Forza 2 Demo First Impressions

I have been really excited about the prospect of Forza 2. This game was going to be the justification for spending money on the Microsoft Wireless Steering Wheel. It was the game which had been developed from the ground up for Force Feedback on the Xbox 360. It was, of all things, meant to be a racing simulator.

After playing the demo I have to say that consoles are not platforms for racing simulators. If you play games and think that V8 Supercars or Gran Turismo or Forza are racing simulators then you are sadly mistaken. If you want to play a racing simulator then the PC is where you should be. High quality racing simulators are being created on the PC by racing nuts. Their passion for racing is reflected in the quality of the games they make. Live For Speed, GTR and rFactor are where it is at. If you haven't played them then don't even start to comment. If you find them too hard then welcome to the die hard world of racing because racing isn't easy.

Let me just say that if you are a racing fan and want to find a racing simulator on a console then you won't find one. So-called "racing sims" on consoles are watered down for the mainstream market. They are nothing more than arcade racing games with a bit more tail end action.

I am disappointed with the Microsoft Wireless Steering Wheel too now that everything is said and done. The Logitech MOMO is the best wheel on the market for force feedback (shame about the pedals). It is a wonder that Microsoft didn't have a chat to Logitech to ask them how it was done because there may be a lot of racing fans who purchase the Microsoft wheel and think that it will be comparable to the Logitech MOMO. It doesn't.

After I've said all of that. Forza 2 does play better than the original. The racing model is better, however, I have driven the game without any of the driving aids on and the powerful cars are hardly powerful enough. The track modelling is very nice. The car detail is excellent. A real shame that there was no in-car view as there was in the latest Gotham.

I seriously doubt that much of this will change when the final release of the game comes out. A real shame for consoles.