9.4.2011

Its nice to see that EA has taken on board some of the criticisms of the first game and really worked on improvement.Brief:Shift 2 has plenty to keep you interested. Classed vehicle races, drifting, time attack, hot lap, eliminator. A large variety of cars ranging from mk1 golfs to the pagani zonda r which are all customisable with plenty of wheels, body kits, interiors to choose from.There is soon to be released DLC as well including some motorsport legends such as the mk1 Ford escort and the Austin mini cooper. Plus the addition of drag racing events.(However, the above does lead me to a gripe. All of this content is already on the disc, The drag events are just about visible on the race menu screen and looking on the PC versions disc folders,the "legends" dlc pack cars are already there. Yet another reason to hate the whole DLC market, that game developers will remove content for resale at a later date.)Gameplay:The handling system has been greatly improved, however, it is still not to everyone's taste. You have to be fluent and smooth with controlling the cars. Steering to sharply into a corner will usually cause understeer, and accelerating to hard out will cause oversteer. This is why many reviews have said its like "driving a boat" or "driving on ice", you cant just throw the car into a corner flat out and hope for it to come out the other side. You also have to be gentle with the brakes/throttle, especially in the later cars as the high power means traction can easily be broken. You have to adopt real race techniques, breaking before corners, hold speed through the corner and accelerate out (like real life) otherwise you will spend alot of time in the sand or on a barrier.The drifting takes on a different game engine which will light up the rear tires with ease making the drifting difficult to pick up as the rear of the car is so lively, however it is great fun once mastered.The new "helmet cam" is a little odd to start with as it looks towards the apex of a corner on approach. Again, once you have got used to this it becomes a huge aid towards judging braking distances for corners and learning circuits. The game also includes a static in car camera view if this is not your sort of thing.Visuals:The game is very well polished in the visuals department. The graphics are not ground breaking but make for a very nice looking game. One thing that especially grabbed me is the attention to detail. Little stones on the track get flicked up by tires, bugs splat on the windscreen at speed, even driving over bumps you will see the bonnet wobble on its hinges.The new damage modelling system is top notch as well. Crashing in a racing game is always annoying, especially if its the last lap or corner, however, the detail of flying parts, dirt being kicked up, sparks and smoke make this annoying event at least thrilling to watch!The new helmet cam makes for some heart pounding racing with great visual effects including depth of field when focusing on a corner and lots of head movement through braking and collisions. After playing shift for a few hours and going back to other recent racing titles it is incredible how dull they feel.Sound:The sounds are also very detailed, whining diffs, popping exhausts, grinding brakes, stones rattling off the chassis. All of this to the soundtrack of some very accurate and amazing sounding engines.The music in the game seems to be limited to only a few songs, and the menu's have some pretty powerful remixes of the tracks used in the game. However, everytime the menu system loads only one song is repeated until you enter a race. So spending time in the garage painting or tuning your car can get very annoying after hearing the same song over and over.Issues:The game is far from perfect. Many of the cars seem to share the same "custom vinyls" slot, so when painting one car it will also paint another random car in your garage!? The garage seems to be the most broken place, whether it be buying a new car, painting one you own or upgrading the parts, spend long enough in one of these sections and the game can freeze, and it does, quite regularly.If you are into your racing games and looking for something outside the sterile world of the big racing titles then this may be the game for you. If you are looking for an arcade speed-fest you might want to look elsewhere.

