The visual toll of racing damage on your carвЂ™s body is limited, and though youвЂ™ll occasionally see pieces flying off, most of the cars just deform a little. But while you land huge jumps and smash through a lot of stuff, the damage model is set to be visual only by default, so you donвЂ™t need to worry about impacting your carвЂ™s performance.

They take place across open fields and dirt paths, small forested areas and rolling hills, as you and your opponents race at breakneck speeds, pull off huge drifts, and smash fences and any vegetation that stands in the way. Off-road races, likely inspired by the Rally DLC for the first Horizon, are absolutely exhilarating. No longer are you tied to roads that the developers have carved out, and in fact many gameplay elements rely on taking risks and shortcuts. Forza Horizon 2 offers a much more accessible open world compared to its predecessor. So while street and circuit racing will get a little repetitive, players can always mix things up by choosing rally and off-road vehicles. You have to create your own variety, per say, by buying new vehicles that can race in various disciplines. The game will suggest new event categories that will require new car purchases, but doesnвЂ™t force anything on the players, so you could finish the campaign just using the same two or three cars. Because players can pick and choose what championships they partake it, by choosing what car they wish to drive, thereвЂ™s little sense of progression. And when you finally make it to the finale, itвЂ™s a very underwhelming event and certainly not memorable in any way. Sure, it may have been silly, but it was better than what feels like simply grinding races in Horizon 2. What at first seemed to be a perfect complement to the gameвЂ™s easy going nature turns out to be fairly repetitive.ДЄside from a few in-game cutscenes, the narrative doesnвЂ™t attempt to present any notable characters or personalities, as the first game did. So after each location has been visited, the game will still monotonously force you to drive between hubs just to kick off the next championship. But, as it turns out, the whole career mode is structured around these Road Trips. At first, this seems a brilliant idea вЂ“ gently guiding the players through the big open world, letting them drive between hubs as they explore the map for the first time. These trips are all about driving and enjoying the scenery, and thus arenвЂ™t even a race. One new aspect are the Road Trips, as the game guides players between various cities (hubs) before actually revealing the starting locations of the races. Campaign is structured around completing within various championships, with four race events in each. You arrive in this area as a new driver, hoping to leave a mark on the Horizon Festival with your racing skills.ДЄs fans might expect, youвЂ™re given a choice of cars to start with, and from then on you partake in a number of championships. There are real city names, but they serve only as small urban hubs rather than any attempts at recreating landmarks or actual locations. As before, the locale is an inspiration for the game rather than an actual geographic location. The original game was all about the freedom of the open road in a fictionalized version of Colorado, so the sequel builds on this by letting players race and cruise around an area of Southern Europe. And while it's fair to say that this sequel is treading water вЂ“ at least itвЂ™s the striking, clear and warm water off the beautiful coast of Southern Europe.

So, itвЂ™s with a mix of cautious optimism and the burden of high expectations that players will enter the world of Forza Horizon 2. It turned out to be the best racing game released that year, and easily one of the most enjoyable experiences overall. Expected by some to be little more than an arcade spinoff from the sim racing franchise, made to compete with Need for Speed, the game instead delivered a fun, atmospheric title with great racing and robust multiplayer.

Released two years ago, Forza Horizon was a surprise hit.

Forza horizon 2 game