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<\/p>\nAs if guided by the hands of the gaming gods themselves my copy of Shift 2 mysteriously found itself placed on my game shelf right between Hot Pursuit and Gran Turismo 5, a fitting coincidence indeed for a sub-franchise whose gameplay sits in exactly the same position. Having recently reviewed the former, the more frivolous and capricious sibling, and recently acquiring the latter, a focused-bordering-on-clinical racer, it’s refreshing to find some middle ground with Slightly Mad Studios’ sophomore addition to the Shift stable.<\/p>\n
Effectively occupying the centre of the arcade racer \/simulator Venn diagram, Shift 2 builds on the success of its predecessor with tweaked racing mechanics loosely based on a full-blown simulator combined with that kind of tense, lip-biting excitement you get from T-boning an arcade cop car at 280km\/h and simmering it all down into a sense of accomplishment from merely taking a corner perfectly.<\/p>\n
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Apart from the larger selection of toys to play with Shift 2 offers up some new game mechanics with which to enjoy them. The impressive menu of 145 cars all look incredible and receive damage just as impressively, and whether you’re whipping down Suzuka at a fast though responsible speed in preparation for that tricky corner or trying to keep the controller between your clammy hands in the new and unpredictable night racing events, you’ll find both to be thrillingly immersive from the new-fangled helmet cam perspective.<\/p>\n
My wobbly head saw more than its fair share of barriers and gravel traps for the first few races, but switching to the third-person or even bonnet view after that immediately broke Shift 2’s tactile spell and warranted some more perseverance (and ultimately more reward) from the helmet-rimmed viewpoint; seeing the screen shift as your driver glances apprehensively toward upcoming corners is far too exciting to be wasted from outside the car.<\/p>\n
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It’s not a complete deal breaker taking the scenic route from the chase cam view though as Shift 2 is quite the looker. All 36 tracks have been lovingly created and detailed to the point where it almost feels a shame to scatter tires, wing mirrors and other parts across them in a crash, but even ploughing headfirst into a mistimed bend carries the reward of watching the detailed car models convincingly tear themselves apart. We’re not talking GT5 levels of detail here and environmental jaggies occasionally draw your eye from the action, but there’s a sufficient amount of eye candy to let the game call itself a sim (or at least a relative of one) with a straight face.<\/p>\n
Handling is as contentious an issue in Shift 2 as it is in any racer trying for serious realism, and while the intricate mechanics are not up to the Swiss watchmaking standards of GT5 or Forza there’s a great sense of believability to the racing, revealing the old pedigree of the Need for Speed series which focuses on getting the experience right rather than getting bogged down with stats. Elite handling is not as realistic as hardcore driving fans would like and even with some serious greasemonkeying there’s a general sense of drifty behaviour to the cars, but this becomes almost a plus as the suspect handling made me more inclined to fiddle with things under the hood and ultimately got me far more involved with the game.<\/p>\n
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Shift 2’s cockpit view is rendered with astonishing detail<\/em><\/p>\n There are some downsides to the whole package though, and the one that grates me most is the AI which occasionally seems to suffer random episodes of road rage and bashes you into the nearest wall. For the most part opponents drive fairly passively but it’s incredibly frustrating when they decide to repeatedly bumper bash you during a tense race. One nudge is often all it takes to ruin an event, and if you’re short on patience like I am then Shift 2 can often leave you gnashing your teeth and delving deep into your curse word vocabulary when you’re sent flying into a wall through no fault of your own.<\/p>\n Newbies to the series may also struggle with the challenging level of difficulty (especially with the newly-added infuriation that is Drifting), most notably so with savage spikes just when you feel you’re becoming proficient, but it wouldn’t be much of a sim if one just mashed the gas and Mario Kart-ed it to victory, would it? There’s a terrific sense of accomplishment when you start getting to grips with everything and the constant evolution in challenge will keep you forever in pursuit of that perfect driving style.<\/p>\n Night racing – like day racing, but at night<\/em><\/p>\n Overall, Shift 2 is a worthy successor to the first Shift game, and even though there’s not an enormous amount of difference between the two it feels like the franchise is definitely being taken in the right direction. There are plenty of races to work through, a ton of tweaking options for petrol-heads, another great implementation of the beautifully integrated Autolog feature, and a sense of realism that finds just the right balance between calculated racing and the grittiness necessary for immersion and excitement.<\/p>\n It’s more a title for sim fans who are looking for something less clinical rather than arcade racers looking for something more wholesome, but Shift 2’s ability to make you clench your teeth before almost every corner makes it a game for just about anyone that loves racing.<\/p>\n![](\"\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Need_for_speed_Shift_2_unleashed_196533593.jpg\")
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