1. DLB008

   10

   I nearly didn't buy this because shift 1 had the worst handling of any driving game i've ever played. This however has GREAT handling, exciting races, a good difficulty curve and wonderful cars. The single player game reminds me of PGR2 (which in my eyes is the best racing game ever). you do a series of events with different cars at different tracks from around the world. Normal races, elimination, hot-lap, drifting are all here and the variety is great. If you are thinking of buying this but didn't quite like shift 1 then my advice is give it a try. I'm glad i did!… Expand

   • Helpful?

     2 of 2 users said yes
2. Miz3k

   5

   I'll start off by saying this will be my last NFS game which is sad because I've played them all since the original, this will also probably be my last EA game as the last several I've reviewed have been less than stellar. Where to begin? Graphics, they've been improved since the last Shift but still have that overall grainy jagged look that plagued the first, only to a lesser extent. Still, compared to Forza and even the uneven visuals of Gran Turismo, this is pretty shabby looking. Interiors look great however tracks still have a cartoonish look I really don't care for and lighting is so so. This game looks nowhere near as good as all the pre-release videos we were shown which is not cool. As for the audio, cars sound good but pretty much all sound the same, there's not much distinction, also there's a weird clicking noise during races which I'm sure some car-nerd will attack me over and rant about what it was and how I should have known, but I've been in a lot of cars, race cars too, and I've never heard this sound. Apparently there is only one licensed song in the whole game cause that's all I hear on loop the whole game, either that or its all a bunch of generic 30 Seconds to Mars-sounding bands, it may be them, I can't be bothered to look. As for the physics, while better than last time they are still a far cry from realistic, anyone who says different lives in Ridge City. Cars are really floaty still and body-roll is too exaggerated. Drifting in the last game was broken, and that's being generous. Here its playable but still not great. The AI in the last game was all about rubber-banding and while they don't do that her there is an equally annoying issue. Rivals are overly aggressive, even on easy they are too good. Not everybody possesses the same level of skill, if everyone did there would be no Vaughn Gitten Jr. or Chris Rado, we'd all be so good there would be no greats. That's why if a game has an easy setting it should be easy, medium should be challenging, and hard should be near impossible for all those who like punishment. It should be able to be enjoyed by those of all skill levels, not just those who have mastered sims. Also, it doesn't really matter what car you drive. Certain races say you have to have say a D car 0-499 (performance rating) so you'd expect that if you drove a car that was rated 499 and everyone else was rated below you that you'd dominate. Nope, all the opponents are ramped up to match your car so its always a level playing field, well not really when you add in the too-good AI. This renders upgrades pointless, I went the majority of the game without upgrading and then only did it because I was bored. I'm sure I didn't need to. I also purchased the unlock all cars DLC, which I soon found out was pointless after I realized how the aforementioned game mechanic worked. Also, expect to be rammed off the track and spun out, A LOT, your opponents are total jerks. The accessibility that was claimed to be packed in is also hampered by this system. To even have a fighting chance against the AI, all assists must be off because when the game is helping drive it brakes too hard, too late or too soon, accelerates too slowly and handles questionably. If you play with the assists on you will lose, A LOT. This kinda defeats the purpose of allowing you to turn them on or off in the first place. I can't imagine newcomers to the genre playing for very long when they are continually being destroyed every race. Having real racing stars in the game was a nice touch and so is being able to win their cars. Speaking of cars there are a good amount, just don't expect as many as Forza or GT5. Also on the forums a lot of fanboys are defending this game saying it isn't designed as a sim when people attack how arcade-like it is. Sorry to inform you, and its well-documented in magazines and on the web, that EA marketed this as a sim and set its sites on being in the same league as Forza and GT5 (not even close). EA really needs to drop all the false advertisement, most of us have had enough. Sell your product for what it is and stop with all the misdirection ( I'm looking at you too Dragon Age 2). This was a very promising game that looked to make good on promises and one-up its predecessor, as well as give other sims some competition. Oh well, maybe next time. Also, THIS IS A NEED FOR SPEED GAME! I don't get where everyone is saying they're moving away from the NFS brand. It says Need for Speed at the bottom of the box art, the stylized NS logo is placed beside the title Shift 2 Unleashed, not to mention it states it before the game starts where the company branding is shown, as well as all through the game. Stop trying to make this game something it isn't. This is Need for Speed Shift 2 Unleashed, and its just as mediocre as all the rest of the games in the series.… Expand

   • Helpful?

     3 of 5 users said yes
3. s2696

   1

   Damn, this game sucks so bad. 1/10

   • Helpful?

     3 of 4 users said yes

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