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Forza Motorsport 2 Developer: Turn 10 Studios Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Genre: Racing Console: Xbox 360 I am not the biggest car guy around, I barely even know how to maintain my Jeep. Yet when I pass a gorgeous import on the road I can't help but turn my head and wonder what it would be like to just open it up on a long stretch of road. Forza Motorsport 2 allows you to full fill most any car fantasy you might have, as long as that model is on the long list of the over 300 cars offered. Not only can you adjust and upgrade nearly every aspect of each car under the hood, but you have total control of what goes on the hood too. The paint program included with Forza 2 is so superior to any other that it guarantees user generated customs will be appearing on the Internet for many months to come. Forza 2 is very accessible from the beginning. Choose a starter car, and then head off to the tracks. In order to actually start racing competitively, you must complete a number of training events, with each event consisting of 3 courses. These help you get accustomed to the controls and how each car handles. As you place in each event, you earn new cars and more in game credits which can be used to purchase upgrades. These unlockable cars are necessary in order to compete in certain events since races are broken down by car types. This is nice because it forces you to utilize all your cars as they start filling up your garage, and every one has it's own feel. These are not just skins, every single car controls differently and has it's own benefits and drawbacks. Microsoft has excelled in creating a true driving feel with unrivaled physics. Countless hours can be spent upgrading, painting and trading your cars with friends over Xbox Live. While making your way through the career mode, you are definitely driven by the payoff's Forza 2 offers. From the slower beginning on the training courses to then speeding around packed raceways hitting 174 mph while fans cheer you on. The adrenaline starts pumping and is maintained by the amazing graphics and photo realistic cars. After each race, I still had a desire to watch the replay and check out my car from every different angle in all it's 60 fps, 1080i glory. This was the first game I ever utilized the in-game photo mode. Every time you make a turn and the sun realistically glares off your hood, I just wanted to take a quick snapshot. This is made even easier with Forza 2's community. After you take a screen shot, it asks if you want to upload it to the Forza website. Two seconds later, it's uploaded and you can log into the site using your gamer tag and download the pictures to your computer. One aspect of the game that was difficult to get used to were the penalties. By drifting to far off the track, you get seconds added to your overall time. This also happens when you hit or brush up against another car. You might come in first place, but because of penalties, your time could be a few seconds higher then the cars your beat. After spending so much time working on your car, you really don't want to see it ruined on the course anyway. However, when you do crash it would be great to see it totally destroyed. Hitting the wall at 180 mph only damages your controls and messes up your skin. If your going to hit hard, I want to see my car totally destroyed. I completely recommend Forza Motorsport 2 to anyone willing to spend the time to master each cars controls. To anyone who is a car enthusiast, you must pick up this game, the single player career mode is fantastic and the online multilayer is one of the best I have ever played. RANKING: 9.5 out of 10

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