero three of a second off your best, lonely lap time. They're about condescending others in comments threads, asserting that no console-based effort will ever be fit to buff the hubcaps of a real driving simulator like Grand Prix Legends, rFactor, Live for Speed, Richard Burns Rally and do shut up.
It's all anathema for console owners brought up on the brisk simplicity of Mario Kart's blue shells, F-Zero's corkscrew tracks and Riiiiidge Racer. While both styles of game present the same ultimate challenge - be the first to cross the finish line - these primary-coloured expressions go about it in a more easy-going, accessible and comfortable way. Indeed, for every gamer who thinks Gran Turismo 4, in all its meticulous, chronicling detail, is the greatest videogame there are, at very least, twenty more who reckon it's a ten-million dollar nerd vanity project; an exercise in protracted, painstaking vehicular tedium.
Turn 10 is only too aware of this populist backlash against driving sims, which explains why the developer had billed Forza 2 as The Driving Game Both The Casual And The Enthusiast Will Almost Certainly Enjoy (our paraphrasing). So, while on the previous page Luke has busied himself talking to those gamers for whom 'finding optimum differential torque distribution' is a cause more worthy than 'finding Maddy', I'm here to figure out if the game's any fun for people who like Micro Machines, candyfloss, Pokémon and sunlight.
And, somewhat implausibly, it's Pokémon fans that are in particular luck. As Game Director, Dan Greenawalt pointed out to us a few weeks back Nintendo's Gotta Catch 'Em All 'em up provided huge inspiration. It's obvious right from your first race. If you place in the top three your driver promptly levels up (ding!), you earn some money, receive a 5per cent discount with a car manufacturer and are made to feel pretty good about yourself. It's all very RPG-esque and, by borrowing that genre's characteristic of offering lots of small gains for small achievements, it succeeds in welcoming in even the most suspicious gamer.
With the promise of car prizes for each tournament you win and a flurry of discounts and partnerships as you level up both your character and each of your vehicles, the emphasis is, right from the off, placed on collecting everything. You begin by picking a home continent which dictates what cars will be most readily available to you but, as you progress, partnerships with makers worldwide open up. Each car has a very individual feel on the track and you will quickly find your favourites. However, as a multitude of different achievement points are on offer for owning every car from each nation you're encouraged to constantly try out new vehicles while filling in the blanks in your collection.