The Next Generation – Forza Horizon 2 (2014)

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Welcome back to Forsa Horizon Origins.

[00:00:02]Inspired by Ruffle Waffles's excellent Gran Turismo origin series, this is my ongoing deep dive into each entry in the Forsa Horizon series of openw world racing games. Each of these games made a big impact on release, and yet they all differ from each other in many different ways. We're looking to answer four key questions. What impact did each for Horizon game have? How did the series develop over time? How did the Horizon series surpass the motorsport series?

[00:00:26]And most importantly, which game is the best? from maps to menus, handling to car selection, game design to progression, and much more. Besides, we're covering every aspect of these games. And not only that, we're also looking at both how these games were received at the time and how they're viewed in the current day. Today, it's time for the series much anticipated second entry, Forza Horizon 2. Before we get into it, be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified of future videos in this series and much more besides. And if you want to catch me live on Twitch, drop me a follow at twitch.tv/baf663.

[00:00:58]Let's dive in.

[00:01:04]Following the success of 2012's Forsa Horizon, it came as no surprise that a sequel was quickly green lit by Microsoft. Playground Games were tasked with developing a new Horizon title every 2 years, filling in the gaps of the bianual Forza Motorsport series. And following the announcement of the Xbox One in May 2013, it was clear that this second entry would be arriving on a new generation of Xbox hardware. The team had pushed the Xbox 360 to its limits to create the rich open world, rewarding driving experience, and celebrated online features of the first game, and with the significantly more powerful hardware of the Xbox One, they were looking to enhance and expand on the original in every possible way. Now, the US state of Colorado gave Playground Games a beautiful setting and an appropriate technical challenge for the original Horizon title, but where could they go to step it up for the sequel?

[00:01:50]After scouting over 30 real world locations, including the likes of California and Australia, one area stood out. Fantastic driving roads, amazing environmental diversity, stunning vistas, somewhere unspoiled, somewhere a little bit exotic, somewhere that felt like the greatest summer road trip.

[00:02:07]That's how creative director Ralph Falton described it. And with its incredible coastal roads, picturesque locations, and a rich variety of undulating terrain, it ticked all the boxes. That location was Southern Europe. Now, moving the series away from the US was a bold choice. But, as Ralph described it, Southern Europe just felt fresh. It felt different. It felt new.

[00:02:28]And with plenty of hype for this sequel amongst both players and critics alike, plus Forza's growing reputation as Xbox's flagship racing game franchise, the French and Italian Riviera would give Playground Games the ideal canvas to deliver on those expectations. After flying out to the region to capture the look, the feel, and the essence of the area through photos, videos, and lived experiences, they set to work. Fortza Horizon 2 would feature many big upgrades. Not only did the move to the Xbox One mean a jump from 720p to 1080p resolution, it also allowed for two major improvements. The first of these, its weather, making its debut in a Force game for the very first time. Playground Games went all out, creating a particle-based system that would accurately simulate the formation of clouds, rain, dust, wind, and more. The second is the open world itself. Fortzo Horizon 1 saw some critique for its restrictive barriers that prevented true openw world exploration. So, Horizon 2 did away with them almost entirely.

[00:03:22]Outside of map boundaries, race barriers, and crowd protection, you can drive almost anywhere through fields, off cliffs, and over massive jumps. The world is yours to explore at will. With three times more drivable area, the return of car tuning, and much more, it's no wonder that Playground Games were quietly confident that players would enjoy it. Forsa Horizon 2 was officially revealed at E3 2014, and the initial reaction was far better than that of its predecessor. Fans were excited for the new location, the debut of weather, the expanded roster of cars, and more. And with rival racing games such as Drive Club and The Crew yet to release, players couldn't wait to get their hands on this nextgen openw world racer, expectations were high, but the question still remained. Could Forsa Horizon 2 be a worthy sequel to its genredefining predecessor? Horizon 2 debuted in September 2014 and immediately made a big impression. With exquisite nextG graphics, impressive new weather effects, a bucketload of fresh content, and more, Horizon 2 expanded on the original in virtually every area.

[00:04:22]So, let's dive in and see what it's all about.

[00:04:30]First, let's address the elephant in the room. The flagship Horizon 2 experience was on the Xbox One, but the game was also available on the Xbox 360. The 360 version wouldn't be developed by Playground Games, but rather Sumo Digital. At the time, Sumo were known for developing, of all things, Little Bigplet 3, but they did have plenty of experience in porting racing games such as Toa, Dirt 2, and Split Second. Today, they're best known for co-developing Warframe. That's quite a range, but I digress. Supervised by Turn, Sumo were tasked with taking the core elements of the Xbox One version, the map, the events, the cars, and more, and scaling it down to work on the 360. This meant swapping the Fors Mode Sport 5 engine for the Horizon 1 engine, reworking the game's progression and removing a lot of the content entirely. So much so that Ralph Fulton described the two versions as different games inspired by the same ideas. I played the Xbox One version on release, and for this video, I've also gone back and played the 360 version from start to finish. There's a lot of differences between the two, and I'll be analyzing the most significant of these changes as we come across them. Before you enter the game, you fade into a blue sky that pans down to the game's cover car. The 2014 Lamborghini Urakan LP6104.

[00:05:41]Kino Nocturn transitions from calm piano to uplifting drum and bass as we see a variety of supercars across the game's most beautiful vistas. What immediately hits you are the visuals, the lens flares from the sun, the water droplets on cars, the reflections in the paint, and the lush greenery of the environment. Horizon 2 puts its graphical prowess front and center as you know you're in for a real feast for the eyes. As we did with the original game, let's break down the first few minutes of Horizon 2 and see what impact it delivers. Hitting start, we see a short video with realorld footage of the game setting showing cars traversing beautiful environments, a group of friends enjoying a road trip, and the sights and sounds of a large festival with a female voice counting us to 10 and introducing us to Horizon. We load into a shot of the Mediterranean panning up to reveal a boat docking at a coastal town as Liberate by Eric Prids kicks into gear. A fleet of supercars disembark as festival host Ben Miller explains that the PR for the Horizon Festival has totally paid off and that there's a massive crowd awaiting us, eager to see these cars set off for the festival site. Ben explains that although it isn't a race, we wouldn't want to be last. Thanks us for helping him deliver these cars and says that this will be the summer of our lives. We take control of the Kavaka Urakan and depart from the town, driving down winding coastal roads, through tunnels, and across bridges with picturesque sea views, rocky cliffs, and high-end supercars of plenty. We cut in land and head into the countryside as day turns to night. Hot air balloons in the distance lead the way to the festival grounds with fireworks, skylights, and fairground rides illuminating the night sky as cheering crowds celebrate our arrival. We pull into the auto show. Ben greets our party and explains that the first road trip will start tomorrow. He welcomes us to Horizon as NRG by Doc Source begins to play and we transition into a sizzle reel of the sprawling festival site. The morning sun rises.

[00:07:27]Ben helps us pick a car for the heats.

