Game Preview: Forza Horizon 2

The Xbox-exclusive Forza racing games are well-respected for a satisfying blend of fun, realism and car tuning, which was taken into the open-world realm in 2012 with Forza Horizon.

Injecting a welcome dose of variety into the Forza franchise, the game was a lot of fun and the folks at Microsoft announced that a second game in the Horizon series will head to Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Set for release on September 30 and developed by Playground Games, the North American setting of the first game has been abandoned, leaving behind Colorado for the exotic Mediterranean. Think the South of France and the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Hmmmm…

In other words, expect twisting coastal roads, lush green rolling hills, and centuries-old buildings whizzing by.

It will also be the first time – at least in a virtual sense – for gamers to drive the Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4.

All told, the developers reckon the fully-explorable game world is three times larger than the original game.

The Xbox 360 version will differ from the more powerful Xbox One edition, giving owners of the latter (and more powerful) console the use of a newer game engine based on a modified version of Forza Motorsport 5 core.

Playground Games creative director Ralph Fulton said both games are set in the same world and have the same themes but, "Rather than thinking of them as the same game on different platforms, they are different games inspired by the same ideas."

Got that? Me neither… Translation: buy an Xbox One.

Indeed, Microsoft is hoping people turn to the extra frills of the Xbox One version as the team at Playground Games has put a great deal of effort into capturing the atmosphere of Southern France, in particular to capture the countryside lighting that so enamoured artists over the centuries.

Dynamic lighting and weather effects are also a big part of this next-gen Forza Horizon experience.  Rain will fall, fill cracks in the roads, and build up on the car surfaces and road, changing the driving conditions as well. It's certainly shaping up to be a dynamic experience.

A great deal of effort has gone into the sound design, to almost ridiculous levels. In order to get the audio experience just right, the developers have used four recording points to capture external car noise; similarly internal recording allows even capturing the swish of wipers on the windscreen under differing conditions.

Add to this the ambient sounds of countryside and nearby music festival and there is plenty of authenticity to the open-world.

With a slightly more arcade-influenced physics engine but with enough depth to keep die-hard racers satisfied, Forza Horizon 2 is shaping up to be a significant racing game for Xbox consoles, and is due for release on Xbox 360 and Xbox One on September 30.