Forza Motorsports 2, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a Sim-heavy Racer

Ok, so I went out this week and bought myself a copy of Forza Motorsports 2 for the Xbox 360. I have played sim-heavy racers before (the Gran Turismo series on Playstation & Playstation 2, mostly), and while I always had a lot of fun with them, I was never able to really get heavily into them because, to be honest, I was really, really bad at them. I would spend most of my time slamming into walls at 100+ MPH and then spending the rest of the race looking at tail lights. From the demo of Forza 2, I thought I'd be doing the same thing with it, but I had to get it anyway because I'm a sucker for all those gorgeous automobiles.

It was after I got home with my purchase that I made the discovery that saved me from the fate that had awaited me in all the sim racers of the past... If I just really suck at a particular race or a particular type of car (RWD cars come to mind for me here), I can forfeit a chunk of my prize money and hire an A.I. Driver to run the race for me, while I sit back and watch! Some people might think this is a bit of a cheat or the "lazy" way, but I say they can all go take a long walk off a short pier. It's my game, and if I want to spend my credits to watch someone who actually knows what the hell they are doing drive around the track in my beautiful car, then that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Now that's not to say that all I do is sit back and watch the A.I. driver run every race for me... Quite the contrary. I try every race at least once myself and only switch to the A.I. driver when I just can't take it any more (or while I eat lunch - nothing beats chowing down while watching the A.I. driver earn you that next new car).

I also enjoy the other aspects of this game, like the Auction House and all the cusomization options, from buying upgrades and tuning your ride to designing paint jobs and vinyl layouts to create that one-of-a-kind vehicle that suits you to a "T".

So, to make a long story short (too late!), Forza Motorsports 2 for the Xbox 360 is a really great game, and everyone out there can enjoy it in one way or another, regardless of your skill (or lack thereof). If you like racing games at all, give it a try. You probably won't be disappointed.