[00:07:29]We see the world map, set our GPS, and enter the open world with the three main radio stations now available to us. Now, that's a pretty good introduction.

[00:07:37]Superb even to me though, it doesn't quite hit the level that the first game did. And more importantly, it reveals a pretty significant shift in tone. In the original game, we got a small taste of the cover car as we raced the current champion before hopping into the VW Curado VR6 to race our way to the festival. We got our first sight of the main antagonist. We got a teaser of the showcase races to come. And there's immediate stakes in racing to the festival. In Horizon 2, we hop into the cover car for a leisurely drive to the festival before picking between the 69 Camaro SS, the 98 Super RZ, or the 2012 BMW Z4. Each much pricier than a humble VR6. The atmosphere is more carefree.

[00:08:15]The situation is less nerve-wracking.

[00:08:17]And the stakes, well, there aren't any stakes. Horizon 2 put a much bigger emphasis on its multiplayer and social features. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It was a big part of the first game success, but this focus on the multiplayer experience has come at the cost of a compelling singleplayer narrative. There's no main antagonist to overcome. There's no quest to become the most popular driver. There's no sense that you're truly competing against the drivers around you. It all feels a bit inconsequential, a bit tame, and dare I say it, a bit boring. Prior to Horizon 2's release, creative director Ralph Fton explains that the game wouldn't have a traditional story, and that instead you form your own narratives with real people. Now, I understand the thinking behind this, that experiences with our friends should be far more meaningful to us than fictional stories, but to me, that just comes across as criminally lazy. Why not have a compelling multiplayer and a great single player story just like the first game did? The focus of the series feels like it shifted from our journey as a festival newcomer to the spectacle of the festival itself. The first thing we hear in Horizon 1 is a welcome message over the in-game radio. Whilst the first thing we hear in Horizon 2 is a voiceover from Ben telling us that it's fantastic news that the PR for the festival has paid off and that there's lots of people in attendance. That might seem subtle, but it's indicative of a significant change in tone that persists not just through this game, but for the series as a whole moving forwards. You could say that since Horizon 2 is a sequel, players will know what Horizon is all about. But what about those new to the series? There's no stakes to hook us in, no teaser of the showcase races to come, and there's no real answer to the question of why. Yes, that real world video is spectacular and genuinely spine- tingling. The music is great, the cars are beautiful, and the environments are stunning. But beyond the surface, it all feels a bit hollow and soulless.

[00:10:04]Whilst Alice and Dak felt like warm, hardworking, and downto-earth colleagues, Ben feels inauthentic, unlikable, and untrustworthy. And Ashley, our mechanic, who we'll encounter later, sounds unconvincing, artificial, and wooden. I'm left feeling that something isn't quite right. It's all technically excellent, but it's bereft of both meaning and personality.

[00:10:23]And for me, that makes it a big step backwards. We're off to a slow start, but what really matters is what happens after we're unleashed into the open world. Forsa Horizon 2 spans an area of roughly 54 square miles with 315 total roads. That's not much bigger than the 50 square miles of the first game, but given the open nature of the world, there's much more terrain for us to drive on. To the right of the map center is the main festival site with the very middle including your garage and the auto show. Visually, it's pretty captivating, but again, it feels like a bit of a downgrade. Horizon 1's festival grounds felt huge. A sprawling mass of stages, roads, fairground rides, and more that was accessible from all angles. Horizon 2 replaces this with one straight road that cuts through the heart of the festival site. Blasting down this road is a lot of fun, but this change also means that one, you don't see all that much of the festival itself, and two, what you do see passes by you in a flash. Navigating the festival site in the first game was a real challenge. The turns forcing us to slow down, pay attention, and drink it all in. Whilst with Horizon 2, driving through it at speed makes it all blur into the background. A big part of the first game's presentation was the presence of realworld brands. GoPro, G-Shock, Adidas, and many more. They sponsored events, had their logos plastered on ad banners, and put their name to the game stunt challenges. In Horizon 2, however, they're all completely gone. It goes without saying that this really harms the immersion. If Horizon were a real festival, brands would be clamoring to be a part of it.

[00:11:53]The scores of participants, dozens of car manufacturers, and endless crowds would be a big opportunity. So, seeing nothing but Horizon logos after the first game was stuffed to the gills with recognizable brands creates a real narrative dissonance. Once you notice it, you really can't unsee it. It makes the world feel less like a real festival and more like a fictional universe. Away from the festival itself, there's six main locations. From the bustling city of Nice to the coastal bliss of Castileto, the rural setting of Montelino to the medieval features of San Giovani and the valleys of San Martan to the alpine roads of Cesteron.

[00:12:26]Each location is rich, diverse, and full of detail. Beyond these locations, there's many other points of interest.

[00:12:31]The docks, the abbey, the industrial park, and the airport, just to name a few. Traversing the world is a blast.

[00:12:37]Tearing through fields and vineyards, speeding across dried up riverbeds, tackling the twisty roads of the Amalfi Coast. Not only does it all look spectacular, but it provides plenty of scintillating driving experiences, too.

[00:12:48]The locations may not feel quite as varied as the first game, but the huge leap in visual quality and the open nature of the map itself more than makes up for it. Let's be honest, though, if you played Horizon 2 back in the day, there's one aspect of the open world you'll remember more than anything else.

[00:13:03]The jumps.

[00:13:10]Fors of Horizon 2 was the first game in the series to make flying through the air a real attraction. These jumps show Horizon 2 at its very best when it steps away from the realism and embraces its video game nature. And it's an aspect they double down on in future entries in the series. Across both day and night, there's improved dynamic shadows, car reflections, and environmental illumination, particularly in wet weather. A major contributor to this is the new lighting system, which casts more nuanced sunlight during the day and provides for more immersive scenarios at night. It's truly breathtaking. Some minor issues do return, such as headlights causing car paint to look cellshaded at night. But in general, the new lighting really makes the world feel that much more alive. With that said, this lighting does create a more muted color palette. Whilst you still get rich golden sunsets, they're not quite as yellow as the first game, giving us a more realistic look than a stylized one.

[00:14:02]Whether that's something you prefer comes down to personal preference, but it's the start of a trend towards visual realism over stylization that continues in Horizon to this day. Now, it'd be remiss of me to discuss the open world without mentioning one of its biggest new additions, the weather. Rather than basic weather simulation, Playground Games opted to develop a particle-based system that generates accurate cloud formation, realistic rainfall, authentic surface drying, and much more. The team went so far as to use this system to calculate the in-game sky. With the midday blues, sunset pinks, and cloudy grays the result of atmospheric light scattering, the impact of the weather on the immersion is second to none. Dusty roads cause dirt buildup on your car.

[00:14:41]And should it rain, not only is the dirt washed off, but the road turns from dirt to mud. Wet roads can provide a real challenge in high power vehicles. And whilst the wet weather handling isn't terribly accurate, it was super impressive for the time. On the 360, there's downgrades across the board.

