Need for Speed Shift 2

tonydude

Played the first one and couldnt put it down, itll be interesting to see how this improves on the first and especially Gran Turismo 5

http://www.needforspeed.com/shift2unleashed/about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iViVCqwIXOQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7itg-il03Y

ShadowHearth

i got first one few days ago, and i find it extremly hard to keep car on the road. It feels like jelly!!!

maybe its really bad with controller, and wheel would be more suited, but atm i find it allmoust uncontrolable.

i prefer forza 3 fell over gt5 and shift atm. I will give anather go with shift will see how it will go

Zero-Cool

I want to play this but put it out of my mind as I won't be able to aford it for a while. See the competition thread for this, the cars just look amazing! I'm sure there will be a demo? Would love to give it a test drive as I usually don't go for Sim racing ala GT5 but this definitely has me intrigued!

Excellent link with full list of pics of the cars on one page (instead of clicking all over the place on official site)

http://visual-gamer.de/shift-2-unleashed-cars/

dreamers75

How odd AMG is on that site but not on the offical one Dav posted about.

didnt enter cos there was no AMGs

Zero-Cool

dreamers75 wrote: »

How odd AMG is on that site but not on the offical one Dav posted about.

didnt enter cos there was no AMGs

haha you can still enter!

Zero-Cool

new gameplay vid, mad to give it a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUT2xLlfg3k

ShadowHearth

sheehy83 wrote: »

new gameplay vid, mad to give it a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUT2xLlfg3k

All is fun and good, but try playing shift games with controller. In shift one I manage to drive lower power cars without trouble, but when I get high tier car it's like freaking skatingring car is all over the track.

Problem is there are no good steering wheels for xbox for good price like logitec g25. They don't even make xbox wheel amymore ffs...

Helix

loving this i have to say

very tough, but one of the most satisfying racers in a while imo. you really notice yourself improving so the mistakes, while absolutely devestating to your finishing position, never feel like the "hit start, restart event" mistakes that other games inspire

will this be nvidia 3D ready for the PC ?

ShadowHearth

Helix wrote: »

loving this i have to say

very tough, but one of the most satisfying racers in a while imo. you really notice yourself improving so the mistakes, while absolutely devestating to your finishing position, never feel like the "hit start, restart event" mistakes that other games inspire

You got it allready? I thought it's out in Friday? Ir you nit in Ireland ATM?

Predator_

Looks very floaty, might give it a rent

ShadowHearth

Predator_ wrote: »

Looks very floaty, might give it a rent

Floaty as in controls?

I was watching live stream yesterday. It had that same look like first one: uncontrollable chaos.

I loved alot in first one, but higher you climb - worse it gets.


Even if I know bad points of first one, I can see myself in gamestop in Friday . I am pafetic . Motorheads curse

CiDeRmAn

I have to say, I'm finding all these track racers becoming a bit samey.
Got rid of GT5, too clinical, menus were horrible, the insistence on major installs was a pain.
Grid, the whole thing felt like an arcade game.
NFS:Shift, not bad actually, maybe the new one is the one to buy?
But then, I still find PGR4 to be the definitive racer for me, still looks and plays great.
Oh, and I have Race Pro there in case I feel particularly masochistic and I want to feel demeaned by my games!

Retr0gamer

Not into my track racers at all but what I played of this at the EA event before christmas really impressed me. They are really going for full on simulation with this game. It has one of the most impressive in cockpit views I've ever seen and the effect of driving from the drivers seat at night in the rain is something else. Also helped that they had this hooked up to a full hydraulic racing seat controller as well

Helix

ShadowHearth wrote: »

You got it allready? I thought it's out in Friday? Ir you nit in Ireland ATM?

not in ireland, plus games journo

Helix

my take:

Despite the fact that this is the first title in the NFS series to drop the branding from its name, the need for speed has never been more relevant a title as it is right here in Shift 2: Unleashed. It’s fast, it’s gorgeous and you’ll just keep wanting more and more. Yet again Slightly Mad Studios have managed to turn the franchise on its head to deliver another stunning take on the world of racing simulations.

Make no mistake about it; Unleashed is precisely that – an accurate simulation of a profession most of us can only dream of getting close to. Those of you planning on hopping straight in and running up top notch times immediately are in for a rude awakening, as are those of you who tend to play their racers without even knowing where the brake button is located. Unleashed, for all its speed, is a slow burner of a game and one demanding of your full attention as well as bucket loads of patience if you’ve got any hope of registering decent times. But mark our words, it's worth every second.

