Forza Horizon 2

Forza Horizon 2's world isn't the most lively, beset as it is by roaming bands of automotive enthusiasts, but it leaves room for the living – for you. There's space enough to imprint your moods, whether you rocket into hairpins with a Ferrari or simply cruise around in a gaudy, gold Bentley. Forza Horizon 2 is a big, bouncy summer drive.

It lacks variety, both on and offline, and sometimes it strikes a difficult balance between arcade racing and simulation. (It's also far too easy to abuse the rewind function, a problem made worse by the sometimes unclear checkpointing). But there are very few other racing games that can boast such impressive fundamentals, and certainly not very many with a world like this wrapped around them.

The excellent foundation below Forza Horizon 2's open world and the experimentation that it occasionally encourages at least provide a reason to race there. But that same open world serves as a less well-executed space to race and drive than the tracks that have defined previous games, and the open-world activities can't quite make up the difference.