[00:14:57]Whilst most of the map is still available, some areas have major changes, such as the airport, some are blocked off, such as the golf course and the docks, and others are missing entirely, such as the castle. With that said, there's a pretty simple out-of- bounds trick that allows you to explore some of these areas. Take the Abath 595 and drive it up to a barrier. Switch to the Ford Shelby GT500 and with any luck you can drive straight through. The golf course is mostly complete, whereas other areas like the docks and the airport are clearly unfinished. There's a few oversightes here, too. The reset point at the airport out of bounds gets you stuck in an infinite loop, and the world map for the castle hasn't been properly changed. Unlike the open world of the Xbox One, the 360 version has far more barriers that block your exploration.

[00:15:39]There's still some large open areas, but they look pretty barren and lifeless.

[00:15:43]Generally speaking, the graphics of Horizon 2 on the 360 are a step back on the first game. Textures are often repeated, lighting is very poor in some areas, and although the map size is impressive, its visuals leave a lot to be desired. That being said, the fact that a world the size of Force Horizon 2's is available at all on the 360 is mightily impressive, even in spite of all the glitches, collision problems, and graphical issues. It's a massive downgrade on the Xbox One version for sure. But for fans who didn't want to shell out $499 for the new console on release, or $399 by the time Horizon 2 came out, the 360 version offered an affordable taste of the newest entry in the series. Guiding you across the open world is the world map, and that brings us on to the UI. Horizon 2's UI is a hard pivot from the first game. Gone are the distressed textures, blocky text, and rugged themes. And in their place are simple shapes, a refined layout, and a skewed perspective. It's a big change, but one that feels fitting considering the tonal shift we mentioned earlier.

[00:16:41]Whilst the skewed perspective of the Xbox One was cool at the time, today I much prefer the flatter UI of the 360.

[00:16:47]And indeed, it's this flatter look that would be carried into future titles. The world map sees a similar stylistic overhaul with more color, larger icons, and easier to read markers. The size of these markers can obscure what's behind them, making it difficult to set your GPS at times. And although this is rather minor, it's one of the reasons that I actually prefer the world map from the first game. The open world UI has a few minor changes. The speedometer, mini map, and skill points retain their positions, though with a visual refresh and some neat quality of life improvements, such as the north point on the mini map. Event information appears on the left side of the screen, and starting a race gives you a neat in engine get ready sequence. Though depending on your car, it can be pretty tough to see. The biggest element missing here is the position pylon during races. The UI does look more symmetrical this way, but as a motorsport fan, it's something I'd personally prefer to have, and strangely enough, it's right there in the 360 version. Assisting the visual design are the audio cues. Horizon 2 saw the debut of Anna, a voice activated AI assistant that can set your GPS, recommend events to try, and give you a recap each time you return to the game. Radio DJs once again discussed the latest road trips and barn findiness, but the interviews with rivals as we progress through the game are sorely missed. One aspect of the Xbox One version worth mentioning is the clarity of roads on the map. Since both sides of major highways count as two separate roads in Horizon 2, the game does a good job of making it clear which sections you've visited and which you haven't, making 100% map completion that much easier. On the 360, it's far worse. I've spent well over 20 hours replaying the 360 version for this video, and for the life of me, I cannot find where my one remaining road is.

[00:18:26]Words can't describe how frustrating that is. The UI has received a modern uplift, but what about the game's graphics overall? Forsa Horizon 2 arrived at a very exciting time in the racing game landscape. Forsa Motorsport 5, Gran Turismo 6, and Need for Speed Rivals had all been released a year prior, and the likes of Drive Club and the Crew were just weeks away. That's some strong competition across the board. And whilst Horizon 2 doesn't outright surpass these games in all areas as a complete package, it can more than hold its own. Horizon 2 shared many cars with Forza Motorsport 5. As all the vehicles in FM5 were remodeled for the Xbox One, Horizon 2 benefits from these new models, plus a selection of exclusive vehicles, too, giving us more accuracy, higher polygon counts, and better vehicle interiors. Horizon 2 also utilizes a new physics-based material system, providing more detailed reflections, deep shadows, and brilliant highlights. Night driving looks particularly impressive with ambient lighting, moonlight, headlights, and more, all creating much more realistic and immersive scenes than the first game. Driver animations are still fairly rudimentary, but they are noticeably smoother. And with the enhanced interiors, first person driving looks much better. As the game world is now so open, the destructible elements of the environment have massively increased.

[00:19:37]trees, barriers, fences, they all shatter once hit and fly across the screen. All of this destruction puts plenty of punishment on your car. So, it's great to see that vehicle damage looks noticeably more refined. Vehicle panels can get deformed, scratched, or fall off entirely. And with dirt and rain now appearing on your vehicle, you can look pretty banged up by the end of a race. Put all of this together, and there's no denying that the visual experience of Horizon 2 is absolutely magnificent. It was a massive leap forward for the Horizon series and it still holds up brilliantly to this day.

[00:20:08]No matter what vehicle you drive or what location you're in, the visuals are truly remarkable. Since the 360 version uses the Horizon 1 engine, you'd think the graphics would be pretty much the same as the original. But unfortunately, they're a hefty downgrade. If I had to guess why, it's a combination of the limitations of the hardware, the increased drivable area of Horizon 2, and a rush to get the game to release at the same time as the Xbox One version.

[00:20:32]Let's talk about frame rate. Forsa Horizon 2 runs at 1080p 30fps on the Xbox One. That is the same as rival games such as The Crew and Drive Club, but considering that Forsa Motorsport 5 and Granto 6 released a year prior in 1080p 60fps, it's something that you will notice, particularly in the modern day. Thankfully, the Xbox One disc is backwards compatible with the Xbox Series X. But unlike the first game, there's no enhancement patch that boosts the native resolution to 4K. The 360 version runs at 720p 30fps like the original game, though it has no backwards compatibility with modern consoles at all. We've looked at the open world, the UI, and the graphics, so it's only natural that we turn our attention to the meat of the game, the content. Forsa Horizon 2 included 198 cars in the base game, one more than the 360. That's well over 50 more than the first game. And considering they're all remodeled for the Xbox One, that's a sizable increase. Seeing as Forza Motorport 5 launched with 199, Drive Club launched with 62, Nether Speed Rivals with 47, and The Crew with just 40. That's even more impressive. There's good variety here, too. From classic sedans to the latest supercars and everything in between. With 51 total manufacturers spanning vehicles from 1945 all the way to 2014, 139 further cars were added as DLC. So, whatever you like to drive, Horizon 2 has you covered. Vehicle customization has also been improved. On the cosmetic front, not only can you now paint each individual part of your car, but there's a selection of brand new special paints, including carbon fiber, wood, camouflage, and more. You can also add window tints for the very first time.