Initially Unleashed may feel a little unforgiving, perhaps even unfair at times, but as you play you'll quickly realise that rather than being just a nasty bugger, it's actually one of the most rewarding titles of recent times. The level of challenge is set by your performance in your first couple of races. Your first race determines the level of help you'll receive from the game by way of driving assists, and the outcome of the second will lead the game to suggest the difficulty level it deems most suited to your abilities. Neither of the setting suggestions made are set in stone, and you'll be able to tweak them depending on how confident you're feeling after a few races.

Once you've been assessed, it's time to jump straight into the career mode. Just like the recent games games in the series, your progression through career mode is based around an XP system. Points are awarded for podium finish, completing predefined objectives such as performing a clean lap or beating a specific lap time, mastering every corner on the circuit or attaining a score of 100% for sticking to the optimum race line.

You certainly won't be getting maximum points from a single outing initially, which encourages you to keep trying, and therefore learning - a system which works especially well given the fact that this is by no means an easy game. As we touched upon earlier the going is quite tough early on, and it'll take you more than a few races to adjust to the handling of the cars, but once you do you'll never look back.

The first few few levels worth of events will soon get you up to speed with the workings of the game, and it's not until you unlock the level 4 and 5 events that you'll get your first taste of the drifting side of Unleashed. Now, if there was one criticism we have about the game it's that the learning curve for these events is through the roof. You'll be given what appear to be fairly foolproof instructions by Formula D champion Vaughan Gittin Jr. (he was heavily involved in the first game, and takes an active role as your mentor here) and instructed to complete some introductory tasks, including basic drifting and completing a figure-of-eight style drift. On paper it's very straightforward, but when it comes down to it in the game the first hour or so you spend learning it will be a truly frustrating experience - especially since reaching the required points milestone to clear the events can be reached accidentally rather than by knowing what you're doing.

It took us a solid 90 minutes to find any real consistency in our drifting abilities, and even then it was touch and go at times. We've got no doubt that this will put a lot of people off, especially those who are more interested in a pure racing experience as opposed to hurtling sideways around a track, but with the popularity of drifting as a competitive sport increasing all the time we can understand why Slightly Mad have opted to figure it quite heavily in the game. If you persevere you'll definitely get the hang if it, but unlike the rest of the game it's unlikely to result in much fun.

For those of you who have been following the development of the game, you'll be very much aware that the bulk of the pre-release hype has been surrounding the game’s Helmet Cam feature, a first person perspective camera which lets you see the action through the eyes of your character – and rightly so. It borders on sensory overload, which is precisely what Slightly Mad have been aiming for in the quest for pure authenticity.

You’ll feel every bump, knock, spin and fishtail like never before. Crashes completely disorient you, turning the screen grey and jerking the camera around wildly to simulate the feeling of being inside the vehicle. Flooring the throttle mimics the effects one would expect from a sudden increase in G-force, and you’ll noticeable move back in your seat – conversely harsh braking will throw you forward.

Some might claim it's a gimmick, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It's honestly one of the most visceral racing experiences we've ever had. The level of immersion really is unparalleled as your instincts take over and your brain kicks into overdrive. We never thought we'd experience fear while playing a racing game but it's very a palpable result of Helmet Cam, especially on tight courses where you're battling for position at full throttle with two or three other cars while approaching a tight chicane.

Even though the game plays exactly the same as it does in the other viewpoints, it just feels so much more intense. As every movement is amplified, every touch of the wheel becomes more important. Needless adjustments on straights are punished as you are shaken within the car, threatening to send you out of the control. We've never raced in real life, but we imagine the feelings created here aren't too far wide of those generated in the heat of real action.

While it may not be an entirely original concept, serving more as the logical progression to the in-car view of the last Shift title, and it’s still not entirely perfect in its execution it adds a hell of a lot more to the experience than many people will appreciate without having the chance to try it out for themselves. Moving forward, things like tracking the player’s head and eyes will come with time and improvements in technology and any refinements of the jarring visual and auditory assaults are no doubt just around the corner as Slightly Mad massage the game’s engine even further, but given the fact that what’s on offer hasn’t been tried before in such a capacity, the results have been breathtaking.

