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Forza Horizon 2 · Review Thread

Gestault

Member
I thought NFS Rivals was totally fine (albeit a different sort of game/handling), and that was a different writer for the Polygon review. I still disagree with the premise of criticizing a game because a default difficulty setting didn't offer enough challenge to someone experienced in the genre.Particularly when the descriptions for those difficulties make a specific recommendation in those terms, and especially when the reviewer didn't think to increase the difficulty as an experiment to see if it changed their experience, for the sake of the review itself.
 
Sweet nubbins of bliss. Great to see this game get some nice review scores. Can't wait until my white bundle comes at the end of october.
 
Sorry, I haven't seen it for years. I apologise if you've seen it a lot.

Also. Calm down, it's just a joke.

A joke that's old, tired, and not even applicable anymore.

Look at PS4 and Xbox One review scores... see many 9's? No.

Average scores are actually far lower than previous years. Are the games that much worse? Don't seem to be. For a joke to be funny, there has to be a bit of truth in it.
 
I think people are misconstruing that Polygon review.

The complaint about difficulty and progression isn't about the difficulty of the Drivatars or individual races, or whether there's an XP system. It reads to me like he wanted the game's events to start off easier and progress towards more demanding races as the career went along - a linear progression of difficulty and reward across events that pushes the player. Instead, he says the game plays in the beginning just like it plays at the end.

And what I get from his talk about the open world and race design is that he doesn't get the sense of mastery and victory he gets from other racing games - notably learning the intricacies of a track that you'll come back to again and again, and winning from technical precision and skill instead of managing chaos in crazy off-roading events.

I get where he's coming from anyway, even if I don't share his expectations. You can see this in a lot of reviews of open world games though - that they're a collection of activities and not as directed from beginning to end as much as some people would like. Personally I like more free roam sandbox in my open worlds and less fixed direction, and Horizon looks to be exactly what I'm after.

As far as the racing itself goes, I wonder whether he ever tried the Rally expansion in Horizon 1, because those stages demanded quite a bit of precision and control, both on and off road.
 
I think people are misconstruing that Polygon review.

The complaint about difficulty and progression isn't about the difficulty of the Drivatars or individual races, or whether there's an XP system. It reads to me like he wanted the game's events to start off easier and progress towards more demanding races as the career went along - a linear progression of difficulty and reward across events that pushes the player. Instead, he says the game plays in the beginning just like it plays at the end.

And what I get from his talk about the open world and race design is that he doesn't get the sense of mastery and victory he gets from other racing games - notably learning the intricacies of a track that you'll come back to again and again, and winning from technical precision and skill instead of managing chaos in crazy off-roading events.

if true, then that is terrible. For me the pinnacle of racing games was PGR2, with its absolutely perfect difficulty curve. To not have one at all...? It sounds ridiculous.
 
if true, then that is terrible. For me the pinnacle of racing games was PGR2, with its absolutely perfect difficulty curve. To not have one at all...? It sounds ridiculous.
I have no idea how true it is - but it depends upon how the career is structured. Horizon 1 did get harder over time, with the showcase events in particular being the real tests - all of the other events were a mix of easy, moderate and ruthless, depending upon which ones you picked, your style of racing and your car.

Its an open world though - isn't it supposed to be more of a buffet?
 

Krilekk

Banned
I think people are misconstruing that Polygon review.

The complaint about difficulty and progression isn't about the difficulty of the Drivatars or individual races, or whether there's an XP system. It reads to me like he wanted the game's events to start off easier and progress towards more demanding races as the career went along - a linear progression of difficulty and reward across events that pushes the player. Instead, he says the game plays in the beginning just like it plays at the end.

And what I get from his talk about the open world and race design is that he doesn't get the sense of mastery and victory he gets from other racing games - notably learning the intricacies of a track that you'll come back to again and again, and winning from technical precision and skill instead of managing chaos in crazy off-roading events.

I get where he's coming from anyway, even if I don't share his expectations. You can see this in a lot of reviews of open world games though - that they're a collection of activities and not as directed from beginning to end as much as some people would like. Personally I like more free roam sandbox in my open worlds and less fixed direction, and Horizon looks to be exactly what I'm after.

As far as the racing itself goes, I wonder whether he ever tried the Rally expansion in Horizon 1, because those stages demanded quite a bit of precision and control, both on and off road.

I think they were full of sh*t when they gave Horizon a 6 and don't have the guts to admit they were wrong, thus giving the successor that keeps everything pretty much the same a slightly higher rating. I'm gonna ignore Polygon from now on, a mistake like Horizon can happen but now they are just being idiots.
 

Heigic

Member
Something simple as qualifying to face higher skilled racers after you win a few races and earn higher rewards would help. All the components of that are already in the game though I don't think Forza does the best job of presenting and encouraging you to do it as you have to go into the options and do it yourself.

Seems like most review sites gave a 9/10 which is very good. I will definitely be getting this along with Sunset Overdrive next month.
 

v0mitg0d

Member
FYI I'm going to be streaming the full game again later today. I'll be playing a little bit of everything, answering your questions and showing off my rad cars. Not sure of the time because I've got some stuff to take care of so feel free to subscribe to get the notification.

http://www.twitch.tv/eatgames
 

Kolgar

Member
Oh, the HYYPPPPEEE.

