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Game Review: ‘Forza Motorsport 2,’ 4.5 stars

Racing fans, listen up. If you think you’ve got what it takes to drive competitively, you can put your clutch where your mouth is with Microsoft Game Studios’ “Forza Motorsport 2,” a high-definition sequel to the hit 2005 racing simulator.

Microsoft Xbox 360 gamers can collect and customize more than 300 of the world’s hottest cars — from Ferraris to Porsches to Lamborghinis — and climb behind the wheel to take on tough opponents on dozens in real-world tracks.

At first, you only have access to a few training courses and a small stable of vehicles, but place in the top three, and you’ll unlock new and more exciting tracks and tournaments, as well as new race cars, which are divided into six production classes. For example, “U” class cars are ultra rare concept cars (such as the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve); “A” class cars are high-performance production cars (e.g., the Ferrari 360 Modena); while “C” cars are sport production cars such as the Audi S4, and so on.

Like the way your car looks? Snap photos throughout a race — or save a video replay and upload it online for all your friends to see.

After you get a feel for the authentic physics and handling for each car, all of which can incur damage that can affect performance, you won’t be surprised to learn Microsoft tapped automotive engineers and professional race car drivers to re-create a realistic racing experience.

That is, if you choose for it to be realistic. You could, however, have “Forza 2” play more like an arcade game than a hard-core simulation by letting the computer aid in gear-shifting, braking and other automated options.

One of the most fun things to do in “Forza Motorsport 2” is customize your vehicles. You can unlock licensed rims and other aftermarket body parts, dabble with a custom paint and decal job and tune your cars in one of four performance upgrades.

After you’ve created the ultimate showpiece, you will likely be eager to log online for head-to-head races via the Microsoft Xbox Live service ($49.99 a year). You can choose from one of three options: a Quick Match mode, which drops you into a multiplayer lobby without selecting any game criteria; a Custom Match lets you search for specific events you’d like to join (such as a certain track, tournament or car class); or Create a Match, which lets you create an event you’d like to find or host.

If you want to know what you’re getting into before you put the pedal to the metal online, you can watch others compete from around the globe with the Forza Motorsport TV spectator mode. What’s more, a virtual Auction mode lets you find and bid on rare or custom-made cars (in exchange for game credits) or you can create an auction of your own.

Whether you use the Xbox 360 wireless controller or the preferred Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel ($129), “Forza Motorsport 2” feels as good as it looks — and it’s quite the looker with its near-photorealistic cars, tracks and scenery. Add a truckload of cars to collect, virtually limitless customization and deep online options and you’ve got one of the finest Xbox 360 games to date.

‘Forza Motorsport 2’

Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360

Genre: Racing

Developer: Microsoft Game Studios/Turn 10

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Web site: www.forzamotorsport.net

Price: $59.99

Rating: Everyone (“E”)