Forza 2 Demo

[SouL]

Anyone tried it out?

I've been a longtime fan (still am) of the Gran Turismo series, but the thought of playing friends online and just having a new racing game in general to play is really appealing, I decided to give Forza 2 a try.
I'm pretty new to the series. I played the first one at a friends place a while back.

The demo is pretty cool and pretty fun. It's fairly different from Gran Turismo. Forza seems a little more erratic. The braking is really sensitive (or just really strong across all the cars). It's a little awkward how quickly the revs drop as you're braking into a corner. It feels like you drop down the gears at twice the rate than in GT. The cars also have a lot of front end grip turning into the corners. But then the back is very eager to kick out with the throttle. AWD cars are pretty flat and stick well under hard acceleration out of a corner.

Maybe I'm just not used to having the trigger buttons control the brake/throttle input... but Forza sort of demands a quicker reaction time from the player. Braking is quick (cars really feel like they're braking from high speeds in really short distances), the back end of cars are loose, so you're either real gentle with the throttle or feathering and giving the car opposite lock to maintain drift.

Gran Turismo is like the complete opposite. It feels more relaxed and a little slower in how the cars are. Braking takes a little longer as does dropping gears. There's more understeer in the game too if you're really hot into a corner. It's hard to get the rear end out and carry a drift. But it's easy to get the braking right and get a nice clean line through a corner.

There's a little more car movement in Gran Turismo, too. I noticed in Forza, braking for the first corner at 130MPH+... the nose of the car is pretty flat.

Still a fun game, though. I can't wait to pick up the retail release and try out the different cars. I'm really eager to see their version of the Nurburgring. It's all I play in GT4.... and it's probably all I'm going to play in Forza.

[mephisto]

I've been playing it for about 1 hour. The cars are too shiny for my taste, they look like they've just been detailed. Using the triggers for breaking and accelerating is the correct approach though because they're analog wheras buttons are digital. This makes it easier to apply the desired amount of breaks/throttle and you can apply both at once. I noticed the heavy understeer too.

Personally I play with the wireless wheel and racing chair. FYI: You need to use the power adapter instead of batteries to activate force feedback. Using the batteries you'll not get force feedback in the demo.

I preorderd my copy long time ago and am waiting for the 29th so start playing it for real.

[kohete]

Played it for a couple of hours last night, with the Microsoft Force Feedback steering wheel.

The physics are spectacular. Perfect. Spot on. Down to torque pull from a standing start. And the demo is only the arcade mode, which means they get even better in the retail release!

Pedals were dead on. You need the steering wheel for this game - its all about steering with the accelerator.

Steering wheel: I had issues with this. There was a lag between input and reaction. Need to investigate more tonight. Also, the deadzone was pretty bad.

[djentangle]

I think it's amazing physics in this game, it seems... i think the graphics are perfect too, cars look real enough, but not too much lighting effects that sorta ruin the look like need 4 speed games.... too much bling in the cars shine... I can't wait for the game to come out for real... I gotta spring some cash for the MS wireless racing wheel... I used it with PGR and it was awesome, so it can only be that much better with forza...

[Crudson]

I decided last week to get a 360 once it comes out. Gran Turismo done right apparently, which is sadly the same bloody game it was in 1997.

[Conan]

got the FM2 demo last night. Tried the MC12, F430 and M3 this morning real quick (all assists OFF, including NO line) with the regular controller. As usual, the physics are way better than GT3/4. I think they improved the braking physics over FM1. Much easier to modulate the brakes. The graphics were better, too. Especially the track and scenery. Amazing. But still not quite as good as GT4 -- which speaks volumes for that game from a graphics perspective.

I'll try it tonight with the Microsoft wheel.

[kohete]

I leave ABS on - if FM2 brakes are easier to modulate than FM1, I'm glad I never played FM1

[SouL]

The game comes out soon, right?
Anyone going to pick up an Xbox Live account to race online?

My buddy was telling me about a deal where you get 13 months (12 months + 1 month free) of Xbox Live Gold for $55? (might have been $50).

[Conan]

Originally Posted by SouL

The game comes out soon, right?
Anyone going to pick up an Xbox Live account to race online?

My buddy was telling me about a deal where you get 13 months (12 months + 1 month free) of Xbox Live Gold for $55? (might have been $50).

I do. My XBoxLive name is MadConan. I think that price is correct.

[kohete]

patternSeeker for me.

[Callabrator]

I'm in love with this game actually! I only played FM1 for a few laps and didn't really get into it, but FM2 is just awesome! I even went out and purcahsed not only the MS racing wheel (which I said I'd never buy another wheel after I got my PS2 one and never used it), but I also got a Playseat Evo and a ButtKicker Gamer to complete the whole experience. I've now basically got the entire arcade cabinet experience at home: Racing seat, force feedback wheel, low frequency emitter mounted to seat, 5.1 surround sound setup...it's awesome!

Playseat Evo:


ButtKicker Gamer:

[kohete]

oooh. envy.

[mephisto]

I got my Playseat Evolution last Christmas and absolutely love it. It's so much better than sitting on the couch with the wheel on a table.

[Callabrator]

Spent some quality time with the finished retail game, and I must say this is quite possibly my favorite racing game ever. The handling is just sublime.

Figured you guys would like to see some screenies of the paint job I spent a few hours constructing. Sadly, the car looks gorgeous but handles like crap. I've still got a lot to learn about suspension/driveline setup.

[P90Puma]

You lucky SOB's here it doesnt come out until tuesday!

Edit: The worst part about Forza 2 is that I can't use my G25

[Callabrator]

Originally Posted by P90Puma

The worst part about Forza 2 is that I can't use my G25

Indeed. Although I've never used the G25 myself, everyone raves about it. Too bad

[SouL]

I'm still waiting for my copy in the mail. How's the nurburgring?
They goofed on it in the FM1.... it wasn't very accurate.

And how is the playseat? What kinds of adjustments can you make to the seat?
Can you raise the footwell? It'd be fantastic to have a seating set up similar to the Elise/Exige

[jheberle]

the elise looks pretty good:

http://media.xbox360.gamespy.com/med...g_4486772.html

[SouL]

It's quite fun driving the opposite direction and slamming into the other cards head first at 100+mph
Haha

[Callabrator]

Originally Posted by SouL

I'm still waiting for my copy in the mail. How's the nurburgring?
They goofed on it in the FM1.... it wasn't very accurate.

And how is the playseat? What kinds of adjustments can you make to the seat?
Can you raise the footwell? It'd be fantastic to have a seating set up similar to the Elise/Exige

I'm by no means a connoisseur of the Nurburgring so I can't really comment there. Looks good to me.


The playseat, honestly, has lived up to my expectations...and those were pretty lofty. The build construction is very sound, the seat is remarkably comfortable, the fake leather is really nice, and the seating position is fine. You can adjust the distance of the pedals, and the distance and height of the wheel. You cannot raise the footwell without custom modification and extra steel, although it probably wouldn't be that hard to do if you were really determined.

The only complant that I have is that heels of my feet used to hurt because they rest on the metal bracket that holds the pedals in place. I've rectified this by putting an old mousepad with gel wrist pad over the bracket. I give my fix an 80% improvement rating

I'm VERY happy with my puchases. The playseat + kicker + forcefeedback wheel are about as close as anyone can get these days to driving a real car.