This is the reason I bought my Xbox One two weeks ago, and it seems the purchase will be justified.

LOL at IGN's "All these games crammed into a T-shirt cannon and fired into your face." I am going to LOVE this game.
 

p3tran

Banned
I think people are misconstruing that Polygon review.

The complaint about difficulty and progression isn't about the difficulty of the Drivatars or individual races, or whether there's an XP system. It reads to me like he wanted the game's events to start off easier and progress towards more demanding races as the career went along - a linear progression of difficulty and reward across events that pushes the player. Instead, he says the game plays in the beginning just like it plays at the end.

And what I get from his talk about the open world and race design is that he doesn't get the sense of mastery and victory he gets from other racing games - notably learning the intricacies of a track that you'll come back to again and again, and winning from technical precision and skill instead of managing chaos in crazy off-roading events.
he did complain about drivatars specifically, and for more than one things, but lets see this thing too..
I see what you say, and I ask how can this <<problem>> not be a problem for him when he rated f5 with a 9?
did the game provide ...easier versions of laguna seca for him until he grew up?
in fact he mentions laguna in his horizon review too :D
as I said, I think "consistency" is an unknown word for this guy.

anyway, next week you'll be able (all of us will) to add the reviewer as a follower, and we will be able to see for ourselves in the leaderboards just how much of a ..master he is.
in fact, I might just add him now and fire up forza 5. that should provide a laugh or two if I'm not very wrong on my estimation... :)
 
I think people are misconstruing that Polygon review.

And what I get from his talk about the open world and race design is that he doesn't get the sense of mastery and victory he gets from other racing games - notably learning the intricacies of a track that you'll come back to again and again, and winning from technical precision and skill instead of managing chaos in crazy off-roading events.

If I'm not mistaken in the first Horizon you had quite a few of the races in the same location just with different cars. That allowed you to get some idea of the layout of some of them as if they were a track which allowed you to become familiar.

I bet FH2 does something similar.

Also, if that is his point I don't see it as a valid criticism in this particular instance because that is not what the game is trying to do. That is what Forza 1-5 and games of it's ilk are for.
 
I think people are misconstruing that Polygon review.

The complaint about difficulty and progression isn't about the difficulty of the Drivatars or individual races, or whether there's an XP system. It reads to me like he wanted the game's events to start off easier and progress towards more demanding races as the career went along - a linear progression of difficulty and reward across events that pushes the player. Instead, he says the game plays in the beginning just like it plays at the end.

And what I get from his talk about the open world and race design is that he doesn't get the sense of mastery and victory he gets from other racing games - notably learning the intricacies of a track that you'll come back to again and again, and winning from technical precision and skill instead of managing chaos in crazy off-roading events.

I get where he's coming from anyway, even if I don't share his expectations. You can see this in a lot of reviews of open world games though - that they're a collection of activities and not as directed from beginning to end as much as some people would like. Personally I like more free roam sandbox in my open worlds and less fixed direction, and Horizon looks to be exactly what I'm after.

As far as the racing itself goes, I wonder whether he ever tried the Rally expansion in Horizon 1, because those stages demanded quite a bit of precision and control, both on and off road.
Driving in D class races is not as easy as driving in S class races, just from extra attention needed to control the car alone.

Especially with driving aids off.

Especially when rewind is turned OFF (which it wasn't in his case).

It sounds more like he started on an easy difficulty that didn't provide much challenge to him in the first place and was disappointed that easy difficulty setting didn't stop being easy at the end of the game.

He drove any way he wanted to and rewound races (admitted) he wouldn't win so he could win them.

And complains the game feels too easy? I don't know.

I literally don't get how the default game difficulty not automagically conforming to a reviewers tastes can be a valid negative for a game, when said reviewer after playing hundreds of games surely knows how to use a difficulty slider?
 
Also, if that is his point I don't see it as a valid criticism in this particular instance because that is not what the game is trying to do. That is what Forza 1-5 and games of it's ilk are for.
I completely agree with this. There's a commenter for the review that makes the same point well - that its as wrong to apply linear circuit racing game expectations to an open world racer as it is to apply open world expectations towards a game like Forza Motorsport.

I'm not saying that Arthur is right, just that I get where he's coming from, and I've heard similar stuff over the years with other open world games.
 

p3tran

Banned
Driving in D class races is not as easy as driving in S class races, just from extra attention needed to control the car alone.

Especially with driving aids off.

It sounds more like he started on an easy difficulty that didn't provide much challenge to him in the first place and was disappointed that easy difficulty setting didn't stop being easy at the end of the game.

yes, but also add that he always used the rewind -as he states in his review- to correct any mistakes he made :D
<<temporary failure taken back with a flick of a button>> or something :D

anyway, guy is trolling. I checked his tweeter and says/answers that he thinks drivatars wont improve because ..they are already using the forza 5 drivatars (note: he only played them at normal and before release) and, he didnt like the music too.
:D
obvious troll is trolling
https://twitter.com/aegies/status/515036154584780800
 

Gestault

Member
probably, don't get me started. Open world = track designers cop-out.

