I can’t speak for many, but I myself love being behind the wheel, the straight speed and adrenaline of being behind the wheel is exhilarating. I have to say there is nothing like it unless you do it in real life, but there is a safer alternative in Shift 2 Unleashed. The question is does Shift 2 Unleashed knock out the competition or is it just another wannabe simulator that will be left in your rear view mirror?

I know many racing games don’t really have a set story, but in Shift 2 Unleashed you are the story, you play as a new racer on the circuit. It starts off with one question, “So you want to be a professional driver?” Your answer better be, “HELL YEA!!” Your host/mentor through your trial is Formula D champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. Where he takes you on this quest to become the best racer on the circuit, but first you have to prove yourself on the proving grounds. To kick things off you are going to get into the Need For Speed Special Edition Nissan GTR and with this mean machine you will get a taste of things to come. Once you are done on the proving grounds, you can start off your legacy by buying your first car. The added bonus of being a loyal Need for Speed fan, you are granted extra points for playing previous titles and extra money which I appreciate.

I stated earlier you will have to test your skills on the track before going deeper into your career, but once that is done you will start off in the Modern D class races. Depending on the class, also depends on the race types available in your career mode. In my personal opinion go for the Siliva S13, but too each is their own. This is a simulator so once you choose your ride, tune it up a bit to match the settings you feel most comfortable with and then tackle the challenges. I would not upgrade the car too much though because it will push your car outside of the level needed for the races. You will go through 60 different matches dealing with Ranked, Drift Trials, Muscle Car competitions, etc with the help of real life drivers giving you specific tips for that discipline. The good part about your upgrades is you can re-sell them for the same amount without losing the difference to go back to a certain class for the races. The deal in each race is not only to get to first place but your performance earns you more skill points and unlockables each level you unlock. The points come down to driving on the best line, clean laps and maintaining the lead through a lap, which each are about 275 points each.

This is a small preview of a tuning tutorial:

[jwplayer config=”bifuteki” mediaid=”14179″]

In Shift 2 Unleashed, you will start off with over a hundred vehicles, some of which will be unlocked later on as you progress through the career with the money you earned, however you have the option to purchase the cars with Microsoft points. I myself am patient and will unlock them on my own but hey if you have your favorite vehicle in the lot that you want, I say go for it. The fact that there are so many choices, with a huge amount of customization to boot, you can keep transforming your vehicle to your liking. The added feature with every NFS game is the gallery where you can take snap shot so your races/cars and than share them on the autolog area for people in your friends list to see. This also goes for the replays in all your sessions that you can share as well. In terms of the “Autolog” which debuted on Hot Pursuit, it is pretty much the same deal which is a faster way to post your goals and timed scores for other competitors to take on. I favor this feature because it is a fast and simple way to add more competition to your friends list.

The visuals in shift 2 are amazing and as a simulator I enjoy that they added the damage feature which can be set to a certain amount of your liking. It goes so far with full damage that, in one of my first races, I popped my wheel right off and banged up my hood pretty bad. The sound effects work really well, where not only the impact is real but so is the crash sounds, making you really understand just how much damage you impacted without looking at the screen. There are a lot of simulator racers that still have problems adding these features of damage physics and sound effects needed to get the real grit of racing. The game features 70 different tracks from around the world showing off how great the environment looks with nicely detailed NPC’s in the crowds cheering you on. In this sequel it is the first time they are showcasing night time driving which is a plus for those that want to challenge there skills in the evening setting.

The multi-player area is pretty linear with straight forward; races, time attack trails, dual championships and catch up packs where slower cars team up to block faster cars. I will warn you now that you will have to take on a lot of dirty drivers depending on your style of racing so try not to get too frustrated if you get into a race and someone ends up bumping you off the road on purpose! The “Autolog” is back of course turning your entire offline career online by posting your legacy for the world to see and take on your times. This version of “Autolog” is not a big jerk as Hot Pursuit, so you won’t get your feelings hurt to bad when someone beats your score.

So far the game is pretty good but there are some flaws to consider with glitches in the damage areas. For example at times you will see the damage of the other car floating in the air where it crashed. The perfect line to follow glitch is not all that bad if you already know what you are doing than you can do without it, but at times it will disappear and reappear. That itself is annoying because it messes up your score. Do not expect to have to deal with tire ware, fuel refills or pit stops when damage; shift 2 is not that deep of a simulator which could be a downer to most. If your car gets damaged just hit the reset button, but it will shave off a lot of time. The A.I. can be a pain in the axle to deal with; since at times they will make a poor judgment and making you fall behind crashing into them. However with your skills you will be fine….right?

In closing Shift 2 Unleashed brings a great feel to the driving sim community and I have to say it is a “BUY”. It is an intense racing game that pits you in an extreme racing environment that most only see on the real world track, so bringing this home for all of us to enjoy is a great feeling. Thanks for checking out my review gamers and be sure to add me on XBL: QBSamurai so we can have fun on the track, as always stay frosty gamers!

Info:

Players 1 (online) 2-12

Memory: 1.5MB Saved space

Online Pass: Mandatory

Rate: E for Everyone