*Update* Check out our final reviews too:
Forza Horizon 2 – A Great Open World Next Gen Racing Game… Rain or Shine
Driveclub – Forza Killer? LOL… Just No
While at PAX 2014 I had the chance to check out Forza Horizon 2 for the Xbox One once again, but as an added bonus I could finally had the chance to compare it to DriveClub for the PS4. Forza Horizon 2 was officially announced at E3 of this year and is slated to launch September 30, just over three weeks from now. DriveClub on the other hand was announced at E3 2013 as a first party racer that was supposed to launch with the arrival of the PS4 last year, but it has seen a few delays and is finally slated to release October 7. Both the builds that I played at PAX Prime were those that were demoed during Gamescom 2014 in Cologne, but I was fortunate to see a bit more of DriveClub’s menu and track selection than the public at PAX as I had some time with one of the Product Managers from SCEA who showed me a few other features.
In a nutshell, both games have sim qualities but are not diehard simulation racers. Forza Horizon 2 has a bit more of a wild side given that you can head off-road and demolish such things as fences, vineyards and even VERY large hay bales. Both games also offer a large roster of real-life cars too that each performs differently depending on class. Forza Horizon 2 relies on the characteristics (e.g. sim aspect) of Forza 5, so there is some simulation racing heritage that is evident. DriveClub has openly stated that doesn’t try to be a sim-racer. There is also a day/night cycle and dynamic weather in both games. It is noted that DriveClub will add its weather effects via a post launch patch. In regards to locales, Forza Horizon 2 takes place in southern Europe while DriveClub offers up five different locales, from India to Canada, with 11 tracks in each region. Forza Horizon 2 is a more open world concept where as DriveClub seems to offer up more traditional races within the 5 locales. Both games are aiming for a “social” experience, with clubs, online racing and in-game racer challenges to beat. I was told that DriveClub’s single player campaign mode will last around 40 hours. I have no confirmation how long the single player mode for Forza Horizon 2 will take to complete. And finally, for those tech-heads out there, Forza Horizon 2 and DriveClub both run at 1080p/30fps… hooray, nothing to argue about you single system saviours… err fanboys.
Having played Forza Horizon 2 at E3, I was a bit disappointed that the demo was the same one offered in L.A.; however, when I asked one of the reps at the booth before playing, he said the Gamescom build was different in such that they upgraded some of the visuals and control, so I was eager to check it out. Once I started playing it was very evident that some “fine tuning” did indeed occur. What was really prevalent to me was the textures in the road, the rain drops on the car, as well as the smoother control. Seems the game was indeed improved and the coding changes actually enhanced an already solid experience from what I had played, and enjoyed, while at E3 in June.
As for the DriveClub demo that was offered at PAX Prime, there were a total of three different tracks. One was a daytime track, one started out at night and finished in the morning, while the last choice was a race in the mountains. I actually played the day/night race, as well as the mountain race. I also had a chance to try a race in Canada (the Fraser Valley region to be exact) that was opened up for me by the Product Manager who gave me a bit more look at the menus and whatnot.
For the record I played Driveclub and Forza Horizon 2 at least four to five times and I also watched many others play each game as well. I made sure to get a lot of exposure to the demos of both games before I put my thoughts to virtual paper.
So I guess you all want to know what I thought right? Well, they are both solid games. Visually, both games add a lot of detail to their tracks and the surrounding areas. If there was one way to describe the difference between the two it was that DriveClub was “grittier” so to speak. It didn’t seem to have that visual punch that Forza Horizon 2 had. That’s not to say it’s a bad looking game at all. There is a lot of variance in the each track and locale in DriveClub, and it does look nice, but I couldn’t help but feel the colours and vibrancy was “muted” from that of the Forza Horizon 2 demo. Seeing as Forza Horizon 2 is going for the more festival type feel, being the ‘Horizon Festival’ and all this was probably a very conscious choice on the part of the developers. DriveClub certainly has a bit more simulation elements so that grittier, more natural feel is appropriate for it’s colour palette as well.
Forza Horizon 2’s demo offered up a 2014 Corvette, an Aston Martin, and the upcoming Lamborghini Huracan. In DriveClub I played the various tracks using a Mercedes AMG, BMW M3 and Pangini Huayra, so some of the cars were very comparable on both platforms in terms of speed. Control for all cars was different but in the end they were all tight. Using the Xbox One controller was great, and the new Dualshock 4 proved to be very good for DriveClub. I will be honest and tell you that I have always preferred the Xbox controller’s analog stick placement, but the new Dualshock 4 offers up some great racing control for the Sony’s new racer and the new triggers felt great. One feature for control that I did like in DriveClub was that, even when using an automatic transmission setup you could use square and triangle button to gear down or up if you felt you needed to, and then once you hit the gas the automatic transmission takes over. As with the visuals, there was one noticeable thing, and that was that the control in DriveClub is VERY tight, almost too tight. It took very slight movements to control my vehicle, almost jerky, where as Forza Horizon 2 seemed a little smoother in this area. I am sure I could get used to the “tightness”, but the difference was quite apparent. For those of you who choose to play with a steering wheel you’re likely to be able to adjust to that jerkiness much easier and have a bit better control.
As I played both versions one after another there was two more things that I could not get out of my head. The first was that Forza Horizon 2 felt a tad faster, even when using the supercars of each game’s demo. Now it wasn’t a huge difference, but it was indeed noticeable. I can’t help but think why this is as they are both the same resolution and framerate, but I am no technical wizard. Before you start to flame me here I will say that DriveClub does indeed move quite quickly, but Forza Horizon 2 did seem to feel faster at the end of the day. To make sure I wasn’t off my rocker I had one of our writers who was with me at PAX Prime demo both games a few times and he was of the same opinion.
The final issue I found was the related to in-game AI. In Forza Horizon 2 they will be implementing the drivatar system found in Forza 5. We all know that this can be wonky now and then, but overall it’s unpredictable and provides a fairly neat test as you race against other people’s virtual racing persona. It adds a different feel. In DriveClub I felt that the AI kept to a “line” somewhat. If anything, throughout every race I felt like my car was constantly bumped and banged from behind or the side all the time. At least in Forza Horizon 2 I could see cars move for me or not make an active effort to run me off the road. In DriveClub I always felt like I was in the middle of banging metal when in a group of cars or trying to pass.
In the end both of these games are going to be buyers, there is no doubt in that. For me, personally, I found that I enjoyed Forza Horizon 2 more, but I can honestly say that I will most likely pick up a copy of DriveClub to play on my PS4, as I think it is a good racer that deserves some love. The open world approach of Playground Games latest driving game is what has me favouring it over DriveClub as I love the fact that I can just drive around exploring the area before deciding to enter a race or go online with the press of a button. DriveClub’s more traditional racing approach of battling it out in different locales and tracks is good, but not the same as the open structure in Forza Horizon 2. That being said, the social approach that DriveClub is taking sure is enticing for those that have friends who own a PS4. Regardless of my personal choice though, and given the exclusivity of both of these games to their respective consoles, if you’re a racing game fan it’s a good time to own either one given how both these games are shaping up.