Forza Motorsport 2

I popped in Forza 2 at the begging of the week. Yeah, I'm late to the party, but who cares?

In short: Forza 2 is awesome. The graphics are great, the sound is stellar, and the controls are solid.

I had never played a realistic racing game before - my prior experience had been strictly limited to arcade racers -and Forza 2 is a great way to jump into the genre. At first realism took some getting used to: I had to break around every corner, hitting other cars would damage the performance of my own car, ect. After about an hour with the game I started to like it - a lot.

The ability to modify everything from your flywheel to paint job is amazing. Forza 2 takes the concept of customization to a new level. Everything can be customized in this game, and it all affects the performance of your car - with the exception of cosmetic changes like paint, ect. New car parts can be bought with money earned by completing races, and once these parts are bought you can put apply them to your car. I won't list all the available parts, but trust me, there are many. This option allows players to tailor every car to their needs. If you need more handling, better breaking, or faster acceleration there are a plethora of car parts available to meet your desire.

I'm not a car buff, but if you are you will love the various assortment of cars present in this game. There are a myriad of brands and cars. Everything from mini-vans to prototype racing cars make and appearance, and whatever your preference, you are sure to be pleased.

The sound is nothing short of amazing. The motors growl and whine, tires squeal and squeak, all with unparalled realism. When I first turned on the game the sound of the races took my breath away, but ideally you should have a good surround sound setup to extract the most enjoyment out Forza 2.

In addition to all this there is still more! The track selection is varied, and you won't get bored because you play through the same 10 tracks over and over again. The environments range from asphalt and concrete tracks packed with fans to winding roads in the country.

Forza 2 has no shortage of game modes either. There is the standard career mode in which you race, buy cars, level up, and unlock more tracks. There are also time trial modes, and an arcade mode which allows you to race with a car from any class whether you have bought it in single player or not. Multiplayer is also available if you have access to X-box live. You can race against others, watch races, and buy and sell cars.

Forza 2 has a ton of everything - cars, tracks, achievements, car parts, and game modes. It is a great value for 60 dollars because you get so much of everything. So, if you are looking for a good racing game, and own a 360, Forza 2 is a must buy. It would be a mistake not to own this game.