Hello all, long time lurker, first time poster here. Been a fan of FM ever since Forza Motorsport 2 which I believe is still, as of today, the best product Turn 10 has created.
So on to Horizon 2. Judging by the way the original Horizon went, I didn’t plan to so much as look at a gameplay video of this title. Horizon 1 was such a disappointment, even more so than FM 4&5 to me. However, the demo came out and damn was the game fun. I get that the cars and upgrade system is pretty much copy/pasted into the game from FM5, but I’m okay with that, as FM5 is quite a decent game to play nowadays when it comes to content, sounds, and general gameplay. The problem here is that I’m expecting basically FM5’s content in an open world, and we’re once again getting less than that. No exhaust note changes whatsoever after upgrades? Seriously? Now we’re back to a FM3 level of disappointment. I was completely baffled after putting a race exhaust and big turbo on an Evolution VIII only to hear the same muffled exhaust note and stock limp turbo spool upon hitting 24psi at 6k RPMs, mods which, in FM5, make the car sound raspy and aggressive with an extremely loud spool up. I then went on upgrading some other cars and noted that not one of them changed with exhaust upgrades. So as of now, that’s completely gone.
I’m really hoping it’s some sort of patchable bug, what with all the other audio issues in the game currently, such as the popping during garage menu selection and other car upgrade audio bugs noted in other threads here. These things, compared with the random freezing and loading/install errors, are making this game look like borderline beta content. FFS, tinted windows go back to normal clear windows once you leave the garage. I mean seriously?
These issues are actually pretty decent game breakers to me. They’ve dragged this game down to good, and not the great which I really thought it would be. Almost every Forza title since FM2 has had less content than its predecessor, whether it be changing exhaust notes, wheels, kits, or simple general features like painting brake calipers. Man, I really hope this is patched. I guess I’ll be stuck dreaming of a modern FM2 again until who knows when… maybe GT7, considering I’d have no qualms ditching the Xbone. I can only imagine what today’s Forza would be like had they kept every feature offered in their games since FM2 and only added to that. Actually, it’s probably a good thing they didn’t, as I’d probably never leave the house playing that game.
FM4 was by far the best Forza in the series, everything since has been stripped of what made the series great. I don’t know about anyone else, but I spent more time hunting cars in the AH than I did actually racing. That may also be why they took that feature out of the game. Regardless of the reason, the AH was awesome and so much fun.
Edit: About the sound, don’t hold your breath. FM5 had that annoying static noise during races and it was never fixed.
To each his own I suppose, FM4 was a good game certainly but to me it was just FM3.5. It looked a little prettier, had better sounds which did upgrade with exhaust changes (though IMO they were way overkill, much too loud and distorted), more cars, and more tracks. I never spent much time unicorn hunting, but the Auction House is sorely missed. What made FM2 the best for me was simply the gameplay in general. Choosing a region and getting ahead on cars from that region, grinding to get to good cars. Hell, in that game it took me hours just to get out of a 6,000 CR car and into something decent whereas I’m already driving a 360 Challenge Stradale and Lambo in this new game. Painting calipers, tire brand selection offering variations on life vs, grip, the little boost gauge in the HUD, and the best sounds ever. That game had it all.
Lol I played FM3 the other day, I can’t believe I used to think it was a good simulation game. The differences between the gameplay of 3 and 4 are massive, and even more form 4 to 5.