[00:22:06]Liveries return with a revised creator, and you can import designs from FM5, too. As always, if you don't want to make your own liveries, the storefront lets you search through a huge number of player made liveries as well. On the performance front, selecting individual parts now shows us their impact via a power and torque graph alongside the numerical stat changes. We also see a wider array of engine swaps, plus the introduction of drivetrain swaps, allowing you to turn rear wheel drive cars into four-wheel drive, for example.

[00:22:33]If picking individual parts isn't for you, the auto upgrade system is there.

[00:22:36]Once again, the biggest change is the addition of car tuning. You can open the tuning menu at any time to change everything from tire pressure and gearing to ride height, anti-roll bar stiffness, damping, and more, so long as you've purchased the parts to do so.

[00:22:49]Whether you're looking to create a drift machine, a track monster, or a high-speed bullet, it can all be achieved right here in these tuning menus. On the 360, Horizon 2 has virtually identical customization to Horizon 1. There's no special paints, window tints, or new parts. And there's no drivetrain swaps, car tuning, simulated damage, or updated tire model either. Since we're talking about car upgrades, let's discuss vehicle sound.

[00:23:12]Let's jump back into the Nissan Skyline R34 GTR. Here's what it sounds like with stock tuning.

[00:23:23]Okay, let's listen back to the Horizon 1 version.

[00:23:30]As you can hear, Horizon 2's engine sound is far more clean, crisp, and guttural. The overall soundscape is better, too. Vehicle sounds are rich, collisions are impactful, and environmental noise such as crowds, wind, horns, and more is well mixed, providing a more engaging audio experience. For the most part, the 360 version uses the exact same sounds as its predecessor. That's disappointing, but in fairness, not all that surprising. The most memorable part of any video game's audio is its soundtrack. And with Horizon 2, that's no different. Radio DJ and festival founder Rob Bank returned to curate the soundtrack once again. As with the first game, there's three main radio stations.

[00:24:08]Horizon Base Arena for Dance and Horizon Pulse for Electronic return, whilst Horizon XS replaces Horizon Rocks as a more mellow alternative station. Four additional stations are unlocked as you progress through the game, too. Hospital Records Radio for drum and bass, Innovative Leisure Radio for indie, Ninja Tune Radio for hip-hop, and Radio Levant for classical. The first three all feature music from their autonomous record labels. Each of them feature tracks that were unreleased as of the game's launch. Horizon 2 didn't just feature the latest music, they were pushing the music scene forward. All in all, there's 144 individual songs in Horizon 2, more than double that of its predecessor and covering an even wider range of genres. Again, Robbang's expertise really shines. Each radio station has a great flow, and you're pretty much guaranteed to find something you'll enjoy. Even on the 360, which only includes Horizon Base Arena, Horizon Pulse, and Horizon XS, there's more than enough variety to keep you entertained. Looking at events, Horizon 2 features a much larger array of unique circuits. From fields and airport hangers to crops and dried up river beds, there's huge variety in the circuits here, catering not just to high-end supercars and nimble hatchbacks, but to rally cars, trucks, and many other types of vehicle, too.

[00:25:16]Because of the game's road trip system, you'll be visiting the same locations fairly often. This can get a bit monotonous, but as each championship features different events and therefore different circuits, you can always switch it up if you'd like a fresh challenge. On the 360, there's none of this variation. All championships take place on the same tracks. Completing each track once is all that's required to reach the Horizon finale. But if you want to work towards higher tier wristbands, you'll be repeating them a lot, and that soon gets very tedious.

[00:25:44]Earlier on, I said that Forsa Horizon 2 made two major improvements, the debut of weather and the barrierfree approach to the open world. You might have wondered why I didn't mention Drivatars, Forza's AI system that learns and grows based on player data, as they made their Horizon debut in this second entry.

[00:25:59]Indeed, the Drivatar AI of Horizon 2 is a clear step up in many ways, but all too often, the same mistakes of old rear their ugly heads. Once again, the AI often sticks religiously to the road, avoiding obvious shortcuts. In wheelto-wheel battles, they'll often drive as if you aren't there. And in areas where there's hard obstacles, such as the ruins of the abbey, don't be surprised if they drive head-on into solid walls. As with the first game, the AI often struggles to overtake you once you're in front of them. And with very little rubber banding, it's a cruise to the finish once you're in the lead. That being said, the AI is more aggressive, and higher difficulties and postendame races do give you more of a challenge.

[00:26:36]The AI can be quicker, especially in higher class cars, but they're not necessarily more intelligent. This makes some races ridiculously easy and others infuriatingly difficult. To mitigate the unfairly tough races, the same cheesy tactics as the first game work here, too. Using the AI as your brakes is totally valid. Pushing the AI towards walls either causes them to break or drive straight into them, and wall riding can sometimes be faster than taking a corner properly. Although, in each of these instances, the new simulation damage option can be enabled if you're looking for an additional challenge. Regardless, you should be able to beat most races at the first attempt, even after Ben enters the frey once you've beaten the finale for the first time. Drivatar AIs roam the open world, too, and there's many more AI dotted about than the previous game.

[00:27:20]You'll see them cruising, racing across the open world, or just getting in your way. This does make the festival feel like more of a competitive event, but given the lack of narrative, it doesn't feel quite as soulful as the original.

[00:27:31]Are these AI a step up? Sure, but are they noticeably better? Even though racing against drivers is more engaging than racing against normal AI, my answer would be no. As with a lot of racing games, the best thing I can say about the AI is that it's there. They serve their purpose as opponents and make the game world feel more alive. But outside of that, there's not really anything to rave about. Considering Playground Games made a big deal about the arrival of drive in Horizon 2, that's pretty disappointing. On the 360, the AI are effectively the same as in Horizon 1.

[00:28:02]For whatever reason, Ben is an absolute beast on certain circuits, but outside of that, it's just more of the same. As Horizon 2 uses the same engine as FM5, it naturally shares many of its characteristics, such as more accurate physics, improved grip perception, and a better sense of weight at momentum. This makes the driving experience a little more challenging, but it's not too significant that casual players can't get on top of it. Generally speaking, this also means that cars feel better connected to the road, and I generally recall the handling of Horizon 2 feeling more locked in than the previous game.

[00:28:33]Your drivetrain and engine torque retain a big impact on the handling. And although all-wheel drive cars have a clear competitive advantage over their rear wheel and front-wheel drive counterparts, thanks to the on the-fly tuning, you can tailor each vehicle's characteristics to suit the driving style you're looking to emulate. The biggest change with the handling is the introduction of tire warming. This adds another dimension to the driving experience and brings a strategic element to longer races. It's not so strong as to be a burden. Overheated tires will typically cool before the next corner, so it's a neat little addition that adds a fresh element to the way you drive. On top of this, Horizon 2 introduces simulation damage.

