Despite being one of the most visually impressive games on the Xbox One, or any platform for that matter, Turn 10 Studios' Forza Motorsport 5 was largely seen as a disappointment. Gamers maligned the title's use of microtransactions to fuel unlockables, and the Drivatar system, while a clever concept, led to a fair share of headaches.
But, Forza 5 was also a great learning lesson for Turn 10 and for the franchise, and the hope is that the Forza Horizon 2 will be able to learn from those mistakes. More importantly, fans hope that Forza Horizon 2 can take what they loved about that first game and bring it to the next-gen.
Doing so will, of course, require a solid base of cars, and Forza Horizon 2 appears to have that in spades. Just this week Microsoft and Turn 10 unveiled the last batch of cars for the game, which brought its final total up to an impressive 210. There's some new, some old, some classic, and some high performance, and you can check out each and every one of them in the images below.
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In addition to news of a full car roster – and an impressive one at that – Microsoft has also revealed the new Forza Rewards program which will…er…reward Forza fans for their loyalty on a monthly basis. Essentially, the program gives players a certain amount of in-game rewards/perks based on how much time they've spent in past Forza games. The more "objectives" a player has completed then the higher tier level they will achieve; and the higher the tier level, the more cars the player will unlock.
Forza Horizon 2 isn't leaving new players in the dark with this program, though, but rather they are making it all-inclusive. So while you can unlock higher tiers based on how many cars you own or miles you've driven in Forza Motorsport 5, there are still ways to earn points right from Horizon 2. In total, players will be able to unlock 5 new cars per month (at no extra cost) simply by completing these objectives. Head here to read more about the Forza Rewards program and how exactly it works.
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Although some may be wary of the Forza Rewards program, Turn 10 assures fans this is not DLC and is simply a chance for devoted players to reap a little something extra out of this new game. Still, with the harsh criticisms Forza 5 drew for its microtransactions and limited options, we'll have to wait and see how the Rewards program goes over.
The good news is, with a roster of 210 cars, Forza Horizon 2 seemingly has a lot to offer players. And luckily, we won't have to wait too long to go hands on with the game.
What do you think of the Forza Horizon 2 car selection? Does something like Forza Rewards interest you?
Forza Horizon 2 releases September 30, 2014 for Xbox 360 and Xbox One.