And yet, if the claims of Forza creators Turn 10 are to be believed, not many people will experience the primal joys of Helmet Cam. Apparently very few players use any view other than the third person “chase cam” style – something that we find hard to believe, but then again are in no position to dispute given that we don’t have the same access to the data of thousands of players that they do. If you fall into the chase cam category, we absolutely implore you to give Helmet Cam a go, and to stick with it until you can fully appreciate its brilliance. It really is integral to the Unleashed experience, so it would be a terrible waste to see one of the few real advancements in the genre for the past fe years consigned to the history books due to underuse.

But aside from the new perspective, there is so much more on offer here to gush about. The graphics engine has received quite a bit of work, an admirable feat given that the original Shift was a damn pretty game to begin with. The damage models have been greatly improved, resulting in some really heart breaking prangs to your once pristine ride. Just like its predecessor, everything zips by in a gorgeous blur of greens, greys and blues, depending what part of the world you happen to be racing in at any given time.

In total you'll have 36 unique tracks for you to get to contend with, each offering featuring different lighting conditions to faithfully recreate the experience of driving at different times of day. The lighting in the evening races is sublime and left us breathless on more than one occasion, forcing us to adjust our driving style to a much more cautious one lest we come upon a tight corner far too fast and sacrifice several positions due to our carelessness.

Despite claiming that they had very little interest in giving players a thousand cars to race like Gran Turismo 5, claiming that they would rather focus on quality over quantity, Slightly Mad have still managed to cram an amazing 145 vehicles from a total of 37 of the world's best known manufacturers - of both renowned performance cars and regular off-the-shelf motors. Those of you who like to get down and dirty with your car set ups will be delighted to know that there are countless add-ons, tweaks, performance tuning options and visual upgrades available for each car, ensuring that you can tailor your ride to your exact specifications.

The opponent AI is another side of the game to receive a new coat of paint. Despite the fact that racers are become more and more focussed on the online side of things, it's still massively important to have a challenging single player mode to let players hone their skills, and on the higher difficulty levels Unleashed offers just that. Your careless mistakes will rarely go without punishment, unlike in other titles where you can comfortably hit a wall at full speed and recover to take first place, meaning offline races often feature the same level of competition as those against human opponents.

Which conveniently leads us to Autolog. Making its debut in last year's fantastic (and altogether different) Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Criterion's brainchild is back with a bang. Adjusted to suit the more serious approach of Unleashed, a number of changes have been made to ensure that even those who don't have the time to spend hours playing online can still enjoy competition with their friends.

As you play through your career or tackle tracks in quick play mode, your times will be uploaded to autolog and shared among other Unleashed players on your friends list meaning that even if you're not online at the same time, you can still try to best each other's times and achievements. Autolog will now also recommend friends or races for you to take on, based on the actions of you and your pre-existing friends.

For traditional online play, Slightly Mad have ensured that everything you'd expect to find is here, with a wide range of race options and modes available to suit players of all skill levels. And in order to make everything feel like a single, cohesive entity, online victories and achievements will count towards your career XP haul, which is a huge thing for us since it ensures that everything you do, regardless of the game mode, has an impact on your overall progression across all facets of the game.

Aside from the slightly iffy introduction to the drift mechanics and the initial time needed to adjust to the super realistic handling of the cars, Shift 2: Unleashed accomplishes absolutely everything it set out to with tremendous gusto. The last 18 months have been nothing short of a race fan's wet dream with superb showings from Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, F1 2010, Gran Turismo 5 and even quirkier titles like Split/Second and Blur, but Shift 2: Unleashed manages to take things that one step further, delivering what may well go down as the greatest race experience to date.

It might not be the most accessible title at first, but if you give it a little time, and pay due care and attention to things, you'll reap rewards and levels of satisfaction you never thought possible.

ShadowHearth

Fair play. Nice review, I might be getting it now. Nice to see 140+ proper cars, not 1400 crapy copies from ps2... (gt5)

Can you answer me one thing as I did not had time to read fully. How's the feel of driving? Is it much improved from first one?

Helix

it still feels a little slippery, for want of a better description, but you adjust to it gradually. as i say, theres quite a steep initial adjustment curve involved, but as soon as you get past that the game really comes to life

ShadowHearth

Helix wrote: »

it still feels a little slippery, for want of a better description, but you adjust to it gradually. as i say, theres quite a steep initial adjustment curve involved, but as soon as you get past that the game really comes to life

I want to love first shift, but damn it felt wrong... Well I will have to adjust to that slippery feel so... I will send misses to gamestop tommorow to pre book xbox version.

Btw did you played with controller or wheel?

