Forza 2 due out in May

By Tom Bramwell Published 29 January, 2007

Gives it vroom to manoeuvre.

Wire up your wireless racing wheels and perform other necessary preparatory tasks: Forza Motorsport 2 is due out in May.

That's the good news coming our way in the latest slightly-rude-sounding Pitpass Report on the game's official site, where community person Che Chou explains:

"Wait, so just May 2007? No exact release date? Not if we could help it. Our schedule right now has us hitting Xbox certification around the middle of April and going gold soon afterwards.

"We want them to put the game on shelves as soon and fast as they can humanly muster. So optimistic estimates have us at retail in the first half of May - obviously the sooner the better and that's our goal."

Along with the likes of Crackdown, Forza 2 is one of 360's biggest titles for the first half of calendar '07, having originally been down for release late last year. It's been making solid progress since its unveiling at E3 last year, with recent reports pointing to a solid 60fps framerate.

Read more about it in Kristan's X06 write-up, where he got to take a spin around Tsukuba.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (23) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #1 5 years ago

    Hopefully there will be a bundle with the wireless racing wheel or at least a price drop of the wheel.

  • mkreku #2 5 years ago

    So this and Bioshock and Mass Effect coming out in the near future? Wow, I'm starting to feel better about my (so far) useless Xbox 360 purchase.

  • ishigo #3 5 years ago

    Got to be bundled with the wheel. Can't wait! eeee!

  • Xerx3s #4 5 years ago

    Another one being pushed back. :(

  • Concrete #5 5 years ago

    I bought the wheel this weekend, a very nice purchase! Hopefully it will come bundled with Forza 2 to encourage more people to play it online, and steering wheel only online games would be great as well!

    I got it for 65 quid from Game as they were giving 10% off vouchers, and I part exchanged PGR3 as it comes with the wheel as well. I can't see the price dropping, as the PC versions on the forcefeedback wheel have always hovered around the 100 quid pricepoint. I would recommend it though as its got a really solid metal/rubber construction.

  • peterfll #6 5 years ago

    "useless Xbox 360"?

    You like video games (a given) and there is *nothing* that you feel is worth while playing on your 360?

    If so - why buy one?

    \ponders

  • rotj #7 5 years ago

    Really looking forward to this. The gormless brand monkey chavs in the street may not know it, but Forza has long since been the King of the console simulation racer genre, and Gran Turismo is well down the track. Forza 2 can only widen that gap, and then some. Should be a good 'un!

    :)

  • groovychainsaw #8 5 years ago

    Looking forward to this too - i was a late-comer to forza (only bought it about 6 months ago on the 360), but it is a fantastic simulation of racing, noticeably better (in my opinion) as a simulation of racing cars than GT. The adaptive racing line system in it is really well implemented and teachs you the courses fantastically well.

  • Darkedge #9 5 years ago

    tis good news

    so mkreku you have finished Rainbow6 Vegas, Viva Pinata, TDU, Gears of War, Saints Row, etc which all all worth the purchase

  • L42yB #10 5 years ago

    @Darkedge - Take Saints Row off that list and I'll agree with u :p

  • rotj #11 5 years ago

    +1

    Saints Row aside (it truly is muck!), all great, great games.

  • chronom4n #12 5 years ago

    i am really hoping that microsoft will do a bundle on this one. I really want to get to playing GT5 but the PS3 and its lack of rumble on the pad, the high-ish price, also the fact that GT5 (the full game) is at least a year away, and also I just hope that this game will look the business as the first one just did not get my juices flowing.

    In other words I hope it turns out like this. FM2 will be to 360 what GT3 was to PS3. if that makes sense to anyone. But having looked at the latest screenshots, I cant say that I am totally blown-away.

    @concrete, fill me in a bit more on how the wheel performs if you would not mind. How does it feel when you are steering? does it feel solid? how do the pedals perform? can u modulate the pedals? how many degrees of rotation does the wheel have? and so forth.

  • steoc4 #13 5 years ago

    I picked up Forza 1 for my 360 a couple of weeks ago since it was going for next to nothing.

    Enjoying it, not as great as the hype though. I don't really see what it has over Gran Turismo other than better car customisation options. The sense of speed in Gran Turismo 4 was far better and that's important, Forza 2 probably has better handling but they're both great, and aside from that much of the games are identical, even down to the selection of tracks. I guess if I'd bought it back when it came out and there were actually online games to get into it'd improve matters but as it is its just a very good Gran Turismo clone, that isn't worse but isn't really better either.

    Hopefully the new one will have more to offer, haven't been too many details about it bouncing around really. What I want to see more than anything though is a next gen TOCA Race Driver. Now that's a damn enjoyable racing game.

  • SomaticSense #14 5 years ago

    "but Forza has long since been the King of the console simulation racer genre, and Gran Turismo is well down the track."

    Personally I felt Forza was lacking a little 'something' over GT4. I can't quite place what it is, but for some reason I much preferred GT4 over it, although Forza did do some things that GT4 should have had but didn't (car customisation, the Benchmark fucntion).
    Although Forza was a great game, there was just something about GT4 that I felt it was just overall better structured and presented. It just felt that there was potential screaming out loud, but it never quite reached it IMO.

    I've recently gone back and played both extensively starting from scratch in both (craving for a new simulation-esque racing game, and sod all coming out for the 360 at the mo), and while GT4 is just as fun as the first time, Forza feels dated already.

    If Forza 2 massively improves on the number of cars, and variety of tracks and race types, then it will definitely be worth a purchase, and could then possibly be a GT beater.
    Edited by 1 at 29/01/07 @ 11:23

  • redd #15 5 years ago

    @steoc4

    Sense of speed?
    I couldnt play GT4 because everything moved so slowly. Tho probably i was too spoiled from months of GTR.

