Forza Horizon 2 is a racing video game released in 2014 for Microsoft's Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles. It is the follow-up to Forza Horizon, which was released in 2012. Forza Horizon 2 is the seventh game in the Forza series and the first game in the series to be available on multiple consoles. The Xbox One version was created by Playground Games, the team that made the original Forza Horizon. Sumo Digital developed the Xbox 360 version. Turn 10 Studios, the company behind the Forza series, helped with both versions. The Xbox 360 version was the last Forza game released for that console. The game received good reviews from critics. A sequel, Forza Horizon 3, was released on September 27, 2016. The game was taken off sale on October 1, 2018, after the car branding licenses expired. The game's online servers, as well as those for Forza Horizon, were closed on August 22, 2023.
Gameplay
Forza Horizon 2 is a racing video game that includes an open world environment. Players take part in the Horizon Festival, a fictional racing competition set in Southern France and Northern Italy. The game has about three times more areas where players can drive compared to its previous version, Forza Horizon. Events take place in regions such as Provence, Liguria, and Côte d'Azur (Nice), as well as smaller versions of the towns Sisteron and Saint-Martin-du-Var. A small part of the map includes sections of the Amalfi Coast and a fictional town named Castelletto, which includes features inspired by the real town of Amalfi. Other map details include a golf course, docks (available only in the Xbox One version or with the Fast & Furious expansion for Xbox 360), and an aerodrome. Players can explore the large map, participating in races and special events to progress through the game. Events occur during the day or night, and a dynamic weather system was introduced for the first time in a Forza-series game.
New features in the game include "Bucket Lists," which are groups of timed challenges similar to the 1000 Club in Forza Horizon. These challenges can be completed alone or with a friend in co-op mode. The challenges are updated regularly to provide new tasks throughout the map. "Car Meets" is an online mode where players can meet others to compare their cars, similar to the "Forzavista" mode in Forza Motorsport 5. Players can interact in Car Meets by sharing car tuning setups and liveries. In the online version, players can compete in races such as circuits, sprints, and cross country, as well as other game types like Infected and King.
A standalone expansion called Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious added nitrous oxide boosts to the Forza series. However, unlike other racing games, nitrous oxide can only be used during most events and only refills at the start of those events. On the Xbox 360 version, nitrous oxide is only available in drag races.
Development
Forza Horizon 2 is the second game in the series to be mainly developed by a studio other than Turn 10 Studios, which created the Forza Motorsport games. Playground Games, the main developer for Forza Horizon, focused on the Xbox One version. They used the graphics engine from Forza Motorsport 5 as a starting point. Although the engine can display content in 1080p and 60 frames-per-second, the game was set to 1080p and 30 frames-per-second. This choice was necessary because the game’s open-world design required the system to run efficiently. According to creative director Ralph Fulton, "one of the big technical challenges we faced was ensuring we could load a world that looks next-gen beautiful while keeping up with the fastest car."
Sumo Digital was responsible for the Xbox 360 version, starting with the original Forza Horizon graphics engine. As with the first game, Turn 10 Studios supported the primary developers. The Xbox 360 version does not include features like a weather system with rain or "drivatar" A.I. found in the Xbox One version. It also omits tuning options and the free-roam open-world, as very few barriers can be broken or crossed. Playground Games described the two versions as "different games."
On July 22, 2014, Turn 10 Studios announced the first 100 of over 200 cars featured in the open-world game, including exotics, rally cars, trucks, and hot hatches. Many cars from the Forza series return, including vehicles from the original Horizon game. The list includes the 2014 Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4 and Veneno, the McLaren P1, the LaFerrari, the Agera, and the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. A new car added was the Ford Capri RS3100, which is a barn find. All ten barn finds can be found off-road, usually in hidden places.
When choosing the setting for Forza Horizon 2, the developers considered over 30 locations worldwide, including California and Australia. They ultimately selected Southern Europe. Creative director Ralph Fulton explained that Europe’s "great driving roads, amazing environmental diversity, and beautiful views" were major reasons for the choice. He also noted that most recent open-world driving games were set in North America, and Southern Europe "felt fresh, different, and new."
The Playground Games audio team recorded real car sounds, including exhaust, intake, supercharger, and turbocharger noises. Each sound was recorded separately and paired with engine rotations to create loops. The mix of intake or exhaust sounds depends on the camera’s position inside or outside the car. The team used the Xbox One’s increased power to play higher quality and longer sound loops. They also recorded environmental sounds, such as raindrops hitting the car, skidding on wet and dry surfaces, and debris kicking up.
Release
On August 27, 2014, Microsoft announced that a demo version of the game would be available on Xbox One on September 16, 2014. On the day the demo was released, Microsoft confirmed that the game had been declared gold, meaning it was ready for production and release. The standard "10th Anniversary Edition" of the Xbox One version (which included the base game and the 10th Anniversary Car Pack) was given to Xbox Live Gold members for free during August 2018 as part of Microsoft's Games with Gold program. Forza Horizon 2 and its downloadable content were taken off sale on October 1, 2018. Players who already owned the game could still download and play it and its downloadable content. On June 23, 2023, Turn 10 Studios announced that online servers for Forza Horizon and all versions of Forza Horizon 2 (including the Fast & Furious standalone expansion) would shut down on August 22, 2023. This action removed access to features such as leaderboards, matchmaking, and user-generated content, but offline play would remain available after that date.
On December 16, 2014, Microsoft released Storm Island, an expansion pack for the Xbox One edition of the game. Storm Island added a new setting and related tracks, five new event types, improvements to the game engine's weather system, five new vehicles, and an additional barn-find car. On February 25, 2015, Microsoft announced Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious, a standalone expansion to promote the release of Furious 7. It was released for free on March 27, 2015, and remained available until April 10, 2015. The expansion included music from Furious 7, composed by Brian Tyler, for Showcase events. Actor Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, who played Tej in the Fast & Furious series, provided a voiceover for the game. In June 2015, Microsoft announced a new Porsche expansion pack for the game, which was released on June 9, 2015. This expansion, authorized by Electronic Arts (the then-license-holder for Porsche vehicles in video games), added ten vehicles, including the 944, 911 GT3 RS, Macan Turbo, and Cayman GTS. It also introduced new Bucket List items, new Rivals events, and 15 new achievements related to Porsche models. All content from the downloadable expansions was exclusive to the Xbox One edition of the game.
Reception
The Xbox One version of Forza Horizon 2 received very positive reviews. It had an average score of 86.25% on GameRankings based on 53 reviews and a score of 86 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 82 reviews. IGN writer Luke Reilly said the game greatly improved the standards for open-world racing games and compared it to combining the best parts of other games like Test Drive Unlimited, PGR, Smuggler’s Run, and Forza Motorsport. Polygon writer Arthur Gies gave the game a positive review but noted that the track design in Forza Horizon 2 did not match the quality of the licensed tracks in Forza Motorsport 5. Jonathan Leack of CraveOnline called the game "racing paradise" and said it was a fun experience for players who enjoy driving. Leack also compared the Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions of the game and found several differences. For example, when players choose their first car at the start of the game, the Xbox 360 version uses a graphic interface, while the Xbox One version lets players select cars within the game world. Leack called the Xbox One version a "system-seller" and said it was a good time to invest in next-generation technology. He also praised Sumo Digital for doing an excellent job with the Xbox 360 version, calling it one of the best-looking racing games on that platform.
At the 18th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Forza Horizon 2 for "Racing Game of the Year."