Forza 2 is the Holy Grail of racing games!

Forza Motorsport 2 is a wonderful racing game. It is, in my opinion, the premier racing simulation game. This is not an arcade racer like the Need for Speed franchise. Forza is a simulation which means that it is realistic. This translates to it being difficult to drive well without a lot of practice. In my personal experience, this is immensely more rewarding than any arcade style racer I have ever played because of the skill involved. If you played the first one and liked it, you can stop reading here if you wish because Forza 2 just makes everything better. Go buy it if you liked the first one and you own an Xbox 360.

Graphics
The graphics in Forza Motorsport 2 are beautiful. The environments are varied and they are very realistic. Some of the tracks are invented and some of the tracks actually exist in the real world. In my opinion, the real world tracks look the best, this is probably due to the fact that the designers were trying to recreate actual environments and so they are more realistic. The cars are extremely detailed and the custom paintjobs look amazing.

Customization
The level of customization in Forza 2 is very high. To non car people, it is probably overwhelming but I was always wanting more. There's only so much that they can put into a game and they did a great job. You can upgrade the performance of your car in two ways, parts customization and tuning. The parts customization is pretty straight forward with two to three tiers of performance per option. These customizable options are included under four settings, engine, suspension, tires, and aerodynamics. The are too many different customizable options to list. Trust me on this. The tuning mode is very complicated and I would only recommend true car nuts mess with it. Just let it autotune it for you if you don't have much knowledge in mechanics. You can also upgrade the look of you car with body kits, which are in the aerodynamics section, and the paint mode. There are a few different styles of hoods, wings, bumpers, etc. to change the overall look of the car. The paint mode is filled with may options. Here you can paint the car, tint it, etc. After the car is painted, you can put decals and vinyls on it. There are 1000 layers available to place different vinyls on the different sides. This allows for an unbelievable amount of custom artwork.

Controls
The controls of this game work well. You can use a wheel with it but I couldn't afford one. If you too are poor like me, you should find the controller very suitable. The basic controls are similar to every racing game and there is really no reason to go over them here. If you really want to know, just leave a comment. Like I said before, this is a simulation. If you drive the cars as they should be driven, you won't have a problem. Doing stuff like drifting and emergency braking will just make your times slower. The one control that is a great help to beginners is the braking line. This lets you know when and where you should brake; it can be turned off if you wish.

Sound
The sound in Forza 2 might just be the best part of the game. The cars sound so real. It makes me want a Ferrari so so bad. If you like cars, you'll appreciate this category as much as I did.

Xbox Live
The online modes are fun and aplenty. There are tournaments held at regular intervals that you can join in if you qualify. Online is where users can buy or sell their cars with the great artwork they have created on it. These transactions are with the in-game money so you won't be spending anything. Online races are up to eight players and you can also watch Forza Motorsport TV. This is the highlights of the community's racing.

Overall
With all of the pros in Forza Motorsport 2, it deserves a chance from everyone. This game will last you forever with the over 300 cars available to own and customize.