  • teabagger #16 5 years ago

    Bah. Play had it down for 6th Feb when I pre ordered, even now they're showing 28th March.

    *throws hissy-fit for having to wait.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #17 5 years ago

    I also bought Forza Motorsport only a few weeks ago to play it on my 360 (never had an original xbox). I also never played GT4 so I cannot compare them but Forza feels just great. I'm very glad I bought it, then again, what can go wrong with a 10€ price tag for a sealed copy?

    mkreku: PGR3, Lego Star Wars II, Gears of War (I am a 8/10 supporter), Tomb Raider Legends, Viva Pinata... get those. There are a lot of other games, but these come to mind. And TDU!

  • Concrete #18 5 years ago

    With regards to the steering wheel, its a very nice peice of kit - very solidly built with a nice rubber top half of the steering wheel and aluminium tube construction bottom half. The leg rests are the best that I've used but I still prefer the table clamp option, which works fine. My only complaint is that the battery case on the side is a little bit loose, but since you never have to touch it in normal operation its not really an issue.

    Buttons wise, I keep finding myself hitting the B button instead of the A button, but I'm sure I'll get used to their position. The paddles on the back of the wheel are excelent, really well positioned so you can always get to them, Dpad is ok. but then only used for menu navigation. The force feedback is good, although not entirely realistic, its not as strong as a Sega Rally 2 arcade cabinate, but it does a good job. Steering wheel travel is about 240 degrees in either direction, enough to allow you to powerslide in PGR3 easily enough.

    The pedals are another very nice feature of the kit, really strong springs mean you can judge the travel on them well, and a hole in the base to put your feet through means the base doesnt slide around, even on my wooden floor!

    Very happy with the kit, I've been giving it a bit of abuse trying to powerslide in PGR so well just have to see how long it lasts!

  • chronom4n #19 5 years ago

    There has to be a bundle with the wheel. I can't see it selling otherwise. Personally, for me, if it does not perform better than the driving force pro, then there is really not point. But having said that, is there a slight possibility that the game will have compatibility with the logitech wheel? thanks concrete. that was really helpful. Good to hear that the springs give you a really good sense of travel. also, i am glad to know that there is about 240degrees of rotation as i have been under the impression that the wheel was giving about 120-200 degrees of rotation.

    What amazes me more than anything about the forza developers is they say that their game is realistic and then they go and give us a wheel without 900 degreees of rotation. bit weird of them if u ask me.
    Edited by 1 at 29/01/07 @ 12:41

  • Rambaldi #20 5 years ago

    Forza equalled Gran Turismo, expect Forza 2 to leave it for dust

  • rotj #21 5 years ago

    Wrong!

    Forza BESTED Gran Turismo. Forza 2 will lap Polyphony's tired series!

    :)

  • -TKF- #22 5 years ago

    - 12 cars (racers) reduced to 8 cars (racers)
    - 4xMSAA reduced to 2xMSAA
    - "Over 60 tracks" reduced to "Over 45 tracks"
    - "18 environments" reduced to "12 environments"
    - "13 real-world licensed circuits" reduced to "several real-world licensed circuits"

    But so far 60fps is still on, hey.. they need to have Micro Transaction downloads for those that pay for XBOX GOLD right?

  • Krusty #23 5 years ago

    I can't wait for this one. The first one was a true stunner.

    Oh, and to all the Gran Turismo camp, try this:
    At start of race don't touch anything, just sit there and wait.
    Now, when the computer controlled cars come around to lap you some will plow straight into you.

    Are you still trying to tell us that this is a good "simulation"?

    The AI in GT was and still is the worst I've ever seen; they stick to the racing line religiously, repeatedly ramming you if you're in their way...

    Cheers,
    Krust

  • teabagger #24 5 years ago

    'tis true. GT was never, in my opinion, a particularly good racer as the AI simply wasn't up to it. It was always about having the quicker car and the 'oooh it looks really realistic' factor.

  • rotj #25 5 years ago

    Agreed. In GT, it was too easy to bust a move on the opposotion, and mod your car way ahead of the opposition. In Forza however, the whole class based system totally pulled the rug out from under that easiness, as the more you mod your car, the higher up in rank it goes and the harder the opposition becomes, so genuine tuning was required, as opposed to quick-fix speed upgrades. Overall, and in almost every sense, Forza>>>>>GT, in my opinion.

  • mkreku #26 5 years ago

    @peterfll, Darkedge, Der_Tolle_Emil: Thanks for the game tips guys!

    I bought the Xbox 360 on a whim because they were selling the Premium version for 3195 SEK bundled with Gears of War just before Christmas (as a comparison, the Playstation 3 is supposed to cost 6500-7000 SEK..). I also thought Gears of War was going to be very good, especially in co-op. I tired of the game well before it ended (it was only 10-12 hours long) since it's all about finding cover, pop out, take a few shots, pop back behind cover, repeat. I don't think it sucked, but I was very disappointed. Did NOT feel like next-gen to me. Since then I've mostly been playing Singstar on my Playstation 2, and I'm now waiting for Okami, Final Fantasy XII, God of War 2 and Rogue Galaxy.

    I should probably get more games for the Xbox 360 before calling it useless (duh), but I'm not saying the hardware is useless. It's just been useless to me since I'm mostly a fan of racing games, social games and RPG's. Oh, and I already have Rainbow Six Vegas and Oblivion on my PC..

    I bet Mass Effect will make my Xbox 360 purchase feel like the deal of the century though.

  • texx #27 5 years ago

    @mkreku
    I bought a racing game once and got really bored really quickly. There are all these other cars in the track and all you do is try to pass them