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Need
for Speed: Shift 2
Unleashed
is one of the better
racers that I’ve
played, well since
the last
Need
for Speed
game came out with
Need
for Speed: Hot
Pursuit.
EA is paying some
serious attention to
the
Need
for Speed
franchise and
they’re doing us
some big favors with
that because they’re
putting some quality
racing games back on
the market.
Need
for Speed: Shift 2
Unleashed
is a lot like
Need
for Speed: Shift
before it. It’s a
little bit of a sim
racer that’s made to
deliver some racing
thrills through some
intense action. It’s
intense due to some
amazing audio and
visual work from
developer Slightly
Mad Studios. The
graphics on this
game are fantastic
with some amazing
lighting effects
done to the cars and
the tracks around
them. Night time
racing look amazing
here and are about
as much fun as you
can have playing a
racing game. As
impressive as the
visuals are here the
audio is twice as
impressive. You’ve
got great sound
effects for the
different cars here
and your car is
making some
real-life
stuttering/puttering
noises when you’re
taking some intense
turns. How crucial
is the sound of an
automobile? When
you’re taking 9
turns at crazy sharp
angles and doing a
lot of them
consecutively don’t
you think that it’s
going to sound like
your car is under
some strain? Well of
course it is and it
does here with
Shift
2 Unleashed.
So the graphics are
cool and the audio
is better but
another huge reason
that this game is so
intense is because
of the in-helmet
cam. Instead of
racing in the car
where you can see
everything around
you like a lot of
games- here you’re
placed in the
driver’s helmet-
complete with foam
padding on the
sides- and that
particular angle
when combined with
some quality
audio/video- this
game is intense.
That’s what
Shift
2
does right. The
racing in this game
is of the
highest-quality.
Online racing is
very cool too with
the autolog feature
and some great
online modes to race
through. The career
mode isn’t that
different from what
we’ve seen from
recent racing games,
but it does the job.
The
downfalls of
Shift
2
are its annoyances
with taking itself
too seriously. You
have to watch tons
of terrible videos
on very simple
subjects which you
can’t skip, and
you’ve got some
terrible load
screens with some
awful quotes from
racers. The menu
design and the
structure of the
game isn’t the best.
If
you’re looking for a
good racing title
then look no further
than
Need
for Speed: Shift 2
Unleashed.
Some brutal turns
that aren’t easy to
get through, with
some very good
competitor car AI,
and some outstanding
audio and visuals
make this game a
game to check out.
Online stuff is
going to be a hit
with this in the
first few months
after the release;
hopefully it has
some staying power
and stays that way.
Need
for Speed: Shift 2
Unleashed
is definitely worth
checking out.
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