Helix

controller, i believe its pretty damn good with a wheel though

ShadowHearth

Helix wrote: »

controller, i believe its pretty damn good with a wheel though

It's a shame there's feck all wheels for xbox... They are crap ir very very expencive

Grumpypants

Helix wrote: »

controller, i believe its pretty damn good with a wheel though

A trip to the attic might be in order so !

Zero-Cool

Excellent review man, well done! Really need to test this out for myself before making a purchase, pity theres no demo. Mad to just get a Dodge Viper and tear it around a track! I'm not a big fans of sim racers (gt5) and arcade racers (hot pursuit) lack depth. This seems like a good balance tho.

Zero-Cool

Found this review on youtube although its in German (I think) it shows a lot of gameplay. Driving at night from the helmet cam looks class.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJrhs5T0w7o

dreamers75

sheehy83 wrote: »

Found this review on youtube although its in German (I think) it shows a lot of gameplay. Driving at night from the helmet cam looks class.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJrhs5T0w7o

I was tempted to get it but that review put me off it

looks clunky.

Helix

i have no idea how the hell people play racing games in 3rd person

Very GT5 looking.

Zero-Cool

Gametrailers review is up. Still on the fence if its worth 50 quid or not. Don't want to splash the cash only to find I hate the steering.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-shift-2/712331?type=flv

Grumpypants

Helix wrote: »

i have no idea how the hell people play racing games in 3rd person

Rooster teeth did 3rd person drivin gin real life, it was quite difficult.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIRUavithF8

ShadowHearth

Omg, epic find man, I haven't loled like that in ages " why they need bats? GO!!!! "

I will have to check gametrailers review when I come back home. Good look at actual look of the game. They are not bad reviewers too, but helix allready did great job there. I like everything so far, but that slippery feel first one might be a deal braker...

ShadowHearth

just checked review on gametrailers. they did not looked impressed. :rolleyes:

they were on about few glitches, but i wount be bothered by such little silly bits. it looks fun, i presume i will be in gamestop on friday


just one more thing helix: Is the AI much more like first shift? As i found it prety damn good, but not in the way perfect drivers, but in as good in real life experience. i noticed AI could make a mistake, be agresive, notice you on the road, fight with ather AI. i found GT game AI very boring, they are perfect drivers, allways get in to the line and end up race in first lap, as there are no changes at all during all race.... unless you ofc hit somebody in to the ditch...

ConfusedGuy92

The best Need for Speed was Underground 1 and then Pro Street. The rest are boring imo.

Zero-Cool

ConfusedGuy92 wrote: »

The best Need for Speed was Underground 1 and then Pro Street. The rest are boring imo.

Underground 1 was my favourite of the series. Tried to play it again on PC but graphics are just really bad compared to todays standards so couldn't stay with it.

Helix

ShadowHearth wrote: »

just checked review on gametrailers. they did not looked impressed. :rolleyes:

they were on about few glitches, but i wount be bothered by such little silly bits. it looks fun, i presume i will be in gamestop on friday


just one more thing helix: Is the AI much more like first shift? As i found it prety damn good, but not in the way perfect drivers, but in as good in real life experience. i noticed AI could make a mistake, be agresive, notice you on the road, fight with ather AI. i found GT game AI very boring, they are perfect drivers, allways get in to the line and end up race in first lap, as there are no changes at all during all race.... unless you ofc hit somebody in to the ditch...

ai is excellent, depending on the difficulty level. like the first game theyre not flawless drivers, theyll leave gaps and have weaknesses, but theyre very good opponents

ShadowHearth

Helix wrote: »

ai is excellent, depending on the difficulty level. like the first game theyre not flawless drivers, theyll leave gaps and have weaknesses, but theyre very good opponents

Good opponents as human like mindset? Not perfect robots? I loved that In first game. The ather racing ai I love is forza 3.

Darwin

It looks like the game doesn't support TrackIR on the PC. Can anyone confirm for sure?

Zero-Cool

new trailer showing autolog times with a cork lad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0D8wy9WxSs

cherryghost

ConfusedGuy92 wrote: »

The best Need for Speed was Underground 1 and then Pro Street. The rest are boring imo.

Pro Street in the same line as 'best' and 'Underground'? You're having a laugh. Pro Street was one of the worst in the series.

Zero-Cool

DLC cars available already on the PSN. Usually wouldn't even entertain the thought of money a money grabbing scheme like extra cars but upcoming dlc will include the twin turbo dodge viper. Would love to have a go of that!

