Slightly Mad Studios returns with the sequel of Need for Speed: Shift. With something that is hard. Very hard.
The game started out amazingly. