For me absolutely yes when all things are considered of course this is all down to personal opinion and other variables are to be considered like arcade/simulation track based/open world etc
For all the great racing games of recent years such as Forza 4, PGR 4, Driveclub, etc they are great in their own right but when I think of the things Forza Horizon 2 has and offers. It’s phenomenal that we have such a well crafted open world racing game with incredible physics/car handling model
It has great car variety. vast open map where you can almost drive anywhere and as always with forza - great sound. day/night and rain variables lots of customization options for the cars. a single player which has lots of content and variety. Online mode with lots on offer. Great DLC content packs which enhances the game greatly. While only 30fps it’s rock solid and smooth and the driving model is unparalleled in this type of game.
Of course things can be improved and nothing is perfect but for me Forza Horizon 2 is the greatest racing game ever on console. It is what made me finally purchase an Xbox one and it’s now an integral part of the forza brand for me.
And after playing a few other racing games recently such as driveclub - which is excellent. Then returning to FH2 after not playing it for a while - it made me appreciate and realize just how good it actually is - does not get the credit it deserves.
Which is why Forza Horizon 3 is one of my most anticipated games this year despite being no information available yet. Forza Horizon was fantastic. Horizon 2 raised the bar so I have high hopes for horizon 3…
Obviously I know it’s difficult to compare horizon 2 to lets say project cars as while both racing games they offer completely different things and some people prefer pure arcade or pure simulation etc where as I would play any racing game if it’s good SIM/arcade simcade doesn’t matter if it’s enjoyable and that is why all things considered I think forza horizon 2 is the greatest racing game to date…
If they took that Skilling crap out of the races I would agree, but it gets frustrating to win races and then lose the even because of people skilling… I really hope they change that in FH3
That doesn’t really bother me in the least. If I am winning the races I can’t care less about who wins the “event”. You can even out skill them, win all the races and still not win the event if there is a strong club presence in the road trip. Lots of points are gained between races too while I am taking a bathroom break or getting some food or drink. It is what it is and it. The best drivers win races which show in your stats. Winning “events” just gets you a few more credits you will never be able to spend.
@Exyled Nomad - when you say skilling - do you mean drifting etc in races ?
@PJTiernry some great titles you listed there - of course I respect your decision. F1 97 was fantastic for its time on the PS1 and when it comes to F1 games - only F1 championship edition on the PS3 has come close to that game - all those F1 games from codemasters in the last few years dont hold a candle to F1 97 when everything in taken into account.
Gran turismo 4 was the best GT game in the series imo and the one I certainly spent most time with - had such a great track selection and this the game what made me become such a fan of the Mercedes 190E - that challenge on coffee break round the ring - awesome.
Forza was the reason I decided to buy an original Xbox to start with but I never did give a great deal of time to that game not untill forza 2 on Xbox 360 is when I really started to appreciate forza (although I would spend more time in the auction house than racing) Forza 3 was simply Phenomenal and forza 4 is the best SIM style type of racing game ever to be released on console - Forza 4 is definitely up there with my favourites. Unfortunately I cannot say the same with Forza 6.
And all other great racing games such as Toca race driver 3/Grid. Test drive series. Project Gotham racing games. Certain need for speed games midnight club series etc
Obviously there has been many racing games of the year’s and most have had something they have excelled at and as I said before comparing forza to need for speed is Apple and oranges but for me when I look at everything those racing games offer and take everything into consideration and could only choose one - Forza Horizon 2
Of course things could be improved and features added etc but FH2 is simply a phenomenal racing game made by some exceptional development team - Playground Games (might be a fairly new studio in only a few years old) but if I am correct virtually every one who works at playground games has worked on racing games in their careers and high quality ones at that)
Obviously this is my own opinion about it being the best racer ever and my thoughts about other games. but I do think Forza Horizon 2 deserves much more recognition
if we look at the racing only, then yes! it is the best racing game to date for me…
if we look at what horizon 2 was trying to accomplish with the open world environment, then the answer is no! the original tdu and tdu2 for me win hands down!
@XCELRATE - I was a huge fan of TDU I still remember playing the demo on the Xbox 360 being blown away by the graphics and scale of the world etc and had some great ideas like own property where you can garage your car’s and the casino add on was a nice feature for TDU2 - it’s a shame what happened to the test drive franchise.
I would love to see forza include some of test drive features though. Fair enough on your opinion on preferring the environments on TDU I respect that. But for me this is a strength of the horizon games - the environments and details are fantastic (would love to see Japan in a horizon game)
On the XBone I would say it’s the best arcade racer with FM6 being the best overall racer. The 360 version of FH2 is way worse than FH1. An absolute joke of a mess on the 360!
@NumerableToast Yes I was referring to the Xbox one version of forza horizon 2. You are right in saying the Xbox 360 version of FH2 is a mess - but although no excuse I’m sure the Xbox 360 version was outsourced.
See I thought Forza 6 was a disappointment and completely underwhelmed I had the limited edition on pre - order and my expectations were probably too high in truth. As far as realistic racing games go on Xbox one I would personally place project cars (despite some of its problems) above forza 6. In my opinion as far as the motorsport side of forza goes - Forza 4 takes the No 1 spot. And I have lost faith in turn 10 direction and prefer the game design of playground games in general.
That is why I hold Forza Horizon 2 in such high regard and cannot praise the game enough - to have an open world racing game with amazing graphics (solid frame rate and no screen tearing) day/night cycle weather effects great sounds Stella car list and incredible physics which suit this type of game play
As far as I’m aware there is no other racing game like it ? Where as circuit racers there are a few options out there from arcade to simulation. Obviously though of course it’s all down to personal opinion as everyone has different tastes and preferences etc
After racing around circuits in FM6 and F1 2015, FH2 is the best open world game to segue to in order to satisfy that need for coasting highway to highway, weaving through traffic, crashing through fences and driving the planes or meadows, engaging a drive-by rival, chasing drive-around cars that do not like being chased, going on road trip and racing in races that takes you off the road. And don’t forget Storm Island – amazing game indeed. Can’t wait to see what the studio has lined up for FH3!!!