So, anyone picking it up tomorrow?

ShadowHearth

sheehy83 wrote: »

DLC cars available already on the PSN. Usually wouldn't even entertain the thought of money a money grabbing scheme like extra cars but upcoming dlc will include the twin turbo dodge viper. Would love to have a go of that!

So, anyone picking it up tomorrow?

i am thinking of picking it up, but watching more reviews is not helping it... looks famtastic, but that helmet movement and lightness in controls ( which is reported in some reviews ) does not make me want to go and get it...

as i am motorhead junky i will get it anyway... :rolleyes:

dreamers75

Darwin wrote: »

It looks like the game doesn't support TrackIR on the PC. Can anyone confirm for sure?

I assumed that would be a major selling point with the helmet cam, think the 1st one supported it.

Predator_

Ive seen a few vids of it today and there seems to be a problem regarding controlling the cars at high speed. Nothing pisses me off more than lack of control in a game, esp a racing game. Sticking with GT5 I think.

Helix

Predator_ wrote: »

Ive seen a few vids of it today and there seems to be a problem regarding controlling the cars at high speed. Nothing pisses me off more than lack of control in a game, esp a racing game. Sticking with GT5 I think.

its not really a problem as such, its a learning curve. if you whack the wheel all hard left or right, youre going to fishtail unless youre being careful with your throttle and brakes. the game certainly isnt for people who tend to play without using brakes, or like to take corners at 100mph, but if you put the time in to learn the nuances its far more rewarding than gt5 imo

Nemanja91

Hmmm to buy and potentially fail college or not?

ShadowHearth

Helix, I bet you played first one? I found it enjoyable to play with slow cars, but I got in to high tier with gt40 and viper? I could not pass first corner without opponent passig me by.... It was impossible to control that high power car! I just got back to my old rs escort and had fun.

Is it still same? And I am not sure about that helmet movement... That looks like really hard to control car in such conditions...

Helix

helmet cam doesnt actually make it harder once youre used to it, if anything it makes the whole thing feel much more natural (assuming youve ever driven in real life). it does get tougher the faster the cars get, but provisions are there to ensure there are no massive jumps in difficulty. the bottom line is that they were looking for realisim, and i assume these high powered monsters are quite tricky to keep under control at 300kmph

cherryghost

So I picked this up. Damn it looks great on my PC, max settings, fluid, a lot smoother than the first SHIFT game. Controls were absolutely terrible to start off with but I managed to smoothen out the controls after a bit of tweaking. Plays fantastic now, playing on AI Hard and Elite mode driving settings.

ShadowHearth

Well I got it... I did not took my cards to work on purpose, so I would not go and by it... I did not wanted it at all.. Then came back home and just snapped lol. Changed myself, got cards and drove off to gamestop lol.

So I got that initial lap done. Got pro settings with medium difficulty. First of all I can say: waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better control wise then shift 1. Don't know if I like that helmet cam, but I will see how it will go, atleast good thing that you can switch to normal cabin view too.

So far I like it. Controls were a huge question mark for me, but when that's out of the way, I don't see why not to play it.

cherryghost

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Well I got it... I did not took my cards to work on purpose, so I would not go and by it... I did not wanted it at all.. Then came back home and just snapped lol. Changed myself, got cards and drove off to gamestop lol.

So I got that initial lap done. Got pro settings with medium difficulty. First of all I can say: waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better control wise then shift 1. Don't know if I like that helmet cam, but I will see how it will go, atleast good thing that you can switch to normal cabin view too.

So far I like it. Controls were a huge question mark for me, but when that's out of the way, I don't see why not to play it.

I honestly preferred the default control settings in the original Shift game. I didn't have to alter the settings much, but this one was a complete pain in the hole to start with.

Zero-Cool

I don't have a clue about tuning options and I hear from a lot of reviews on the net you need to tweek the settings to get a good control setup. Is it hard tuning these settings, would you want to know what your doing?

cherryghost

Kind of. Just try these settings for now and then take it from there, the default settings feels like you're driving a trolley :rolleyes:

Vibration Strength
100
Steering Deadzone
9
Steering Sensitivity
8
Throttle Deadzone
7
Throttle Sensitivity
39
Brake Deadzone
7
Brake Sensitivity
45
Clutch Deadzone
7
Clutch Sensitivity
52
Speed Senssitivity
96
Speed Sensitivity (Drift)
100