[00:29:08]Each impact causes wear to the mechanical parts of your car, such as your suspension, brakes, wheels, and more. If this gets severe enough, you'll struggle to even finish a race, let alone remain competitive. So, it really rewards keeping it clean as much as you can. If you want even more of a challenge, you can turn off your assists, such as throttle and brake markers, ABS, TCS, and more. These assists are the same as the first game, and although turning them off doesn't provide a force motorsport style of handling, it does give you a much more raw and direct feel. There are a few nitpicks with the handling, however. To me, the shift from dry to wet weather driving, and vice versa feels a little too stark. And once again, there are numerous cars famed for their real world handling that don't see that translated into the game, such as the Lotus Aora and Lotus X Siege. With all that said, Horizon 2's handling is a solid upgrade across the board. If Horizon 1 was Forza Light, I'd describe Horizon 2 as Forza Light Plus. It takes that crossroads between Forza Motorsports physics and the arcade style accessibility of the first game and improves it in all areas.

[00:30:09]On the 360, rather than use Horizon 1's handling, Sumo opted for something of their own creation. And to put it bluntly, it's not very good. No matter the drivetrain, the engine torque, or the physical size of the car, each vehicle has almost no sense of weight.

[00:30:24]Low speed handling is especially strange. Cars seem to lurch on command, and if there's any camber on the inside of a corner, you can take it at far quicker speeds than should be possible.

[00:30:34]What's even stranger is that in the 360 version of the Fast and Furious expansion, Sumo reverted to the same handling as Horizon 1, and it's much more fun to play as a result. Why they didn't do this for the main game, I'll never understand. Now, the open world, the cars, the handling, they're all significant, but I'm a sucker for a good story. It doesn't have to be complex.

[00:30:54]Simple stories are often all you need.

[00:30:56]In Horizon 1, we raced our way into the festival, fought to become the most popular driver, earned wristbands, defeated rivals, and battled to become the Horizon champion. It's basic, but it gives us a clear goal, a focus, a rationale for everything we do, and a reason to keep pressing forward.

[00:31:11]Unfortunately, Horizon 2 does away with pretty much all of it. We arrive at the Horizon Festival as an unknown driver once again. Each day we go on a road trip spanning several locations, taking part in a championship at each stop before returning to the festival site as the day comes to an end. By winning 15 championships, we qualify for the Horizon finale. And if we win that, we beat the game. What about rivals?

[00:31:34]They're completely gone. And without them, there's no humorous pre-race voiceovers, radio interviews, or star showdowns. What about wristbands? They exist, but they have zero impact on your progression. Wristband solely exists as an extension of the leveling system to show other players how much you've played. Even becoming the Horizon Champion has less value, as beating the finale for the first time only requires you to complete 15 of the whopping 168 championships available. Yes, Ben enters the frey afterwards and you take control of the road trips, but there's virtually no story beats from here on in, and therefore very little reason to do most of the game single player content.

[00:32:08]Horizon 2 takes the linear structure of a storydriven game, then removes all of the story. It's a really weird decision for me. The 360 version is even less engaging. Many cutscenes are removed, and instead of championships, we have a series of individual races. We complete a handful of events per location before moving on, but for whatever reason, winning a single event makes us that event champion. That's a bit over the top for a 2 to 3 minute race. This has the knock-on effect of making post finale events mind-numbingly boring. As to reach 100% completion, you need to repeat each event in 10 different types of vehicle. And with 48 different events to complete, this gets very mundane very quickly. Whilst the ultimate goal of the first two Horizon games is the same, becoming the Horizon Champion, the journey to get there is nowhere near as satisfying in Horizon 2. The previous game had a quirky cast of characters, meaningful progression as we gained each wristband, and access to higher class races as we got closer to the finale.

[00:33:05]Horizon 2 has no good characters, no real progression, and no limits on car class at any point. Not only is it repetitive, but it makes progression feel totally arbitrary, rather than a tale of a scrappy newcomer beating all of the established talent on their rise to the top. Now, if you thought the economy was generous in the first game, Horizon 2 takes it to a whole new level.

[00:33:24]After the tutorial, you select a free starter car. You start with zero credits and earn more through race events with rewards based on your finishing position and the assists used. On top of credits, racers also reward you with XP calculated by the distance driven, how clean you drove, and any skills you perform. Every 15,000 XP you earn, you level up. And every time you level up, you get a wheel spin. At their worst, a wheel spin can give you a few thousand credits. But at their best, you'll receive a car worth 100,000 credits or more. As you'll typically level up after every other race, you earn credits and cars at an absolutely staggering rate.

[00:34:00]Couple this with barnfinds and the car you win at the first showcase event. And after just 1 hour of gameplay, it's not uncommon to have four to five cars and well over a 100,000 credits. By the time you beat the Horizon finale for the first time, you'll be at least level 50.

[00:34:15]That's 50 chances to spin that wheel.

[00:34:17]Let's say you get mega unlucky and receive 3,000 credits each time. That's still 150,000 credits for free. More than enough to purchase an Ultima GTR, one of the fastest cars in the game. If luck is on your side, however, you could easily receive a dozen or more free cars and millions of credits, plus even more if you had VIP membership, which doubled all of your credit earnings. This wouldn't be so bad if Horizon 2 required a massive garage. However, this simply isn't the case. As you only need 15 championship wins to reach the Horizon finale, and you must compete in a new championship each time you return to one of the game six locations, you can theoretically beat the game using just three cars. For completionists, each location features 28 different championships. As each championship requires a different car, you'll only need 28 unique vehicles to 100% the game. With 11 cars awarded via barn findiness and showcases, plus your free starter car, you'll only need to acquire another 20 to 25 vehicles to 100% the game. And with the number of cars and credits you're showered with, that's pretty straightforward. Compounding this issue is the lack of event requirements.

[00:35:21]In the previous game, most events were limited to a certain class, while some events would have niche criteria. Not only would you have to source a specific car to take part in these events, but you'd often have to spend credits on upgrading it to be competitive. In Horizon 2, as there's no class limits for any of the single player races, upgrades often aren't necessary. The performance index of your opponents is based on the PI of your car. This makes car classes pretty meaningless, and it also means that car upgrades don't necessarily make races any easier. In multiplayer, online road trips are limited to specific car classes, giving vehicle upgrades a lot more purpose. Not making this the case in the single player, too, feels like a huge oversight. On top of all this, there's ways to boost credit earnings and reduce your costs. Unlike in the first game, skills don't give you XP. Instead, they earn you skill points, which you can use to unlock perks. These include a 10% discount on car purchase and upgrades, double rewards from driver payouts, and boosted wheel spin rewards, as if we needed that. Smashing all 50 fast travel boards makes fast travel completely free. And as each of the 100 XP boards dotted across the world can give you as much as a full level, that's even more wheel spins, meaning even more free cars and free credits. Whilst parts of the economy aren't as game-breaking as the previous game, you can't make car upgrades completely free. For example, as you can probably tell, the economy is still pretty absurd. Its only purpose being to make it so the game isn't just straight up giving you everything right from the start. It makes car collection really lose its allore. I have a garage of dozens of cars, but I don't feel an attachment to any of them because acquiring them was so outrageously easy.

