Forza Motorsport 2 Update
The Wireless Wheel, 300 cars and a holiday release.
by Jonathan Miller
Dan Greenwalt is not happy about the Forza Motorsport 2 trailer. None
of what you saw at Microsoft's E3 press conference was using the
in-game engine, nor did the trailer convey the passion for cars that
Forza is known for. And Greenwalt, the director of the upcoming Forza
title on the Xbox 360, is not happy about that at all because he wants
you to know that his game rocks way harder than that video clip.
Still, Forza 2 is making no appearance at E3 whatsoever, so we'll have
to take Greenwalt's word for it. There is no playable version behind
closed doors and there is no in-game footage of any kind. There is only
the trailer that Greenwalt's team didn't even work on, that crazy
concept-montage prepared specifically for E3. So here is what we do
know. Forza 2 will be released this holiday season. The game is already
running smooth at 60 frames per second, Greenwalt said, and the goal is
to have the sequel to one of the highest-rated racing games on store
shelves before the end of 2006.
The game will feature more than 300 cars, including Lamborghini -- new
for Forza. Each car will be fully customizable, from the tires to the
spoilers to engine performance to paint job and decals. "It's not any
Lamborghini," Greenwalt said. "It's your Lamborghini. You can put a
Hello Kitty decal on the hood if you want to. You can put the Mona Lisa
on the hood if you want to."
Like the single-player game, Forza 2 on Xbox Live will have 12-player
races and you can take your tricked out car online and show it off to
your competition -- hopefully the only decal they see is on your
bumper. And since decals are customizable, hopefully you can slap on a
bumper sticker that says, "You are losing to me." And on the hood? Why
not the Playmate of the month? The car is your oyster.
Because Forza 2 is geared toward car and customization freaks,
Microsoft is adding a photo mode too. You can take pictures of your
ride and post them online, sharing them with your friends. Will there
be MS contests for coolest cars? We think so, but Greenwalt wouldn't
say anything more about Xbox Live. He did smile when we asked him, if
that means anything.
Forza 2 will have more than 60 tracks, so we assume the number is
around 30 with their mirrors. Greenwalt said the original Forza tracks
are included and are getting the high-resolution treatment. We don't
know how many new tracks are in the game, but we do know that Sebring
International Raceway will be included. The Florida track has been used
since the 1950s and is set on unused runways and support roads for an
airport. Sebring features three courses: the 12 Hour Grand Prix Course;
the Old Club Course; and the New Club Course, but we don't know which,
if not all three, will be included in Forza 2.
Because Sebring is not the smoothest course out there -- there are
plenty of bumps, changes in surface and misaligned slabs of cement --
so it's a perfect way to highlight the recently-announced Wireless
Racing Wheel 360 that will be launched with Forza 2. We don't know if
the two will be packaged together -- we assume you could buy them
separately and there will be some form of package. With sophisticated
rumble capability and force feedback, the wheel will give gamers a
three-dimensional sensation of control, Greenwalt said. For instance,
let's say you take a sharp turn. If you let your hands off the wheel,
it will automatically self correct. Also, with force-feedback, you will
feel when the car is off traction during sharp turns. Greenwalt
mentioned that the all racing games down the line will have to be
compatible with the wheel as part of the certification process, and
there is talk of updating PGR3 with a patch so it works as well. Racing
fans will be very happy this holiday season.
Again, it was a surprise that we were taken behind closed doors and
instead of a fancy plasma TV with Forza 2 running we found Greenwalt
sitting by himself. He did give us a ton of new details on his game and
said it would have set his team back about a month to get together a
demo or in-game trailer of Forza 2 for E3. Greenwalt doesn't care much
about conventions though -- he's aiming for a holiday release. We'll
keep you posted on Forza 2 as we get more information about new cars,
tracks, online modes and the official IGN bumper sticker as it develops.
"AirRaid Mach 2.5" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:
how hard is it to make an ingame footage video of a game thats already
"running smooth at 60 frames per second" ?
What is there to hide ?
--
GT : nextgenconsoles