1.1.2015

I am loving this game. My PC and its mid range graphics card are about 5 yrs old - it is not what many would call a gaming machine but there is no input lag as described by some reviewers. I see no point in me regurgitating much of what is written elsewhere but here are just a few points.The game starts with a couple of practice laps at the end of which you are given recommended settings and 'assists' for your ability. I found getting around those two laps using only keyboard was not a fun thing. I was correctly assessed as being 'novice' and every possible assist was recommended - all I had to do was steer and accelerate.Playing with keyboard was obviously going to be impossible so I bought an xbox /PC wired controller. During my entire computing life (from 1984) all steering and any other directional control has been right-handed by keys or mouse and it took my brain about an hour to link my left thumb with steering and from then on everything has been wonderful.I have driven fast cars and I have driven cars fast. I have raced and I have crashed. Contrary to some reviewers I say the physics and realism of sensation have been effectively presented for a game.The helmet cam has been heavily criticised by some reviewers but I like it - you get a realistic view and it is pointless complaining about sim realism if you change the view to being on the front of the bonnet or outside and behind the car.The AI is pretty good and can be aggressive with you getting taken out through no fault of your own but hey - I'm not averse to giving others a little nudge or helping them run out of track. This is like the real world don't expect a vintage car rally.Sensation via the controller effectively matches the sound and visuals when on grass, gravel or changes in road surface on street circuits.Scenery is adequate (we're not out there sightseeing), much has been put into the game for those who like to 'fiddle' - changing the appearance of their cars, upgrading, tuning, etc. This isn't something I want at this stage but I tried slight alterations in tyre pressures and the effect is noticeable and realistic.I find handling much better than I expected from a game and there are some finer points that surprised me, eg. In a straight line at 200+ kph you get two wheels on the grass and you get pulled toward the armco, crashes can be spectacular.The challenge is to progress through your 'career' but I have been having loads of fun in 'quick races' where you set the number of laps against up to 15 opponents in whatever (similar class or identical) cars.It is entertaining to replay (and save) your exploits and even here attention to detail can be seen, eg. strobe effect of rotating wheels as though it is actual footage.My brother also bought this game and it is interesting to note that his install took 30 minutes but mine took 80 minutes.After 12 hours of play I am nearing my limit of left thumb steering where 1 mm of incorrect movement can put me in the armco so a home-made steering wheel is in design process.After 'Crysis 2' I said I would never buy another EA game but at the current price of less than £8 this game shouldn't be missed. Buy it and enjoy it for what it is - challenging fun.

2.4.2011

After several hours play, Shift 2:unleashed pretty much improves all the areas that you would expect to have improved in a sequel. The graphics of the cars and the tracks are even better than the first game,the damage modelling on the cars is much more realistic in appearance now,and you don't need to achieve a certain driver level to unlock it (I'm looking at you GT5. The circuits are the same mix of fictional,and real world with some of the new real world circuits being Suzuka in Japan, and Monza in Italy, many of the trackside animations (fairground rides,planes flying over the circuit) have been drastically reduced this time around,but I feel that this gives the circuits a more realistic appearance,and the bonus to this is that there is now debris on the track surface such as rubber 'marbles' from car tyres,and leaves (on tree lined circuits) that are disturbed as the race cars pass over them (and cars also collect dirt and dust over the course of a race now).The sound effects are just as impressive as on the first game, and it would appear that the popping and crackling that affected the engine sounds of the ps3 version of the first Shift game is no longer there.Not being a racing car driver I can't comment on the realism of the car handling,but for a video racing game it seems pretty good. The actual races are quite a visceral experience,with the A.I actually racing against yourself,each other,and also making mistakes rather than just robotically lapping the circuits the same way every race (you again GT5!!)The much vaunted helmet cam I feel is going to be a bit of a 'marmite' love it/hate it viewpoint,but even then you have THE best standard cockpit view on any current videogame racer to fall back on.I feel that there aren't too many cons with this game so briefly:--Sadly to pander to the American market the english pit radio guy from the first Shift has gone,to be replaced by annoying American racer Vaughn Gittins Jr (who he?),who occasionally pipes up with 'radical dude' words of encouragement during races,and is also present in (unskippable) video clips at the start of each new race category that you enter,but this is only for the first time of each new category so it's not really a gamebreaker-There really needs to be some form of penalty system for the idiots online who will always take every chance to ram you off of the circuit even when there is a clear passing opportunity. If you have enough friends with the game to set up private races,or find a public game populated with clean racers you will have a lot of fun in online races and the Autolog system for lap records,etc works very well. But racing games have always been plagued with random morons, and it does get annoying that they get away with it scot free.To sum up Shift 2 is a great RACING game,but sadly it probably won't tempt away hardcore fans of the more realistic (but a bit dull and dry) SIMULATION of driving a car offered by Gran Turismo 5,but then that would be a shame as they would be missing out on a very good game,anyone who enjoyed the first Shift game should trade it in and upgrade to the latest version,you will not be dissapointed

