chuckd21

The moneyhat is running dry.

Dan

My question for the Polygon MS-shill reviewer is:
Bro, do you even race?

chess

Open world racers are very much a taste thing IMO. You either get/like them, or you don't. A lot of people hated Burnout Paradise, but it's easily my favorite driving game of all time.

I do enjoy the insecure little Polygon meme that always comes up. I read and like most of the people at Polygon. It's just a couple of people there with obvious agendas (Arthur Geis and Ben Kuchera) and that whole "we're making a video about how we're changing gaming journalism, brought to you by Microsoft" thing that didn't look right to me. But at this point, they're no more or less shitty than any other shitty gaming site.

chuckd21

Burnout Paradise got hate because it removed the much beloved Crash mode, and because restarting a race was a feature they didn't even have until they patched it in a long time after release.

chess

Yeah, that was a huge mistake. I wasn't even interested in the game until they patched that in.

Adam Tyner

The same reviewer gave Forza 5 a 9/10. It sounds like it's partially a disinterest in open world racers and maybe the luster having worn off from Forza 5? Some of his criticisms (virtual competition not getting more aggressive without manually adjusting difficulty levels) apply there too.

flashburn

A 9/10 for Forza 5? The game had a fundamentally broken progression system at launch, unless you were spending real money on microtransactions. Not to mention the whole content issue.

This reviewer is just a moron that can't differentiate between a good game and a game he likes. Which basically means he is a terrible reviewer.

Decker

I'm with flash on this. I loved so much about how Forza 5 looked and drove, but the game was essentially broken as far as progression and the limited tracks made for a super-repetitive game. No way that was a 9/10 overall.

I'm looking forward to this. Best Buy's pre-order deal made it a no-brainer.

flashburn

I only rented Forza 5, and I hated it, but I'm taking the day off for Forza Horizon 2. Forza 5 was probably one of my biggest disappointments in gaming, but I was somewhat prepared to be disappointed since the lack of content was known a bit ahead of launch.

Hopefully they can make up for things with Forza 6. It had better have both night racing, and weather (and weather transitions!). It also better have at least double the number of tracks that Forza 5 had. Oh, and some AI that is worth a damn would be great. AI in Horizon 2 definitely seemed better.

Dan

I played a bit of the demo last night. I enjoyed it, for sure, but I think I like the NFS:Rivals controls better. I guess you can change your control setup in the menu for this game... what are you guys using for the best results?

flashburn

If you think NFS Rivals controls better, I'm not really sure how to help you, you definitely wouldn't want to use my settings, . I'm guessing you're looking for the "on rails" arcade-style of controls? You probably won't be able to achieve that with Forza. Even with the assists on, it still leans towards Sim-style. You can try turning on the steering assist.

Dan

Yeah, I'll play with the settings a bit more. It seemed like there were a LOT of options, so I went with Easy, but then tweaked the assists a bit. I didn't want it to be TOO easy, but I think I made it... awkward.
I'm not giving up on it by any means. I also haven't even played NFS:Rivals for many months, so that could be my problem too. I won't buy the full FH2 game until I'm a little bit more comfortable with however I end up setting up the controls, though.

flashburn

It probably will never play like NFS Rivals, sorry. I think you'll either need to adjust to playing with more realistic controls/handling or add in enough of the assists so it plays in a way you enjoy... or it just isn't for you. I think if you keep at it, you'll get used to it one way or another though.

When I play with a wheel (FU Microsoft!), I usually turn off all assists, except for maybe stability or traction control, depending on the car. It's awesome with the Forza series because you get credit bonuses for using less assists. With a controller I don't bother shifting or using a clutch, it's just too awkward. I still use Simulation steering, no brake assist or ABS, etc, with a controller though. I also leave on Simulation damage because I keep rewind enabled, so I can just rewind if I get into a bad wreck.

