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[GHG]

Playing horizon 1 for the first time and having a great time with it. Not sure if I can say it's better than 2 yet but I can already feel it does certain things better. Will see what I think once I've put a significant amount of time into the game.

How the hell did they get this thing running on the Xbox 360? It looks ridiculously good considering its last gen.

 

[NullPointer]

FH2 felt like a stopgap between the amazing Forza Horizon on the 360 and the incredible looking Forza Horizon 3 on the Xbone. FH2 looked like a remastered 360 game and the map felt a little unfinished and lacking in variety compared to FH1, but its really something special when I can say that and also say it was GOTY for me that year (tied with Driveclub).

Still an incredible game, and often gorgeous, but you could tell that Playground had a lot more in them, and we're seeing that now.

 

[D'ultimate]

Still an incredible game, and often gorgeous, but you could tell that Playground had a lot more in them, and we're seeing that now.

The one thing we can't take away from 2 is that it looks great. It also drives great.

We don't know much a FH3 other than it looks better than 2, which is to be expected. I would hold off on proclaiming how much more Playground had it them until we see some improvements to the structure of the game.

Personally I'm not excited about what little we've heard about FH3. Claiming that the player controls the festival is not the direction I wanted the game to go in.

 

[jesu]

FH2 looked like a remastered 360 game and the map felt a little unfinished

That's pure nonsense, FH2 looks amazing for an X1 game.

 

[Gestault]

FH2 felt like a stopgap between the amazing Forza Horizon on the 360 and the incredible looking Forza Horizon 3 on the Xbone. FH2 looked like a remastered 360 game and the map felt a little unfinished and lacking in variety compared to FH1, but its really something special when I can say that and also say it was GOTY for me that year (tied with Driveclub).

Still an incredible game, and often gorgeous, but you could tell that Playground had a lot more in them, and we're seeing that now.

The first bolded bit, we'll have to disagree. The second? That's objectively off-base.

 

[NullPointer]

The first bolded bit, we'll have to disagree. The second? That's objectively off-base.

I have more memorable strips of road and fuck-around areas in the first game, and didn't really take to the large open grassy areas in FH2 but that's definitely subjective. The off-road trails were more fun to tackle on their own without worrying about cars cutting right across those trails and t-boning you. The observatory, red rocks and cliffside racing, the farmside paths with the overhanging trees, the quarry, and the warehouse districts and small towns were flawless little areas to drift and generally just hoon about. There's a lot to love in that first game.

In terms of visuals, FH3 is what I would expect from an Xbone version. There are plenty of moments in FH2, like driving on the highways and lonely roads with civilian cars that look last gen. FH2 really shines when hightailing it through the grass or in storms.

Am not here to shit on a game I truly love, that's just how I felt from the get-go. FH3 is really exactly what I was hoping for on new hardware. It has that wow factor the original game had on the 360. Just took Playground some time to get used to the new hardware without worrying about last gen.

I'd still recommend FH2 for anybody who wants an open world driving/racing game without a doubt. Its still one of the best open world racers ever made - I just still hold FH1 a little fonder for its map and focus on roads over large open fields.

I also had a lot more fun with the Rally Expansion than Storm Island. On paper, Storm Island is my dream come true, but it didn't take long to feel small and confining.

 

[Gestault]

I have more memorable strips of road and fuck-around areas in the first game, and didn't really take to the large open grassy areas in FH2 but that's definitely subjective. The off-road trails were more fun to tackle on their own without worrying about cars cutting right across those trails and t-boning you. The observatory, red rocks and cliffside racing, the farmside paths with the overhanging trees, the quarry, and the warehouse districts and small towns were flawless little areas to drift and generally just hoon about. There's a lot to love in that first game.

In terms of visuals, FH3 is what I would expect from an Xbone version. There are plenty of moments in FH2, like driving on the highways and lonely roads with civilian cars that look last gen. FH2 really shines when hightailing it through the grass or in storms.

Am not here to shit on a game I truly love, that's just how I felt from the get-go. FH3 is really exactly what I was hoping for on new hardware. It has that wow factor the original game had on the 360. Just took Playground some time to get used to the new hardware without worrying about last gen.

I'd still recommend FH2 for anybody who wants an open world driving/racing game without a doubt. Its still one of the best open world racers ever made - I just still hold FH1 a little fonder for its map and focus on roads over large open fields.

Preffering something isn't the same as one lacking variety compared to the other.

 

[NullPointer]

Preffering something isn't the same as one lacking variety compared to the other.

Strictly speaking you're right. I just found myself going to multiple specific areas in FH1 when I was in particular moods - for off-roading, drifting, gymkhana type stuff, and when I just wanted to put the pedal to the metal and get a real high speed going for as long as possible. There were more places altogether in FH2, but fewer that I itched to go back to for particular shenanigans.

So, you're right, but I didn't feel it.

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

I do think that FH1 did a better job with variety, and the story fine, but story and music all fade away for me pretty quickly after day one.

I think physics alone makes FH2 vastly superior to FH1 and just about any other arcade race I've ever played. The consistency is amazing afaic. Ever rolled a car in FH1? Yeah, kind of a joke.

 

[Lego Boss]

Been playing FH1 and yes it's good, but it's not great. That story feels a bit like catering to the NFS crowd instead of letting the cars and the locations do the talking like in FH2.

FH2 didn't need all that tacked on narrative.

Saying it's a remaster of a 360 game is practically an insult, even two years later l would argue that it's the best looking game on ONE.

