Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

[Flamesfan102]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

Is this game worth spending money on? I'm trying to decide between Tiger Woods and this...

Yes. But the question is which type of game do you prefer more, racing or golf?

[Kingsly9]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

Racing for sure, the only thing is I am already consumed into NASCAR the Game 2011 so I may run out and get Tiger Woods and the next racing title I'd purchase would be Forza 4...

[JMD]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

For anyone trying to adjust the settings for the control setup this website (http://captainstarball.com/news/shif...rol-tweakguide) has settings for the 360 version of the game, that make the handling better than the out-of-the box control setup.

Check it out if anyone wants a better handling game.

Thank you very much.

[seasprite]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

Me destroying my Bugatti
http://<EMBED height=344 type=application/x-shockwave-flash width=425 src=http://www.youtube.com/v/0hrXLdlgTDE?hl=en&fs=1 allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></EMBED>

[Rules]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

Me destroying my Bugatti
http://<EMBED height=344 type=application/x-shockwave-flash width=425 src=http://www.youtube.com/v/0hrXLdlgTDE?hl=en&fs=1 allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></EMBED>

Nice driving

[ChubbyBanana]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

My first try to win the 5 lapper in that crappy Lotus they give you:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EB4C86f2Pnc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And My Second:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/L0V9CcEMWcE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Once you crash this badly you really don't have a chance, so you can imagine my frustrations.

[randombrother]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

So is it confirmed that there is no gas or tire pitstops in this game?

[Flamesfan102]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

So is it confirmed that there is no gas or tire pitstops in this game?

Yes. there are no pit stops

[LucianoJJ]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

Here's a basic tuning tip i found on the NFS Shift forums.

"Why the cars feel floaty are in the game and can be ***ed easily. For whatever reason when you buy and build a car the default spring rate settings are at their softest and the steering lock in the tuning section for the car is set to 20 which is way to low. I a**usted the steering lock to 25-28 and simply moved all the sliders for spring rates to the middle position. Doing this will eliminate about 90% of the floating and bring the cars handling to life".

This made a nice difference in handling for me.

Does this work for the PS3? I upgraded tires and still the car handled like there was butter on the tread.

Visuals were fine for me. Choices in cars are fine. The mix of tracks is great (especially Mount Panorama!). I'm just not sure if I want to stick with it. I'd rather play GTR2 or CMR 2005 on computer than devote myself to this.

Wait for patch or trade-in...hmmmmm....

[Klocker]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

the shimmering and aliasing on the 360 version were so bad I could not take it any more.
took it back and got back my used copy of Shift 1. Overall a much better experience.

S2 feels rushed and the IQ degradation from S1 is stunningly bad, although it is fun to race and the driving model is a bit more refined although both are great if you put the time into tuning.


the immersiveness that Shift is going for in these games should be commended though beyond just a good "imitation of cars and driving"

It feels like you are moving and is visceral and FUN.

[JMD]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

Ok, a few more thoughts on Shift 2. I've played this game practically non stop since it came out. I'm now at 67% done in my career, had several online races with my friends, I own a ton of cars. My overall opinion of this game is, it can be a fun racing game if you are willing to go into the settings for each and every car and tweak the set up, and you should also plan of having a different set up for every track. I've posted a few basic set up rules earlier but I've found that they differ from car to car and track to track. It is also my opinion that no racing game should have this poor handling, you should not have to spend hours just to get your car to handle properly.

Also this is a very buggie game. I've experience several lock ups, I've seen A.I. cars crash and then just drive back and forth across the track hitting on wall then another for the entire race. The sound also cuts out if you go into your setting and lower the max volumes., and sometimes during thr transition form CPU control to user control at the start of a race the screen goes all black and does not return.

In conclusion, if I had not liked the first Shift game so much there is no way I would have spent this much time with Shift 2. The control of the cars make the game more than frustrating, the sub-par graphics are just plain ugly, and all the little bugs are annoying. I honestly would not recommend buying this game to anyone unless a major patch comes out to address the many issues with the game. This one will most likely be a trade in unless I hear news of a patch very soon.

