Forza Horizon 2 Walks the Line Between Racer and Cruiser

Unlike most driving titles, Forza Horizon 2 isn’t just about eking every last ounce of speed from your ride. Sure, you can do that if you want, using the game’s deep and intricate mechanical customization system – but if you’d prefer to grab a factory model and just cruise the countryside, you can do that, too. Forza Horizon 2 is a driving game that plays at your pace. It’s set in an open world so large and so beautifully realized that you’ll find yourself looking forward to the transition time in-between missions, just so you can admire the scenery as you drive.

Forza Horizon 2 is unique, in that it allows you to earn points toward your next level simply by driving well, regardless of whether you’re racing or not. Driving fast and threading the needle between two cars on the freeway – even if they’re civilian cars driven by A.I. – still earns you points. Or, you could smash your way through a fence and tear up a wheat field or vineyard in your big, honking Hummer; that also gets you points.

Of course, if you’d rather play Forza Horizon 2 as a straight-up racer, you can do that, too. Set in France and Italy, the game features a huge variety of race tracks over city streets, open fields, and foothills. Time trials, traditional races, off-road events, trick challenges, you name it – it’s all available for the more competitive among you. And yes: You can still level up by driving like a badass in the races, too.

And if you’d rather live somewhere in-between those two, you can take advantage of the game’s Match Races, in which you can dynamically challenge any Drivatar (computer-controlled opponents who drive based on the characteristics of your friends and real people from Xbox Live) to a head-to-head showdown instantly, as soon as you pull up behind them. Since Forza Horizon 2 not only populates your world with plenty of Drivatars in killer (and not-so-killer) cars, and since it rates all of them dynamically based on how they’ve performed in their own games, you can easily assess what the proper challenge is, and just go crazy like the mad street racer you’ve always wished you could be.

Don’t forget that these modes are also available to play with your friends. Going online in Forza Horizon 2 is as easy as pressing a button – no lobbies and no waiting. If you want to just play around the countryside in Online Free Roam, you can do that. Or, if you want to race in a white-knuckle heat with your buddies, go for it. Plus, you’ve got two dedicated multiplayer “playground” modes (Infected and King), as well as the ability to enter into the game’s special “Bucket List” challenges (like doing 15 jumps in 90 seconds) with a friend. Heck, you can even spend your days driving around, searching for new hills to climb and cliffs to drive off.

The point is, Forza Horizon 2 brings an entirely unique driving experience to your Xbox One – an experience that you get to customize on the fly, as you play. So, what’s not to like? Get out there and get racing!