[00:36:57]Whilst the 360 has no wheel spins, thank God, they make up for it by giving you credits for pretty much everything.

[00:37:04]Reveal the road, earn credits. Get a speed camera PB, earn credits. Complete an event using a specific car, earn credits. Removing wheel spins does make the rate of car acquisition slightly less insane, but sadly it doesn't make the economy any less of an afterthought.

[00:37:19]As we've mentioned, Horizon 2 has a pretty linear structure. Until we beat the finale for the first time, the game directs us from location to location without us having any input. That doesn't stop us from exploring the open world if we want, but it does make the open world feel like six mini hubs rather than one large connected region.

[00:37:36]In the previous game, when you received a wristband, all of the new events you were eligible for appeared immediately, and the further into the game you got, the more these events would spread out.

[00:37:45]This forced you to explore the world and gave a purpose to the various outposts you could discover and fast travel to.

[00:37:51]In Horizon 2, you're not guided into exploring the open world in the same way, especially if progressing towards the finale is your only concern. In theory, road trip should open your eyes to what the open world has to offer. But in practice, a lot of these areas become background noise as you straight line it to the next hub. Hypothetically, you could beat Horizon 2 having only seen a very small slice of the game world. And given all the side events to enjoy, I'm surprised that the game doesn't do more to direct you towards them. In Horizon 1, each race event was marked by a mobile truck where signups would take place. In Horizon 2, all we have is an arbitrary spot in the world. No trucks, no place to sign up, just a random point on the ground. There's nothing at all to suggest that a race is going to take place here. They've gone to all the effort of making us drive across the map to each location only to make where these events happen feel so lifeless.

[00:38:42]It's really bizarre. On top of race events, there's showcase events. In Horizon 2, they're unlocked as you win championships. And unlike the first game, other than the first showcase, you're not rewarded with a car for completing them. There's only five showcase events here compared to the 10 of the previous game. But each of them feels truly unique. Racing against Italian Air Force jets in a Ferrari, chasing down a train in a Lancia, overtaking 37 hot air balloons in an 037, racing a crop duster in a Ford Raptor, and chasing down a cargo plane in a Jag. They're all a ton of fun to complete. Yes, you'll only do them once, but they're a muchneeded break from the repetitiveness of the main championships. Over on the 360, road trips have been removed entirely. Events are still grouped around the game six locations. However, removing the road trip aspect means we can just fast travel where we need to go, even from the very start of the game. I'm surprised Horizon 2 allows this, as it robs the player of the chance to explore the open world. There's one showcase that's exclusive to the 360, a crosscountry romp pitting a bowler against a helicopter. I really wish this had made it to the Xbox One, as with better graphics and handling, it would probably be my favorite of the bunch. On top of this, there's plenty of side events to keep you busy. First up, there's bucket lists. These are against the clock challenges using specific cards. There's three bucket lists to complete, each with 15 challenges, plus an additional co-op bucket list available in online free room. Each challenge is marked by a static car in the open world or by a mobile truck on the 360. Again, if they're using in-world assets here, why not use them for race events, too? Anyways, while some of these challenges are pretty easy, others are devilishly difficult.

[00:40:20]On the 360, we've got just 30 bucket list challenges, yet some of them are even harder than their Xbox One counterparts. That skill points challenge at the Abbey took me a frustratingly long time to complete. A new addition for Horizon 2 is Horizon Promo. This gave purpose to the photo mode by giving you credits for photographing every car in the game, including the traffic vehicles.

[00:40:40]Barnfinds make a welcome return with 10 vehicles hidden across the map. Unlike Horizon 1, the criteria for receiving each Bonfind rumor is much easier to reach. If you discover each barn find as the rumors roll in, you'll likely have all 10 cars before you attempt the finale. It's with these barnfinds that you'll hear from Ashley, our in-game mechanic. Given her inauthentic delivery, the ease of finding each car, and the fact that each barnfind cutscene is pre-recorded rather than in engine, meaning the time of day often looks wildly incorrect, though I do enjoy Horizon 2's barnfinds, I much prefer those of the first game. More than anything else, this side content helps to justify the size of the open world.

[00:41:18]Instead of a huge map just for the sake of it, the bucket lists, bonfinds, and bonus boards give you a reason to explore by giving you worthwhile rewards for doing so. Altogether, there's 700 individual events in Horizon 2. Though, if you remove those that are essentially repeats, this number is much lower. Even so, there's far more content here than the first game, with Ralph Fulton believing there to be well over 100 hours of content on release. With all that said, Playground Games made it clear that their aim with Horizon 2 was to create one unified experience that seamlessly blends the single player and multiplayer. We've analyzed the single player. So, let's dive into the multiplayer. Now, analyzing the multiplayer of Horizon 2 today is quite the challenge. The online servers were shut down in August of 2023, so I'm relying on my recollections from the time, footage I can find, and the remnants we can still see today. With that said, it's clear that without a shadow of a doubt, a huge focus of Horizon 2 was on improving the multiplayer experience. For starters, you can switch between single player and multiplayer in an instant without the need for a lobby. There's also no separate progression paths for single player and multiplayer. Your XP and levels carry across both styles of play seamlessly. There's two main types of multiplayer content: online road trips and the aptly named playground game modes. Online road trips work in much the same way as single player. Everyone in the session votes for one of three locations, each with a class limit.

[00:42:37]Players then take a road trip to the winning location and enter a four event championship with a short road trip between each. Whoever earns the most points becomes the champion. Then the cycle repeats. As we've already mentioned, the class limits on these online championships made them far more engaging than their single player counterparts. And I remember spending countless hours competing in these online championships back in the day.

[00:42:57]Two game modes also make their return: King and Infected. The likes of the abbey, the castle, and the industrial park were specifically designed with these game modes in mind. And whilst I personally prefer for these areas to be better integrated into the open world, these dedicated locations made playing these modes a lot better than before. On top of these came the debut of monthly rivals events. These were competitive time trials using specific cars with fixed tuning, similar to bucket list challenges in single player. Times were posted to a global leaderboard, allowing you to compete not just against your friends, but against the top drivers in the world, too. Online clubs could now support up to a thousand members. And there was a new club specific activity, car meets. Here, players could show off their cars, purchase vehicles, download liveries from their friends, and organize race events such as drag meets at the airport. Though car meets seemed fairly simple on paper, they could be incredibly useful. If you had a friend with a specific car or livery that you really liked, car meets gave you a super simple way to acquire them for yourself.

[00:43:55]And for clubs whose members all ran the same liveries, car meets made it far easier to share these liveries amongst their members. With online sessions now supporting 12 players, four more than the original, the online play of Horizon 2 felt revolutionary. But that doesn't mean it wasn't without its problems. One discarded feature was the ability to create public lobbies for a specific purpose, such as drifting. Finding these sessions now meant looking for like-minded players on websites, forums, or social media sites, adding them as friends on Xbox, and then creating a private session. A far more convoluted method than just searching for the lobby you want. Over on the 360, the online experience was totally different. Not only were public lobbies and playlists openly available, but you could search for races by car class and easily cue for King or infected in a flash. Online championships take out the road trip element, meaning you jump from race to race with no downtime. There were a few sorely needed quality of life features that were only available on the 362, such as the ability to source liveries by the most downloaded or most popular.

