Xbox One
If earlier Forza games called to mind gentlemanly championship races, Forza Horizon 2 at times feels more like Wacky Races. And it's all the better for it.
Although it's an open-world driving sim that gives you a large chunk of Italian and French countryside to tear around, the series’ signature realism doesn't gets chucked out the passenger window.
Far from it – there are still more than 200 lovingly modelled cars to race, each handling deftly. It’s just that this time your races may see you ploughing through a vineyard in a Land Rover, as opposed to racing round a tarmacked circuit in a supercar.
The sizeable open world allows for a great mixture of challenge events and race types, and gives players ample room to experiment and level up a meaningful skill tree, letting your driving abilities improve over time.
However, the more freeform circuits don't always generate the same drama as Forza 5’s licensed tracks. What they definitely do improve upon though, are the visuals.
From narrow village lanes to rolling country hills, you're as much a tourist as a driver, with the sizeable map littered with worthy collectibles.
Like Forza 5, Forza Horizon 2 makes great use of a smart AI system that pops your pals' and online rivals' racing styles into the cloud, and reuses them in the single player campaign.
These human-influenced – yet computer-controlled – drivers make the single player just as chaotic and unpredictable as the online mode.
And jumping online is seamless too. A few button presses have you transported to a competitive version of the very same open world map, with other racers around to challenge. This is about as good as open-world driving gets.
Price:£49.99