Dan

That's what I was talking about. I think I could definitely get the hang of it if I actually spend some time learning. The only time I played Forza 5 was at a Best Buy demo, and that didn't end well either. I get that the Forza games are much closer to "sim" territory than NFS. NFS-style racers are my preference, but I've never spent a reasonable amount of time with Forza ever. I'll dive further into the demo to see if I can handle it. I LOVE the look and feel of the game, regardless of my complete lack of skill.

Is there no wheel for the XO yet? I'd maybe be interested in buying one, but... I've never really played racing games with a wheel before. Yet another learning curve for me to master, eh?

flashburn

There is a couple of wheel choices, and IMHO they are both overpriced pieces of shit. Hell neither of them even have a clutch or a manual shifter. My complaint was directed at Microsoft's insistence to lock down peripherals and not allow backwards compatibility. I want my $500+ Fanatec setup to work, dammit.

There is one company that makes an adapter that is around $100 obviously isn't a MS licensed product, so it could be disabled at any time, and force feedback doesn't work. They ad coming out a new one that is supposed to fix force feedback, but I still don't trust that MS won't intentionally (or unintentionally) break it at some point.

flashburn

If you do get a wheel, this is the better of the two, but the price reflects it... $400+. I don't think it's worth it. Those pedals look like cheap junk, and again, no shifter! The nice thing about it is it has a brushless motor, so it should provide really nice and smooth resistance.

http://www.thrustmaster.com/en_US/pr...italia-edition

Fanatec has this crazy wheel coming out soon. Basically it's going to be a base unit that is just the motor and hub. Then you'll buy different wheels for it. That way when the next generation comes out, you just need to buy the console specific wheel (if needed) for like $150 and everything else will carry over. Only downside is the hefty initial cost, as the base itself is going to cost around $500.

The nice thing with Fanatec is although they are expensive, they make insanely great quality stuff.
http://www.fanatec.com/us-en/wheel-b...ase-v2-us.html

An Xbox One wheel for it should be out around when the base is released.

starseed1981

Amazon shipped mine early so I should actually have it this morning. Excitement meter rising.

chuckd21

Do digital versions of this unlock at midnight EST or PST?

flashburn

12:01am EST.

chuckd21

Sweet!

Decker

September 26th 2014, 12:01 pm PT
Celebrate Forza Horizon 2 at Microsoft Stores, unlock the Exclusive Audi RS 4 Avant

Forza Horizon 2 launches next week, and Microsoft retail stores are planning activities to mark the occasion on Day 1 and beyond. On Tuesday, September 30th – launch day – at least the first 25 customers to pick up their copy of the game at each of the 104 Microsoft retail stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico will receive a Forza Horizon 2 gift bag.


If you pre-order Forza Horizon 2 in store before Tuesday, receive a $10 gift card for Microsoft Stores or $10 to spend in the Xbox Store if you order on MicrosoftStore.com. A pre-order will also net you a Microsoft Store-exclusive in-game code to unlock the Audi RS 4 Avant in-game.

Additionally, select Microsoft retail stores will have Thrustmaster Ferrari 458 Spider Racing Wheels available for purchase at $99.99, while supplies last.

Microsoft Stores across the country will also host gameplay tournaments from Tuesday, Sept. 30 through Sunday, Oct. 5. To find out more about tournaments, contact your local store.

If you don’t want to compete, you can try the game, pick up a copy of Forza Horizon 2, and get a custom Forza photo taken. You can also trade in your Xbox 360 or PS3 and receive $100 towards your Xbox One console purchase. More details about our game and console trade-in program here.

mugwump

I put off pre-ordering this until the last minute and went with in store pickup at Best Buy which also gets you a $10 Xbox Live card via email if you sign up for their rewards program. Store exclusive car is a BMW M6 Coupe. I thought I could wait until the holidays but nope, I need this day one.

chuckd21

Won't unlock. Sons of bitches.

flashburn

Same here. Tons of people are having the same issue. Fucking Microsoft, I really do hate them.

I deleted it and I'm redownloading, since no one since launch has had it unlock after the fact.

slop101

360 top, XB1 bottom