16.5.2011

I really cant understand why so many people are complaining about the handling of the cars.I have had this game for 3 weeks now, since the PSN has been down I have played on the Single Player quite a bit and I really do not have any negative comments about this game in respect of the handling.I agree it is not as "realistic" as GT5, but it is certainly more fun; the physics model is one that takes a bit of getting used to, but when I picked up GT5 soon after its release I found for the first few hours I was not too good at keeping the car on the road. I would say it takes a few hours to get used to the physics...I also need to pick up on the many reviews that stress the car does not go in a straight line at any noticable speed.I found this to be untrue. I have purchased a Zonda and a Nissan GTR and both went in a straight line at breakneck speeds without losing control... its when applying steering at these speeds without compensating on the gas is where the flips and the accidents happen. My recommendation to the players who are experiencing this is to slow down!The steering is ultra sensitive, but again I have adapted my driving style to accomodate this and I am getting great lap times with minimal effort to keep the cars on the tracks.I do feel quite strongly about this issue as I nearly did not purchase this game as I thought it was going to be unplayable. Please believe me, it is not the case.I have played hundreds of racing games in my years, and this is by no means one that is unplayable, or ignores the physics layed down by other predesessors.I am 68% into the career mode and I have not found the desire or need to mess around with any of the settings. I really am struggling to figure out why so many reviewers have slated this game and branded it almost unplayable... a mystery.As for the immersion; the graphics are very polished, especially the night drives. The racing types are quite predictable (race/eliminator/time attack/endurance)but still fun. I must also comment on the drifting aspect of the game; I was expecting this part to be unplayable and very frustrating... I also found this to be untrue. I found the drifting section very easy to achieve the target points, so again I feel the comments about this part of the game to be unfounded.I would heartily recommend this racer. It will not change the future of racing games, nor will it be remembered in the same light as the GT series, or Forza, or even Ridge Racer or Test Drive. But it is a polished fun racer that may lack the realism of GT5, but it screams fun when hurtling around those corners, barely gripping on to the tarmac with only one headlight functioning and 10 podium hungry drivers just behind you waiting to crash and burn.

19.5.2011

I have to say, this is the best driving game i have ever played. Truly. The engines roar and spit fire from the exhaust. Your ears are close to bleeding with the noise!Installation:No bother, disc in, install, play. Although, a side note here, you can install EA's Origin and get some DLC for free! New cars and tracks!Graphics:Stunning. Crisp and fluid. People have cried over poor performance on the PC but i seem to get 40fps solid with the "high" graphics settings. Make sure in your graphics card control panel you forcce V-Sync to OFF. This gives back a lot of frames. Try turning off Triple Buffering too. This is not a guide by the way, just a suggestion.Gameplay:Same old, same old, but addictive.

15.4.2011

Shift 2 unleashed is a fantastic game, but takes alot of getting used to, many people on here have unfairly talked of the steering sensitivity when they have simply overlooked the fact that there is a multitude of options to adjust this "problem" although this will take a while, if your patient then the results are definetly worth it. I don't own shift 1, and apparently there hasn't been that much of an improvement graphics wise, but the graphics on this shift are still amazing. The races are hilarious fun to play and I'm thankful they haven't included a rewind feature because I would be tempted to cheat and a win wouldn't feel so satisfying as it does. The oppenents are very aggressive and will (once provoked)

9.4.2012

HI to all you thumb bandits i have reached the grand young age of 50 today!! I have two sons tj 27yrs and andypants as hes known 24yrs.WE have had ps1,ps2,ps3fat and now the ps3 slim.I have over 60 ps3 games on shelf not all played as of yet,i enjoy and excel at racing games f1,rally and racecar and have had some epic races/competitions with my boys.I have also worked in the motorsport industry rally/touring car and i know a good racing game when i play one.Now f1 2011 and dirt 3 does it for me,been playing these mostly i then spotted shift 2 unleashed on my shelf still in wrapper so i wondered how this wud play on my recently purchased openwheeler full size race seat paired with my logitech

4.7.2011

Shift 2 is not comparably with the GT5 gameplay, but this mean's not that the producer did'nt make a good job.The physics of the car's are not so extrem realistic as in GT5. The steering with the standard controller istricky, it's important to change the advance steering settings to get an adequate driving feeling. It takes sometime to get used to it. The graphics are very good specially the sound in the game is awesome.It's a game that you could play from time to time, cause the savegame options are great. The game saveautomatically every race even when you play a racing series. The races itself offer a lot of action. The damagemodell is good, far better than in GT5.

