By Jack McAuslan ’16
THE ROUNDUP

“Forza Horizon 2”: Playground Games
9/10

“Forza 5” has been out for about a year now and it was a huge disappointment considering the massive amount of hype for this new, next generation racing game.

It had one very simple problem: It lacked gameplay options.

The list of cars in “Forza 5” was much shorter than expected and the same can be said for the dismal amount of race tracks.

“Forza Horizon 2” was just recently released and, despite the disappointment of “Forza 5,” was expected to be very similar to the original “Forza Horizon.”

While “Forza 5” got away with a just a few extra features over previous “Forza” games, “Horizon 2” is almost an entirely different game from the first “Horizon.

The premise of “Horizon 2” is unchanged; the player is entered into a racing festival to please crowds and win championships.

The gameplay, on the other hand, has changed drastically.

“Horizon 2” allows the player to choose championships based on the car he or she wants to drive.

Players will no longer have to buy a specific make and model of a car just to enter a race, which was sometimes the case in the first “Horizon.”

It is also possible to switch championships easily by simply going to the hub and selecting a new car and championship.

Another addition to this game that really changes it’s character is the lack of boundaries throughout the map.

In the first “Horizon,” roads were set routes with barriers lining them, making it impossible to simply turn off of the road and drive through a forest.

In “Horizon 2” there are no boundaries.

The player can drive wherever he or she wants any time, which means races can take place on or off road.

One of the best parts of “Forza 5” was it’s drivatar system that monitored how the player drives his or her cars, and when the player is offline uses an artificial version of the player, mimicking his or her driving style.

This system from “Forza 5” remains in “Horizon 2” which makes it much easier to challenge friends to races, even when they are offline.

One of the most memorable parts of the first “Horizon” was the barn finds, classic cars that were abandoned in sheds or barns throughout the map.

As the player progresses through the game more barn finds will pop up around the map with a maximum of 10.

Barn finds return for “Horizon 2.”

However, there is still one issue with “Horizon 2” that can and will be fixed with downloadable content over time, and it’s the lack of cars.

“Forza 5” suffered from the same problem, which is part of the reason why it was so disappointing.

“Forza Horizon 2” has more cars than “Forza 5,” but it is still not enough at the moment.

More cars will be released with downloadable content as time passes.

“Forza Horizon 2” is a huge step up from “Forza 5” and the original “Forza Horizon,” offering very entertaining and intense gameplay which has never been seen in previous Forza games.