Game Review: Forza Horizon 2 Storm Island

In the second iteration of the Forza Horizon franchise we found ourselves cruising the curves of southern France and northern Italy. Often, however — being an open world game — we'd also take our European sports cars off the tarmac and through the French countryside.

Well, if you enjoyed going off-road then you will love Storm Island.

This new expansion pack for the Xbox One version of the game concentrates on driving with a minimal amount of tar involved. Primarily you will be sideways on dirt roads, rushing headlong through fields of small brush and what looks like cacti, in mostly inclement conditions.

Fictional Storm Island is appropriately named. Once you leave the ferry from the mainland you’re in for some treacherous weather conditions. Given the premise of Horizon as a festival setting, it is a hardy set of fans that have come to watch, bracing sideways blowing rain and what seems to be a relatively low mercury level compared to the other side of the ferry ride.

The racing is frantic and chaotic. For the most part you are not following any of the (small amounts of) set roads in the area — instead you will be doing big-air launches off hills, landing in fields, avoiding massive hay-rolls and just trying to stay on course between the orange smoke marking checkpoints, while maintain a competitive speed.

There are new game-play modes; Rampage and Brawl events are simply point-to-point rallies and circuit rallies with obstacles added for increased chaos.

There are also Cross-Country events, again in point-to-point style, as well as a new Cross-Country Circuit mode.

To be competitive, you will need to forego the supercar salivating, instead putting your effort into a modern or retro rally car, retro saloon or SUV, among others.  There are still events for cars such as hot hatches and the like, but spending time in the garage to attach new Storm Island modifications is a must.

There are new Car Meet, Road Trip Session and Barn Find sections and the other typical Forza Horizon options you would expect. There is also a new board to find and smash, this one giving discounts on upgrade parts, which is nice given the extra time you'll spend in the garage.

Spending a significant amount of time on Storm Island will see you race many times over familiar territory. That can be a let-down but one but one positive is that the variety of events makes each race different, as does the huge variety of weather.

A set of corners will need to be approached differently depending on the car you are driving, the time of day and in particular the weather. A dusty, hot day throws up a set of challenges that differ from a night of pea-soup fog.

Graphically, the Xbox One version of Forza Horizon 2 remains a beautiful thing. Playing in Bonnet-Cam mode really shows this off, with diffused reflections from lights, wet tarmac and muddy tracks causing windscreen spatter and new illumination effects that can either distract or focus a digital-driver's attention.

Gauntlet events top out at each tier of racing, and will let drivers loose in suspension-raised sports trucks. Racing through the night through rain, wind and wet gravel will be a challenge for most. The bumper-to-bumper high-flying racing is an absolute joy to partake in.

Despite contenders such as The Crew and (the now functional) DriveClub, Forza Horizon 2 remains the best racing game fun to be had on the latest generation of gaming consoles. Storm Island might not be an 'automatic' purchase for some, but for FH2 owners looking for extra content, it is a must.