I loved both games, but for me FH2 is possiblly the finest driving game of all time (others include Shift 2 and DiRT 2, so it might tell you something about the kind of games l like).

 

[Forever Changes]

Been playing FH1 and yes it's good, but it's not great. That story feels a bit like catering to the NFS crowd instead of letting the cars and the locations do the talking like in FH2.

FH2 didn't need all that tacked on narrative.

Saying it's a remaster of a 360 game is practically an insult, even two years later l would argue that it's the best looking game on ONE.

I loved both games, but for me FH2 is possiblly the finest driving game of all time (others include Shift 2 and DiRT 2, so it might tell you something about the kind of games l like).

You'd probably love the PGR games.

 

[legbone]

I too enjoyed one more. Don't know why 2 never grabbed me. Never finished it. Have 3 preordered. Don't know what's wrong with me.

edit: Now that I think about it, it was the music. I liked the music in 1 better than 2. Made cruising around aimlessly much easier. Hope the music doesn't let me down in 3 or i'm screwed.

 

[zero86r]

I'd agree OP not that FH2 was bad of course. The soundtrack in FH1 was soooo much better but otherwise theres no real reason why I enjoyed it more than 2.

 

[SimonM7]

I think physics alone makes FH2 vastly superior to FH1 and just about any other arcade race I've ever played.

This is why the I found the headline to this topic utterly bewildering. The handling in 2 is incredible. To me it's one of the cleanest cut next level sequels there are.

 

[Lego Boss]

You'd probably love the PGR games.

Played them.all from MSR onwards. Yes, a truly brilliant franchise, lots of those who worked with Bizarre moved onto Forza Horizon and Playground after Blur tanked.

The heritage is really broad and deep with the FH series.

 

[BouncyFrag]

You'd probably love the PGR games.

Since I fished my 360 out of the closet to replay FH, I'll probably get back into pgr4 again. It holds up really well and love the music variety.....except for the races where you have to drive in between the cones for ages, lol.

 

[bidguy]

which one has the churches song ? yea thats the better one

 

[blame space]

can't believe i never played this until now

the game looks incredible even without considering it's an xb360 game.

 

[xrnzaaas]

I finally installed it on my XONE and good memories have returned. Cruising with that awesome soundtrack is extremely enjoyable and it still looks very good.

 

[User 479360]

can't believe i never played this until now

the game looks incredible even without considering it's an xb360 game.

That it does. It's always been a gorgeous game. And one of the best racers out there.

I fell in love with it.

 

[Pedersen]

So the hype got to me after only having played 2, and reeeally looking forward to 3. Went on xbox one marketplace and.... It was free? Pretty sweet! Gonna open a beer soon and see what I've missed

 

[xrnzaaas]

Are the servers dead for Horizon 1? I've tried connecting many times and no result. I can't play in an online session, can't download liveries, access marketplace, anything like that is not working. I don't have any problems with Horizon 2 and FM6 servers.

 

[Black Mantis]

Are the servers dead for Horizon 1? I've tried connecting many times and no result. I can't play in an online session, can't download liveries, access marketplace, anything like that is not working. I don't have any problems with Horizon 2 and FM6 servers.

They're alive, but for some reason, performance is completely unreliable for me. I've only just been able to play the Horizon Rally DLC (been trying since FH hit BC), and still have issues with 1000 Club medals failing to upload, making me have to do them over again until they do.

 

[hollomat]

The servers are getting completely killed because everyone just got it for free with gold.

Still the way the medals work is absolute trash. If it fails to upload you have to earn the medal again and hope it uploads that time. It doesn't just save your progress and give you the credit when it can finally connect.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Right, I totally forgot about GWG, because I have the disc version. I guess the XONE owners will now know the pain of Driveclub players from its early days.

I don't mind playing offline, I'll just wait a month or two before taking interest in the online stuff, the 1000 Club and Rally DLC.

 

[psychotron]

I know this is starting to sound like a broken record, but this game is amazing, especially for a 360 game. I can't believe I missed out on one of the best racing games last gen. The soundtrack, the festival atmosphere, the gorgeous graphics and rock solid framerate.....just damn!

BC is easily my favorite XB1 feature.

 

[Cheeseman Battitude]

Coincidentally, I'm playing FH1 right now. It's a lot better than FH2 IMO. Graphics still look stunning.

 

[prophecy0]

My two big disappointments with 2 were the inferior soundtrack and the way progression was set up. Like others have said, I preferred the more structured progression of the first game along with the namedetails rivals.

That said, I bought a XB1 just for Forza Horizon 2 and I don't regret it at all. I've barely played my XB1 otherwise but I still got my money's worth thanks to how much time I spent playing FH2.

 

[World SkiFree]

Great to hear all the positive buzz with FH1. I'm still on 360 so this is my go-to FH game. (I also got the free FH2: FnF game, which is also good).

As a fan of NFS, surprised I never picked his up earlier - probably due to my backlog of NFS games. I did play the FH1 demo numerous times, an incredible demo btw.

From my first couple of hours of playing FH1, I'm very impressed with the polish and "vibe" ... It really sets the scene very well with the music, feel and just general flow and mix of races and open world.

Also want to try the Rally expansion ($5 Season Pass) but having serving connection issues.

Looking forward to going back. If FH2 and 3 are comparable or better than 1, I will be tempted to get a Xbone for Christmas.

 

[Daffy Duck]

Started playing the first one as I've never played it and thought i should being as though it was free.

OP, you're not wrong! This game is fantastic, love the atmosphere, the progress, everything, it's brilliant.