6.5.2012

Why do so many people hat the controls, on this gamewhen i first played it i found it tricky and i really found it hard when a went around the cournersbut you do actually get used to them as you go along, when you start the game there is always a trailer for the game and that raelly bugs me bacause it takes a while for you to skip, but thats nothing much, in the start menu its really good, because i love the way it goes 3D and when you go to controls then to the store its amazing it all spines around and you can see the car that your looking at from every angle.what im trying to find out is why poeple hat this game. in the real gameplay, its so fun you can do one player races or 15 other racers racing behind you,

1.4.2012

I have not suffered from any of the "input lag" issues that others seem to be facing, this could be a result of some form of hardware/software incompatibility in the game, so I would keep this issue in mind... however, if you don't get this problem, the game is actually quite fun to play both with a controller and a steering wheel.The range of cars, tracks and customisation is good, offering gamers the opportunity to experiment with new cars or new modification and tuning set-ups for their racing car of choice. The graphics on maximum settings are very good, with excellent detail on the cars and tracks. The variety of different racing disciplines is good, as there will be something for everyone,

13.4.2011

Being a fan of games that usually are considered more realistic (Simbin's games and rFactor mods, for ex), I am having lots of fun with this game. Can't honestly understand the hate towards it and the blatantly unfair user reviews.It's not only much better than the previous title, it's one of the best racing games to date, not to mention it's bloody fun to play.Does it lack a "real" championship mode and more in-depth tunning options? Yes it does. Does the AI goes a little beserk on tight tracks (Miami for ex)?. Yep. Are the handling physics a tiny bit "tamed" even on elite mode? That's a yes too.But none of those "yeses" outweights all the good things in the game,

29.4.2013

Forza and GT5 are not racing simulators, they are sunday driving simulators. The AI on these are questionable and they are simply too easy, and that's using the analogue controller. The last racer I really found challenging was TOCA2 (PS1), even on a straight you are constantly adjusting the steering and mistakes were heavily punished. Turn in at the wrong point and you will end up unable to power out at the right time, and this will punish you all the way down the subsequent straight. This is what racing is like. Make a mistake or two in GT5/Forza and you can magically make up for it. From that point of view, this game is a better racing simulator than the competition, which are more driving simulators.

28.6.2011

A game I hated to start off with and just couldn't enjoy, so much so I nearly sold it.But after installing the the first patch, tweaking the settings and force feedback formy Logitech wheel and up scaling the graphics, the game really does come to life and thecars handle and feel much better. The night races are incredible.The graphics are fantastic and give a sense of speed like no other.Shift 2 is more Arcade racer than Simulator and is up there with Dirt 3 in gaming style.In my opinion more superior and polished than Gran Turismo 5.Going through the career mode is great and very enjoyable and the faster the car, the trackand level you are the better.The mod community have built onto this game giving the PC version a new lease of life.

1.4.2011

Once this game was patched I suddenly found I could control the cars and the game went up 100% in my eyes. I am getting to the latter stages of the game and have really enjoyed it. Managed to win most of the endurance races (20 laps) which really was a test of concentration.Not a big fan of the night stages, and would prefer a qualification round to get a decent place on the starting grid. Some races place you near the back with just 3 laps and little chance of getting near to the front. AI is good and quite aggressive, had a super race against an Audi R8 where it refused to give up the lead!Would have been nice to have a bit more feedback from the pit crew once racing,

18.8.2011

When I first played this game, I found it ridiculously hard to control the cars, even at relatively low speeds. I gave up after a very short time playing, but I then read about people experiencing similar problems on various forums. The default controls seem to be designed to suit wheel users more than those using the DualShock3. So it was easy to almost entirely get rid of the handling problems I experienced before, by tweaking the steering sensitivity. Tuning individuals cars apparently also helps as well, although I am yet to try this.After these changes, this game became a lot more enjoyable. I found myself getting really absorbed in the racing, moreso than almost any other game I have played.

Shift 2: Unleashed - Reviews

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