Completely agree with you and yes storm island is top draw as is all the dlc for this game - I’m looking forward to horizon 3 as well. Take this with a pinch of salt but I did hear a rumour that horizon 3 will get a debut trailer at this month’s xbox and Microsoft event on Feb 25th - that be awesome if it turns out to be true - but I’m not getting hyped cause as with all gaming rumours 90% turn out to be not true.
@mookstuna - I would say it’s more of an issue with the xbox cloud save data rather than the game. Did you synchronize it correctly when prompted ?
As there are a lot of threads on this forum where they have lost the save data. I bet it’s because it hasn’t been synchronized correctly I have had to do it multiple times and it can take a while and almost seems as it has frozen the Xbox - what you need to then do is press the guide button on the controller then go to all settings don’t do anything here then go back to the game and it will either -
Have done the sync fully and your good to go
or
You will have an option saying there was a problem do Not click cancel - click try again and it will resume and take about a minute then it will be good to go
or
You might get option what suggests load last saved sync data - this is ok too do as well as it will then proceed to load the last data on the cloud - which should be your current last saved data.
If it takes a while just leave it as it can take up to 2 hours depending how big your save data file is.
I know all of this as I have done it and never once had an issue weather it will be sync data to another xbox. Or the Xbox randomly trying to synchronized the data. This has happened on multiple games and not just horizon.
Hell no. It has the potential to be the best but the thing that turned me off it the most is those STUPID CROSS COUNTRY RACES. It’s a pathetic attempt to advertise the new graphics and it just ruins the game. I found these races to be more of a chore than a leisure activity and to add to the insult I lose these “races” online to people who get more “SKILL POINTS” than me. Since when has veering across a cow paddock, through an orchard and wrapping your 1000 hp Datsun around a telegraph pole at 299 km/h been viewed as a SKILL? Drive on rails and finish first without a scratch and your bound to come last in an online road trip. That’s just one of my complaints, I have a few more which I’ll spare you from. Short answer to your question, NO
That is your opinion and fair enough you don’t like the cross country racing and part of the online modes - but there will always be a feature/mechanic of a game no matter how good someone will not like and its totally understandable on the flip side of this I know someone who loves the cross country and especially storm island dlc as they were a huge fan of the Xbox game ralisport challenge which is no longer made and some of that team who made ralisport now work at turn10.
Just out of interest which racing game do you regard as possibly the best ever ?
Where forza horizon 2 on the Xbox one might no suit every one as its not full on simulation etc. And no game will or ever be perfect and will probably contain bugs and features you may not like. Heck I even think the FH2 map could of has more diversity like some mountain roads for drifting and proper drag racing mode etc.
With that said when I made this thread I did consider all other racing games etc and with all the pro and cons and what FH2 delivers a fantastic racing game which only has the potential to get better.
Usually in racing games you either get a simulation or arcade or simcade and either track based circuit racing or open world racing and its all down to one’s preference and I think most people prefer simcade physics with a choice of optional assists. That is a major selling point in the Forza brand.
Imo there has never been a racing game yet which matches forza motorsports and horizons physics system using a controller and when you throw in probably the best car list of any default racing game and great sound and physics and always amazing graphics weather it’s 30FPS or 60FPS it’s always butter smooth and never ever has screen tearing is truly commendable.
With that said and looking at horizon 2 and taking into account all in features and pro and cons - this is when I think Forza Horizon 2 is the best racing game to date. (If we a talking pure track based racing games only than that title would belong to Forza 4 closely followed by PGR 4)
Of course it would be nice if it borrowed features from other games and could improve in a lot of areas and obviously this is just my opinion and reasons on why I consider it the best.
Really hyped to see what playground games do with Horizon 3…
I think Forza Horizon needs realistic car dealerships around the map like TDU had. Then it would be amazing. Also those luxury houses and garages where you can collect your cars, then it would be perfect.
I agree, for me Forza Horizon 2 changed the way I want to play racing games, after playing fh2 for months, no other racing game satisfy my racing needs on games, tried driveclub, only last 10 mins, need for speed no go, i cant go race in closed circuit again after open world, got bored quickly so no fm6 or pc for me.
Its not perfect, but no other game got me hooked for so long, right now im playing black ops 3, skipped fm6, then i would finish tomb raider and uncharted 4, that would give me a few months until fh3 arrives.
I already have $75 on my account waiting to buy the ultimate version on fh3 as soons its available for pre order.
I agree with you completely when you say it’s has changed the way you play racing games as it has for me. Without going into detail I am just going to stick with the forza franchise only from now on. As imo no racing game has that quality of the way cars handle in horizon and motorsport its simply phenomenal and forza has always had a great physics engine (weather it is 100% realistic is subjective etc etc) to me it’s the most enjoyable - and that’s the most important aspect of any game imo.
Of course I would love to see features added what other racing games offer - but forza at its core is the best in the business weather its console or pc imo.
I also have the money on my account ready to place a pre order the day its available
And what would be sweet if Xbox/turn 10/playground offered Forza horizon 1 as a bonus for pre ordering.
As there seems to be a few games this year offering simalar incentives.
Would be fantastic if this was possible as I completed Horizon 1 but never got round to playing the DLC for it
Not long enough to pick your car between races.
Forced inclusion of party games.
Bad car rolling physics leaving your car turtling for way too long.
Points stacked too favourably for skill.
