Hi folks! Hopefully anyone who got a retail copy of the game has put in a few hours in and checked out the cool new stuff that's been added to the second edition of the Shift series.

I myself have placed some time on the game and enjoying it thus far. Full review to come, but figured we can start a thread to go ahead and discuss the game.

 

I've seen the ads all over on the forum and still missed on the preorder . I think I might wait this out a bit.

 

Review is for the xbox 360 version.

First impressions on retail copy:

Gameplay is similar to the original Shift with the added "helmet cam" that automatically turns your visuals into corners and simulates tilt and leans a real driver would have.

the original Shift had the feature of looking around using the right thumbstick, but was a hassle to try and use during races.. GT5 solved it by actually having head tracking with a hooked up Playstation Eye... for Shift 2, it's just automatic. initially, it can catch you off guard, but it only took me a few turns to fully get used to it.

i could tell they placed way too much research into recreating the racetracks to match its real-life counterpart. that little lip on that so-and-so track on that turn that's there in real life that race car drivers know and have to deal with??

yup... you deal with it in the game as well. eesh.

the tracks and graphics are beautiful. from what i heard the game only runs at 30FPS whereas GT5 and Forza run at 60FPS.. it's not that noticeable for me, though the game physics are easily distinguishable compared to GT5.

degradation of the track as well as vehicle damage are incorporated very well in Shift 2... something i was first a bit disappointed with in GT5 until they updated shortly after their release.. and even then.. you still had to work your way up until the car could be damaged enough to have it be noticeable? meh.

Autolog is incorporated into gameplayand having played past games with it, it's nice to have it on this game as well.

For those that don't know, Autolog allows you to connect with friends for head-to-head races, as well as keeps track of a bunch of statistics.

on another note.. a stock Scion tC is available to purchase as one of your first vehicles..
don't really have to comment on that! lol.

also, night time racing that actually feels like night time racing... none of that.. late night, overly pretty lighted arcade like racing games like NFS Underground or Carbon or whatever was..

i'll also add my past impressions playing the, what i was told was, alpha version last November:
I got to drive Rado's AWD tC in the game.. and it is.. A BEAST. i can't wait to unlock his car in the retail version.. but something tells me it's going to be awhile until i do so... darn.

will continue to add comments as i progress through the game.. right now.. since i haven't touched a video game for MONTHS... and having me not place 1st in the very first race.. pretty much opened my eyes to how rusty i am... oy.

nonetheless, a wonderful addition to the Shift series.

 

Logged in a few more hours of gameplay and am utterly overwhelmed by the options to tune the vehicle..

not so much the options themselves... but the fact you can tune the vehicle.. not only for different setups, but save them pretty much customized for each and every individual track...

each.. and every.. single track.

for a person who loves to tweak little things here and there... that's like.. OMG.. a lot.. and a ton of work to dial in if i wanted to place that much effort in doing so... bucket of worms i tell ya..

BTW, while your testing your new tuning setup on whatever track you choose, you can pause, tweak the settings some more, and unpause.. so talk about being able to tune the vehicle easily?? very much so. i completely applaud the ease of being able to dial in settings with that feature.

 

Guess I will copy and post my impressions from over on the F/I section:











The tracks themselves are inaccurate. Suzuka for example is just way off in terms of corner elevation/camber/angles. The S sections are suppose to be uphill, and it's about flat in Shift 2. Turns 8 and 9 are just WAY off in terms of their distance between each other, and their degrees/radius. Turn 14 (130R corner) is off. Stuff like that kills it for me when they make a video ad talking about "Authenticity and Realism".

The game is good in terms of what it is....but from the advertisements and hype they did in the PR/marketing trying to go up against GT5 and Forza, this game Fails Epicly.

Is it cool to drive Rado's AWD tC....for sure, only reason I got the game. But disappoints me when the physics don't give you an idea of how it REALLY drives in Real life. So, all we are doing is playing a VISUAL representation of the car and not a physical one. That turns me off. Phyics > all other factors of the game. If you can't get that right, then it negates everything else for me since it's not enjoyable to drive the cars as that's not how they drive in real life.

 

Hey, Bought NFS Shift 2 on Saturday, I have about 4 hours playing time into it and I can say I am impressed. I play with a Logitech G27 wheel, and the driving physics and feel are Great! They're on par, dare I say, with GT5. The braking feels amazingly real, and the steering is def. on point. The damage is very realistic, you can lose wheels, and hoods, bumpers, everything. I am very impressed with Shift 2 so far, especially since NFS Hot Pursuit that just came out SUCKED! didn't have a manual shift mode, and didn't support ANY steering wheels, which was super lame! I'll keep you posted on my progress and any issues, or glitches with the game.

 

On par with GT5...LOL Now that's funny. Kinda hard to be on par when the cars float.

Even Shift 2's lead developer doesn't put it on the GT5 scale.