Have you had a chance to play Horizon 1 or 2? Both manage well-built track spaces for the event races themselves. It's part of why the first game was so well regarded at release. If memory serves, reviews like Gerstmann's @ GB and North @ Destructoid spelled this out especially well. Many spaces cordoned off for tracks have turns and curves that are references to real-world closed tracks. In general I understand what you mean, but for this series, I think it's misapplied.
 

Rothmans

Neo Member
The game has no offline multiplayer, no split screen and nobody seems to care.....

Most of the reviews don't even say it.

I don't understand how a racing game without offline multiplayer can get those reviews.
 

Gestault

Member
The game has no offline multiplayer, no split screen and nobody seems to care.....

Most of the reviews don't even say it.

I don't understand how a racing game without offline multiplayer can get those reviews.

I don't mean to be too curt here, but was that honestly an expectation you had in an open-world racer? Other games like Burnout Paradise, the more recent NFS Most Wanted, NFS Rivals, Test Drive Unlimited 1 & 2 weren't an indication to you?
 

ShapeGSX

Member
The game has no offline multiplayer, no split screen and nobody seems to care.....

Most of the reviews don't even say it.

I don't understand how a racing game without offline multiplayer can get those reviews.

Open world games often cannot have split screen because it would mean having to stream two different world locations at the same time. Performance would be abysmal compared to the single player. It's a technology limitation.
 

AgentP

Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
Open world games often cannot have split screen because it would mean having to stream two different world locations at the same time. Performance would be abysmal compared to the single player. It's a technology limitation.

It can be done, it is a matter of resources and priority.
 

Rothmans

Neo Member
Open world games often cannot have split screen because it would mean having to stream two different world locations at the same time. Performance would be abysmal compared to the single player. It's a technology limitation.

Borderlands 2 did it, I know it is a different kind of game (the framerate is not as important), but it has cars too and you can drive in an open world with a friend offline.
 

Leyasu

Banned
Some embarrasing fucking posts in this thread, by people who haven't played the full game, no less. People ridiculing the 7 scores remind me of the uncharted 3 review thread.

Good scores overall. Game looks like a winner.

An Xbox thread just ain't an Xbox thread without you in it...
 

FordGTGuy

Banned
The game has no offline multiplayer, no split screen and nobody seems to care.....

Most of the reviews don't even say it.

I don't understand how a racing game without offline multiplayer can get those reviews.

No one is going to Lan party this game, as far as split screen goes the reasoning is explained perfectly above.
 

-tetsuo-

Unlimited Capacity
Borderlands 2 did it, I know it is a different kind of game (the framerate is not as important), but it has cars too and you can drive in an open world with a friend offline.

Borderlands has different maps that you load into.
 

Rothmans

Neo Member
I don't mean to be too curt here, but was that honestly an expectation you had in an open-world racer? Other games like Burnout Paradise, the more recent NFS Most Wanted, NFS Rivals, Test Drive Unlimited 1 & 2 weren't an indication to you?

It was but the game is on Xbox one (and also on 360), I honestly had the expectation that, at least on Xbox one (that is more or less ten time more powerful than the 360) we would get split screen.

But maybe the Xbox one (and the PS4) are not that powerful...
 

EagleEyes

Member
An Xbox thread just ain't an Xbox thread without you in it...
Haha lol. I was thinking the same thing. For a person who doesn't have an interest in Xbox One or plan on buying one he sure loves to come into a lot of Xbox threads. He is good for a laugh though even if everybody already knows his agenda.
 
It was but the game is on Xbox one (and also on 360), I honestly had the expectation that, at least on Xbox one (that is more or less ten time more powerful than the 360) we would get split screen.

But maybe the Xbox one (and the PS4) are not that powerful...

I think you misunderstand the issue. These games are built on streaming a large game world.

To have split screen would require streaming the world twice at the same time - quickly bringing data from two different parts of the hard drive.
 
Polygon is hilarious. They were so wrong with Forza Horizon (original), and then have to stick with the lower score for FH2 because they can't admit when they are shills.
 

jem0208

Member
Argh, I really don't know whether to preorder this or not.


I love the demo, I love Fh1, I know I will love this game.


But I don't like spending money...
 
It can be done, it is a matter of resources and priority.

Simple question: how many people use split-screen/LAN multiplayer vs. online?

It IS possible (I think Driver San Francisco had split-screen open world), but probably is not worth the costs.
 

RetroStu

Banned
Why are people concentrating on the one average review (since when is a '7' average anyway?) when there are about 30 very good to great reviews posted in the op?
 

p3tran

Banned
Why are people concentrating on the one average review (since when is a '7' average anyway?) when there are about 30 very good to great reviews posted in the op?

'cause we have played the demo and this review sticks out like a motherfucker?
I dont know swedish, otherwise I'd be willing to take a look on what the other number 7 says...
 
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