Forza 2 for the Xbox 360 is the best racing simulator that I have ever played. I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but being a huge Gran Turismo and racing sim fan, I can say it really delivers on a pure racing simulation experience.

Forza 2 nails the very core of a racing simulator. The cars feel absolutely real and you have to drive them just like real cars or you won’t win any races. Steering, analog acceleration and analog breaking are executed on well. The frame rate is a rock solid 60 fps and after many hours of playing I have never seen the frame rate drop. The car take damage somewhat realistically and that effects the performance of the car during the race.

In addition to buying a wide variety of upgrades, you can tune your car extensively. Tuning the car can have dramatic impact on the car’s behavior. I’ve seen a lot of users online tune their car for drifting and actually be able to run pretty good times while drifting their car around the track. There is not “drift mode” tuned into the game, so the fact that the simulation model is so good users can tune for drifting just the way you would in real life is pretty impressive.

There is a ton of game play, built into a huge variety of events, which let you experience driving many different cars. The different cars all feel complete unique.

There is a sophisticated car painting system that the Forza 2 community has used to create some amazing art work. There is an online auction house where you can buy and sell cars that you have in your garage. The online elements and the auction house really tie the customization and tuning together so you can share your work with others.

Online pay actually works in Forza 2. The last couple of racing games I have played on Xbox 360 have offered a very poor online experience. Forza 2 allows you to make career money playing online, blurring the lines between offline and online they way next generation gaming is supposed to be done. There are also exhibition races that have taken on an odd spin in the community. People don’t tend to race in these straight up, instead people will chat (talk smack) over VOIP, drag race, drift or smash each other. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet, but I find it interesting the MMO kinds of feeling that have crept into these multi player exhibition races.

All in all I feel this is a must own for any racing fan with an Xbox 360. For future improvements I would like to see a rally mode in Forza 3.