E3 2014: Forza Horizon 2 is Magnificence on the Mediterranean [w/ Video]
Two years ago, Microsoft and first-party developer Turn 10 Studios (the company behind the Forza Motorsport series of games) broke with tradition and created a new branch of the Forza family tree. Called Forza Horizon and developed by UK-based Playground Games (with assistance from Turn 10 when and where needed), this new game dispensed with the safe and sane closed-course racing sim model and replaced it with a less-regimented, arcade-ish racer set in a single massive open world environment based on the great state of Colorado.
This year will see the arrival of a sequel titled, funnily enough, Forza Horizon 2. The setting has changed, from Colorado to Southern Europe (specifically southern France and northern Italy), but the concept is much the same: You’re a participant in the Horizon Festival, a celebration of groovymusic and thundering cars, competing in various races and challenges on (and off) the roads of the vast map. However, because Forza Horizon 2 is an Xbox One title, and it utilizes the Forza Motorsport 5 graphics engine, the visuals are vastly evolved, incorporating day-to-night cycles and, for the first time in any Forza game, weather effects.
Naturally, each of the 200+ vehicles expected to ship with the game – including, in what will probably be its first video game appearance, the Lamborghini Huracán – will be highly detailed and highly customizable. We’re definitely itching to get our hands on this gorgeous new racing game; you’ll be able to do so on September 30th.
Source: Microsoft