The game Forza Motorsport 2 took a step towards greatness tonight when it helped me answer that question you and I have both been wondering about our whole lives: What would it be like to drive a 700HP blown Aston Martin V12 Vanquish in a demolition derby?

Answering difficult questions is one of the main things that great video games do.

As far as I’m concerned, a great video game is supposed to allow you to make virtual people do things that you would never do personally in real life. By this I don’t just mean “fight aliens” either. I also mean things like “fight aliens using only a chainsaw.” Fighting aliens using only a chainsaw is not a recommended activity for a living person, because the aliens are likely to shoot you with too many fireballs before you can get close enough to saw them. But I think it is a great thing for a virtual person to do.

Some people disagree with this assertion. They want video games to resemble actual life. These are the kind of people who do not have a real life and so they obtain a Second Life. They grade games based on how “realistic” they are.

Not me. The point of playing a video game is to escape reality, not create more reality. The point of playing a video game is to answer difficult questions, the kind that cannot be answered in reality.

Here are some very key questions that, thanks to video games, we have the answers to:

  • Is it possible to obtain victory in a military conflict without actually harvesting any vespene gas or training any combat units?
    • Answer: Yes — at least if you are a Protoss. Simply build a forge and then overwhelm the enemy with a plethora of photon cannons. (StarCraft)
  • What do you do when a new neighbor moves in next door, paints the entire house black, and goes about the neighborhood wearing a black fisherman’s poncho and sporting a handheld fish hook, looking eerily exactly like the villain in “I Know What You Did Last Summer”?
    • Answer: You walk over, greet him, and invite yourself inside. (The Sims)
  • What happens when you run into oncoming traffic in a firetruck going around 80 mph?
    • Answer: Most cars go flying out of your way. (Grand Theft Auto 3)
  • Can Chad Reed win Glen Helen on my KX 250?
    • Answer: Yes; in fact, he has done so in convincing fashion many times, despite some pretty wicked crashes. (Motocross Madness 2)
  • What is the shortest possible street circuit of any consequence that you can have in London?
    • Answer: Start in front of the National Gallery. Drive as fast as you can around Trafalgar Square, back in front of the National Gallery again. This circuit is known as “Tinier Tim.” (Project Gotham Racing 3)

I’ve said before, and reaffirm here, that some characteristics of good computer games are to a) allow user generated content and b) allow you to play the game in an alternate way. These traits, along with c) CHEAT CODES, are very helpful if a video game is going to help answer difficult questions. As examples, consider the Project Gotham Racing series. PGR3 includes a track editor. PGR4 does not. So, despite having many more tracks and cars, PGR4 will never attain the level of excellentness that PGR3 has attained. And consider The Sims, an otherwise horrible game. But it is possible to create neighborhoods with rich coeds and mass murderers and really pathetically poor people, and then run their lives in evil, twisted, masochistic ways. And Sim Survivor, don’t forget! Finally, let’s not underestimate the significance of the phrase “give us a tank” to the success of Grand Theft Auto 3!

Forza Motorsport 2 is a driving simulator, and it seems pretty intent on achieving a high degree of realism. This isn’t exactly a sin, but why would I be interested in driving a Ford Focus in a simulation? Driving a Ford Focus cannot possibly be fun in real life; how could it be fun in virtual life?

This is a major drawback, until you start winning and earning credits. Suddenly, you can do some fun things, like buy a virtual car that looks exactly like your real 2003 Nissan 350Z, but then add every upgrade so now your Z is a 215mph race car.

Or you can answer the question that’s been plaguing you for ages, “What would it be like to drive a 700HP blown Aston Martin V12 Vanquish in a demolition derby?” Since, admirably, Forza Motorsport 2 allows you to drive backwards (unlike some ultra-lame racing games), you can easily answer this question for yourself.

(If you are confused, “backwards” means “around the track in the opposite direction”, which is something that is obviously awesome, not “driving in reverse”, which is something that is only arguably awesome.)

True, it lacks cheat codes and user-generated content. I’m not allowed to do really excellent things, like drive my car into the grandstands (all possible in Motocross Madness 2). So Forza Motorsport 2 may never achieve true greatness. But the ability to drive backwards is definitely a step in the right direction.