[00:44:54]That being said, lobbies are limited to eight players instead of 12, switching from single player to multiplayer is far from instant, and there's no traffic in any online gameplay. So, whilst the 360 does get you into the action quicker, the online experience itself is arguably a downgrade. Horizon 2 included a huge amount of base content. But how did they expand on it? Let's take a look at the DLC. Forsa Horizon 2 would add a whopping 18 DLC car packs and three gameplay expansions, bringing 139 total vehicles, one new location, two new campaigns, five new event types, and over 100 new events to the experience.

[00:45:29]Three editions of the game were available at launch. The standard edition for $59.99, the deluxe edition for $79.99, and the ultimate edition for $99.99.

[00:45:40]each of which included a day one car pack that could only be acquired by pre-ordering the game. 13 of the 18 car packs were paid content, adding an average of six cars each at $4.99 a pop, with both the Storm Island and Porsche expansions costing $19.99 each. At its worst, you'd be looking at $185 for the base game, all of the DLC, and VIP status. That's $55 more than the first game. This could be mitigated somewhat by purchasing the complete add-ons collection which included all of the paid DLC, both paid expansions, the treasure map, and VIP status for $116.99.

[00:46:17]But add in the $59.99 cost of the base game, and you're only saving a poultry $10. Those are some eyewatering numbers.

[00:46:25]Let's dive into the three expansions.

[00:46:27]The first of these was Storm Island, released in December 2014, 3 months after launch. This added a brand new map, a new campaign, five new event types, new bonus boards, bucket list challenges and rivals events, six new cars, new rally parts, and a staggering 90 new event on Storm Island. There's a six tier campaign to complete across extreme terrain that's full of steep hills, crazy campered corners, and insane weather you won't find anywhere else in the game. Torrential rain, intense fog, high winds. It's an adrenaline pumping experience that's totally different from anything on the mainland. The real challenge lies in the Storm Island bucket lists. These challenges really lean into the environment and are far harder than any of the other bucket lists in the game.

[00:47:09]They incorporate novel mechanics, too, such as forcing simulation damage on or forcing you to drive in first person.

[00:47:15]Your journey to becoming the Storm Island Champion is guaranteed to be an exhilarating one, and it's an experience that still holds up incredibly well to this day. The second expansion was Forsa Horizon 2 presents Fast and Furious.

[00:47:27]Released in March 2015 for free via Xbox Live, this is a standalone game based on the 2015 film Furious 7 that takes place across the French portion of the map.

[00:47:36]This adds a new campaign, new bonus boards, bucket list challenges, showcases, and a barnfind plus a dozen new events. This standalone also sees Nitrous make its debut in a Forcer game for the first time, available to use at any time on the Xbox One or only in drag races on the 360. Yes, the Fast and Furious expansion was the only DLC to come to the 360. More on that in a bit.

[00:47:58]In this expansion, Ted Parker, voiced by Ludicrous, tasks us with acquiring 10 cars for his crew, which will earn by winning races. If, like me, you missed the narrative story of the base game, this expansion certainly scratches that itch. We have a goal, we have a purpose, and it feels like there's stakes to everything we do. I find Ted to be a much more engaging character than Ben as well. Not just with better written lines, but with a better performance from Ludicrous 2. It doesn't take long to complete, perhaps 2 to three hours at most, but it's a real blast from start to finish. The 360 version has a few changes, less content, and a smaller map being the most obvious, but as it retains the handling from Horizon 1, and the smaller map allows for a higher graphical standard, I actually find it far more fun to play than the base game.

[00:48:42]The third and final expansion was the Porsche expansion. Released in June 2015, this added 10 Porsche models to the game alongside 10 Porsche themed bucket list challenges and 10 new rivals events. Honestly, there's not too much to say about this one. $19.99 is a pretty steep price, but given that Microsoft had to sublicens the vehicles from EA, I do understand it, even if I still think it isn't a great deal. When I covered Forsa Horizon 1, I said that it was clear the game had one simple aim, fun. So, what's the aim of Horizon 2? I don't think I have an easy answer to that question. Horizon 2 is clearly fun, but the game as a whole feels a little bit misguided. To me, there's three main reasons for this. The first is its development time. Horizon 2 released less than 2 years after the previous game. So, with lofty expectations to live up to, I wouldn't be surprised if some areas had to be prioritized over others. A lot of my bug bears with the game, the poor narrative, the lack of set criteria for races, the absence of mobile trucks where race events should be, and more were likely the areas that fell by the wayside. And as a result, I doubt that what we got with Horizon 2 was the full vision of what Playground Games set out to achieve. This brings me on to the second reason, the focus on multiplayer. Now, yes, Ralph Fton saw the game as one combined experience rather than separate single player and multiplayer components. But I can't help but feel that by focusing on the multiplayer so much in gameplay, in map design, in progression, and more, we've lost a great deal of what made the first game so special. Whilst Horizon 1 had a story to tell, Horizon 2 tells us that we are the story. That might be fine for some, but for me, it's not my cup of tea. The third reason is perhaps the most concerning. In an interview with IGN prior to Horizon 2's release, Ralph Falton was asked about the freedom and fun we can expect in the game. On the freedom front, he's got plenty to talk about. the open world, the large amount of content, the new event types, and more. But when it comes to talking about fun, his answer is rather strange.

[00:50:37]Instead of talking about the driving experience, the new weather, or the thrill of wheel-to-wheel racing, Ralph bases his answer around drivers, the skill system, and the new perks. Now, I don't know about you, but when I think about fun in a video game, its AI, its point systems, and its skill trees aren't the first things that come to mind. Horizon 1 delivered on fun by giving us a fantastic driving experience that was supported by exciting events in stunning locations with exquisite cars.

[00:51:04]All underpinned by a captivating story and an eccentric cast of characters.

[00:51:08]Horizon 2 gives us better driving, more events, alluring locations, and even more cars. But its fantastic multiplayer comes at the cost of a good story and likable characters. And it's those components that would have helped it all come together into one cohesive package.

[00:51:22]Playground Games saw the love the players had for Horizon 1's multiplayer and doubled down on it. I can't blame them for that, but I also can't help but feel that with a little more focus on the single player experience, we could be looking at a far superior game.

[00:51:34]Horizon 2 takes a big leap forward, but it's also held back by what's been left behind. After the runaway success of Forza Horizon, expectations for Horizon 2 were skyhigh, and in many respects, it delivered. The innovations in the open world, the handling, and the multiplayer experience set new standards for the series and for the open world racing genre as a whole. Whilst it's not perfect, you'd be hardressed to find a better open world driving experience at the time. And even 12 years later, it still holds up remarkably well. Forsa Horizon 2 isn't just a worthy sequel.