 

yea, when i meant the physics engine from Shift 2 to GT5 being easily distinguishable, what was mentioned was pretty much what sums it up.. there's no real comparison, nor doubt that GT5 takes the win in that area.

i also agree on the default settings.. they're pretty much for the novice racing game player who can't drive well. even as much as i've tweaked my settings, i've been forced to still rely on assistive settings just to play thru the game (just so i can quickly progress through career mode anyway)..

talking to Rado and Tommy last November when I first took my first test drive on the game, they had it under their hands and at least what i was told, were satisfied with how their in-game cars drove. whether that meant it drove 100% like its real-life counterpart, or maybe just 90-something %? don't really know.

what it seems to boil down to... is they sacrificed physics for graphics.. esp. when i heard they were going 30fps.

 

GT5 has significantly better physics as mentioned, however GT5 runs at 60fps. So I don't see it being a matter of sacrificing physics for graphics if GT5's standard cars are still better looking than the cars in Shift 2 and GT5 running at a higher frame per sec.

I think when you combine all the visuals that Shift has (which I enjoy it's visuals), then you have to sacrifice the graphics and make it more cartoon looking. If a game was created that had the physics and graphics of GT5, and had the visuals (visual damage and audio sounds) of Shift...I don't think the PS3 would be able to handle it. GT5 already pushes the limits of the system, adding the physical visuals of Shift 2 to GT5 and you would probably run out of memory on the PS3.

 

yea, i agree there.. let me rephrase to make it more clear, it wasn't much the graphics, but the visuals instead.

remember, i'm reviewing this from the xbox 360's standpoint, though i have played GT5 and found it much more impressive overall as a driving simulator.. esp. in the physics engine.

Shift is visually appealing indeed.. and I find it mentally straining from the crazy shaking and violent visuals in the cockpit.. and at least for me, can get fatigued from all the extra focus i need to keep control of the vehicle.. especially for long races.

if there was a game (much less a gaming console that can handle it..) that was able to combine both the physics of GT5 with the visuals of Shift... now that would awesome.

 

soooooo i am considering buying one of these games but i really don't know which one...

some peopple say shift, some say GT5.. what do you guys think ? honestly without being biased..

 

What are you into, realism of being in a real car, or into the flashy more customization stuff? Its going to be what you value most out of a racing game. Rent them both and play them for a good week and you may have a decision.

 

yeah.. it's a tough thing...

they play on opposite sides of the spectrum.. and each has their pros and cons...

it's really going to go on personal preference. my decision between the two games i would say primarily relies on what my mood is and what i feel like playing.. both are fun in their own ways.

 

It's Official. I HATE THIS GAME. So, I decided tonight I would turn it back on after shutting it off and not playing it for 2wks. I decided to take Rado's AWD tC and play with the tune some. So, I took it to the Nurburg to test out Shift 2's version of the famous track. I didn't get my hopes up for authenticity of the track modeling, however, I did not expect it to be THIS HORRIBLE! There is practically NO elevation in the corners or in the track like the real Nurburg has. And I kid you not, about 20secs into my test lap, the game froze and I had to turn off the PS3 to start the game again. This marks the 20th or so time the game has glitched/froze on me. It glitched on me on DAY 1 of play and continues today. This game is literally only good for looking at you creativity in the freaking garage. EXTREMELY POOR PROGRAMMING!!!!

 

i can't say i've dealt with bugs or glitches on the 360... but i would certainly try to get that addressed and figured out. i haven't seen much reports from PS3 users that have freezing issues.

as far as the track is concerned though.. don't really have much to comment there... i didn't set my expectations that high.

 

I have had it glitch a bunch (20+ times) on my 360 too. I havent played it in 3 weeks, I dislike the game a lot. I agree with the 'ring comment. The track looks terrible. If anyone wants a xbox 360 copy PM me. $30. Hopefully you have a wheel, because playing with a controller is useless.

 

Yeah my expectations were ramped up after seeing the words thrown around like "Realism"..."SIM"...etc. during the advertisements. Boy was I off base.



I was contemplating on selling mine for the PS3 as well. As I've since been playing GT5 and have to force myself to play Shift 2.

 

Well I decided to give this game a try after finding a gift card that covered for half the price. Bought it for the PS3 yesterday and played it for a few hours.

The first impression when I was behind the wheel(actually I'm using the controller) of the NFS GTR(R35) for your initial race to get your difficulty and driving settings was not that pleasant. I found the steering controls atrocious at best, really loose, can you say "hot-dog down a hallway". I managed to spin out the car going through the S-curves at Suzuka East at about 70MPH, in an AWD GTR. For the setting to be set that way off the jump would scare plenty of players away, and get rid of the game. I'll have to mess with the sensitivity settings and pray to find something that works for me. It's already enough work to be trading paint with your opponents, now I have to fight to keep my car going straight too. I don't get much feel for anything "simulation" at all so far except for wrecking the car, the cars float about the track lacking feedback.

My main issue is with the controls, which is currently for me breaking this game, all else seems fine for me, I've yet to enter any drift events(I just got level 5 Exp) but look forward to smoking the tires up. The game progression is quick with a mix of events, not like GT5 which starting is painfully slow, but gets fun if you hang in there and start accessing the faster machines. I'll post more later as I get more into the game and do more races.