[sikolec]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

I finally was able to get some quality time with this game and am now able to give my own impressions. I have been following this game for about a month prior to it's release (great marketing by EA) and have heavily read reviews and impressions before purchasing (both positives and negatives). Here is what I came away with thus far:

I have been a fan of racing games for a long time, but not necessarily the Need for Speed series (never owned Shift 1, Hot Pursuit, etc.) After initially playing the game, I was amazed by the graphics (yeah I've read a lot of negatives, but I think the graphics are great!)...this is on Xbox 360 by the way. I did notice the "floaty" handling, but this was easily toned down after a few adjustments, look back a few posts and there is a link to a guide that was very useful. I used the helmet cam primarily for the majority of my time and really enjoyed it, but struggled against the AI as well as fishtailing out of some corners. I recently changed the view to just seeing your hood (not sure what that view is called) and my "skill" has been drastically improved. I now have very competitive races with the AI and am enjoying the game a lot. I am very happy with my purchase and can tell I will enjoy this game now and in the future. I was very skeptical after reading a lot of negative things about this game, but I am very impressed. Again I never owned Shift 1, so I cannot make that comparison...but for just getting into the "Shift series", I am a very happy customer.

Pros:

Graphics, I am very impressed by the graphics in this game.

Damage. Damage is a part of racing. You mess up, you hit a wall, there should be damage. I've played far too many racing games where I messed up a turn, rammed a wall to only have a little scratch, where I can simply hop back on the track and continue in good position. This game, the damage model is nice to have. I take a turn to wide or get sideways on a straightaway, hit the grass, and flip violently. This is from my mistake and as much as I get angry...it was I who made the error (just like real racing...errors cost).

Lots of tracks to choose from. All fun and a good variety (real to fictional).

Drifting is actually a lot of fun. I am not a big fan of the whole drifting thing (I like racing and purely racing), but the drifting mode in this game is a lot of fun and easy to get a hang of.

Customization. It seems everything is customizable, from rims to paint/vinyls to upgrading parts as well as the abundance of tuning options.

Career has a good variety. From the different classes of cars, to GT1, GT3, retro, drifting, etc. Impressed so far.

Cons:

Out of box, handling is floaty and hard. Easily fixed a few minor tweaks (see guide a few posts back).

Load times take awhile, but this is elimated by installing the game onto your hard-drive.

[josef]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

thanks for the well written impressions sikolec. i was about to trade this one in but will be giving it another go with the adjustments recommended here (that many people said helps tremendously):

http://captainstarball.com/news/shift-2-unleashed-advanced-control-tweakguide

i actually had given up on Shift 2 due to the handling issues and went back to Forza 3 but that game just feels really bland and stale at this point (was awesome in it's prime though).. I just like the "edge" of Shift 2 and I really like the computer AI. It seems like the better car always wins in Forza whereas you actually have to compete in Shift 2.. maybe it's rubberband AI or something, but I like the pressure that you feel.. like you can't make a mistake. Good stuff. Shift 2 definitely has some issues as JMD pointed out, but it also has some really good things going for it that really seem to make it feel like a fresh new racing game, at least for me (i never played shift 1 though)..

[lnin0]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

I did a lot of back and forth messing with Shift2, Forza 3 and Race Pro today. Here are the settings I came up with. No assist and everything default except where noted. Xbox 360 controller and running from 3rd person (behind car) view. I didn't mess with car tuning or drifting. YMMV

Steering Deadzone - 3%
Steering Sensitivity - 50%
Throttle Deadzone - 6%
Throttle Sensitivity - 77%
Brake Deadzone - 6%
Brake Sensitivity - 77%
Speed Sensitivity - 55%

One last thing from the options:
Stability Control - ON

A longer explanation can be found on my OS blog:
http://www.operationsports.com/lnin0...ontrol-tweaks/

[TracerBullet]

Re: Shift 2 Unleashed Impressions

Me destroying my Bugatti
http://<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0hrXLdlgTDE?hl=en&fs=1" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425">

Lol, that's the same corner I bit it on.