[00:52:07]It's the bridge between the rugged origins of the series and what the series is today. And in that respect, it's perhaps one of the most influential openw world racing games of all time.

[00:52:23]Forza Horizon 2 made a tremendous impact on release. Released on September the 30th, 2014, it's estimated to have sold over 2 million copies across its lifetime. That might not sound too impressive, seeing as the first game sold roughly the same amount. But given the week launch of the Xbox One, and that Fors Motorsport 5 reportedly sold over 500,000 fewer copies, it's a remarkable figure. So, it came as no surprise when a third entry to the series was green lit immediately after launch. Horizon 2 became the benchmark that all other nextG open world racing games were compared to. When The Crew was released 2 months later, I remember the endless debates about which game did which aspects better. But the fact that Horizon 2 was unquestionably the yard stick for comparison says wonders about its place in the industry. Given the lukewarm reception to Force Motorsport 5, on top of that, it looked as if the battle for supremacy within the Forza franchise was starting to shift in Horizon's favor. The previous game leaned into its raw and edgy nature so much that the ESRB rated it T14. But with the more polished and laid-back tone of Horizon 2, that's been downgraded to everyone 10 plus. The swearing and references to drug use have gone, but there's still, and I quote, brief images of women wearing bikini tops and short shorts, suggestive dialogue and song lyrics that contain references to alcohol, violence, and the word damn. Although that seems pretty tame, it's still miles apart from the squeaky clean image of the series today.

[00:53:44]Forsa Horizon 2 captured the culture of the mid2010s to a tea. It was growing up, it was maturing, and it was starting to see the world in an all new light.

[00:53:53]Like the first game, I feel a lot of nostalgia for Horizon 2, but it's less like the carefree days of my younger teens and more like my middle teens, where things start to get more serious.

[00:54:03]You're studying for exams and you're making your first meaningful life choices. Horizon 2 is less raw and more refined, for better or worse. But either way, it's a more than commendable second entry into the Horizon series.

[00:54:15]Playground Games biggest achievement with Horizon 2 was less tangible and more philosophical. It wasn't afraid to experiment. Developing a sequel to one of the hottest new open worlds racing games of the past decade within 2 years and on a next generation console is no small feat. And whilst they could have taken Horizon 1, pumped it full of nextgen benefits and call it a day, they took a risk and pushed their ability to see what they could come up with.

[00:54:37]Whether it's games, music, films, or TV, the expectation to deliver with a sequel often leads to lackluster results. But that's not what we have here. Do all of Horizon 2's experiments pay off? No. But that's not a bad thing. It's impossible to learn and grow without trying things out to see what works and what doesn't.

[00:54:55]And there's no doubt that Playground Games took a lot of lessons from Horizon 2 that would go on to influence their third entry in the series. Looking at reviews from the time, they're overwhelmingly positive, picking up three perfect scores and ranking one point higher on average than its predecessor. The main areas of critique centered on the repetitive campaign, the performance of the AI, and the lack of meaningful progression. But on the flip side, there was high praise for the graphics, the handling, and its approach to multiplayer. So, what do people think about Forsa Horizon 2 today? Let's take a look at the poll from my Discord. And don't worry, for those that have been asking, I'll be running a new poll at the end of this series. For now, Forsa Horizon 2 came in fourth place with 11% of the vote. Now, I chalk this up to three reasons. First, in hindsight, it feels like a transitionary title between Horizon 1 and Horizon 3. Second, given the poor launch of the Xbox One, I doubt many respondents played the game on release. And third, as the third entry onwards released on both Xbox and PC, future titles naturally had a bigger audience. Beyond that speculation, however, it's clear that Horizon 2 has a better open world, graphics, handling, and cars than the first game, but it's also passed in each of these areas by future titles, too. I've been pretty critical of some of the design choices of Horizon 2, but even so, I still believe there's real value in playing it today. Not least of which because this second entry lays so much of the groundwork for the modern Forsa Horizon experience. For those that did choose Horizon 2 as their favorite, many of them cited that first point that the game was an ideal middle ground between the raw feel of Horizon 1 and the polished feel of Horizon 3. Others mentioned the strength of the multiplayer, the truly open world, and the verticality of the map, particularly with Storm Island. Would I recommend playing Forsa Horizon 2 today? That depends on what you're looking for. If pure driving thrill gives you your kicks, Horizon 2 has you covered. If a solid progression system and an engaging narrative is important to you, you won't find that here. But personally, given that this game is such a significant one in establishing so much of what makes the series what it is today, I don't feel you could get a true sense for what the series was, how it's changed, and what it is now without experiencing Horizon 2 for yourself. Even if you've only got the 360 version to hand, given the inherent limitations of that console, it's honestly not a bad game.

[00:57:08]And although it's mostly overshadowed today, even that version has its own charm. For me, the best reason to play Forsa Horizon 2 today is its originality. From the tone to the UI, the multiplayer experience to the handling, and much more. Besides, so much of the modern Force of Horizon experience can trace its lines back squarely to Horizon 2. This game made firm design decisions that can still be clearly felt in the series today. It's far from perfect, but it planted the seeds that allowed the Horizon series to continue to grow and prosper in the years to come. Horizon 2 is like an R33 GTR. It's not like the raw and rugged R32, nor is it the universally loved R34. is the awkward transition between the two, but that doesn't make it any less important. The styling of the R33 would heavily influence future models.

[00:57:53]The Atta all-wheel drive system debuted with the R33 before later models perfected it, and the R33 was the first production car to lap the Nordifer in under 8 minutes before its sequels thoroughly surpassed it. It might not get the same love as what came both before and after, but its legacy is unquestionable, and that's exactly the feeling I get with Horizon 2. for any fan that's yet to play it. I'd wholeheartedly suggest that you pick up a copy and try it out for yourself. So, where does Fors of Horizon 2 rank amongst the other games in the series?

[00:58:24]I'm placing it below Fors of Horizon into second place. For as much as I can acknowledge this game's importance to the series future, that doesn't surpass my affection for the original. But will these first two entries be able to hold on to the top two spots? for Horizon 2 is the middle child, the sophomore year and the second album. For as many advancements as it made, it also saw us wave a teary goodbye to what it used to be. It's symbolic of growth, of maturity, and of imperfection. It's the ugly duckling that would go on to outshine the rest of the flock. And it's for those reasons that it's such a pivotal entry in the biggest open world racing game series in the world today.

[00:59:02]Did you play Force of Horizon 2? And if so, did you play it on the Xbox One or on the 360? What's your favorite memory of the game? And do you agree with my ranking? Let me know in the comments below. Be sure to like and hype the video if you've enjoyed it. Subscribe to the channel and ring the bell for all the notifications. And if you want to catch me live, you can follow me on Twitch at twitch.tv/bapo663.

[00:59:22]My name is Baffo and I'll see you next time.