Slightly Mad Studios has announced that Shift 2 will be released in PAL regions on March 24 and 25. Shift 2 is the sequel to the 2009 racer Need for Speed: Shift, and it will be the first Need for Speed game to feature over 130 cars and 100 different tracks.
EA claims that Shift 2 will expand on ideas implemented in the original, and the GT1 World Championship and GT3 European Championship have been confirmed as playable events. Night racing will also be introduced, as well as an in-helmet camera.
Although the Need for Speed moniker has been dropped from the title, the game is still considered a Need for Speed game. When asked why the title was shortened, executive producer Marcus Nilsson explained to Gamerzines that, “If you think about the Need for Speed games you’ve played; Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Most Wanted, Underground, they’re very arcadey and action-oriented. Shift is going after a different audience, a sim audience, and it’s about driving cars the way they feel in real life. So to not confuse the consumer – don’t take me wrong, Shift 2: Unleashed is still a Need for Speed game inside the Need for Speed family, but that family has different legs. Hot Pursuit fits the action games; Shift 2 is sim-like.”
