Just to set the background - I've owned a PS1, PS2 and PSP so have been fairly Sony orientated for some time. I've played through the entire GT series and have loved every single minute of it. When the 360 was released alot of my mates opted to go for it purely for the on-line stuff, so I followed suit and brougt a 360. I owned my Xbox 360 and Forza 2 from release date, and played it continuosly pretty much right up until I traded the Xbox360 for a PS3 about 4 or 5 weeks ago.
Forza 2 for me was a very good quality racing sim. Graphically it probably sits somewhere between GT3/4 and GT5
but it is definatly closer to GT3/4. Others have touched on the slighty cartoon graphics which is indeed a factor, the cars just seem to have that black line around the outline of them that seperates them from everything else which is certainly not something GT5
suffers from. There here is no doubt in my mind that GT5
and the forthcoming GT5 have/will have suppased Forza 2 in terms of graphics with some to spare.
General Gameplay - In terms of gameplay Forza 2 does play very well and anyone that has played the game for sometime has to acknowledge that fact. The single player setup is good with a large range of races while the AI is reasonable enough to provide a challange if set to the higher settings. Also within the single player setup you have the ability to heavily customise/tune and paint your cars which is an excellent touch. The painting facility in Forza 2 is stunning and does add another layer to the game if that's the sort of thing you enjoy messing around with. Even if you don't (like me) I still found myself trying to add some half decent paint jobs to some of my better cars and then realised I had been at it for nearly 3 hours - it's that immersive.
Single Player Setup - I've found GT5
to be easily the equal of Forza 2 and have enjoyed racing through the single player campaign. The AI in GT5
is superior (still not brilliant, but superior) to that in Forza 2 and you do tend to get better single player races. The structure of the races in GT5
is good as well and lends itself to many enjoyable hours racing round the track trying to gain all the golds in all the races. As far as tuning/modding goes in GTP:5, I have to say I have been left slightly disappointed. Forza 2 really excels in this department and comparing the 2 leaves GT5
way down the list. Having said that others have commented on tuning being a bigger part of Forza 2 than actually driving the car and this is absolutly true. Having a vastly superior tune and simply being able to keep the car on the track usualy means the difference between 6th/7th and 1st/2nd - at times it's just not funny how much of a difference it really does make. So in actual fact whilst the limited options GT5
presents have left me disappointed, it's almost been refreshing to have a minimal amount of settings to mess with to make everything a little closer.
Multiplayer - It's the multiplayer aspect of GT5
that really lets the game down in my opinion. Virtually to the point where I can't see the point in playing GT5
online. With Forza 2, the on-line racing felt no different to the single player races, with the exception of the odd bit of lag and the general incompetence of some peoples driving. You had to negotiate each turn as you would do in single player but then you had to make additional effort to avoid trading paint with other players/cars - it really did play well and was always enjoyable. With GT5
, the on-line racing somehow feels totally different to the single player - I can't put my finger on exactly what it is, but you just don't get the same sense of racing as you do from the single player. The time penalties are annoying, the ghost cars are frustrating and every corner just feels like it's a case of who can get through the turn quickest no matter who or what you hit.
Conclusion - All in all having played through both games in some depth there are pro's and cons to both. You do have to take into consideration that GT5
is effectivly a demo of what's to come albeit a big demo. But there are things that GT5 has to improve on to be able to properly say it's a better racing sim that forza 2. Damage is the main and obvious factor for the vast majority of people and the on-line play needs tweaking in general. Perhaps the introduction of damage itself will make the on-line play more enjoyable.
At the end of the day, am I disappointed having traded my 360 and Forza 2 for a PS3 and GT5
- no im not. Im enjoying GT5
as much as I did Forza 2 but miss aspects of it. Having said that, I could'nt go back to Forza 2 because for me even with the odd few bits missing GT5
is still a superior racer.
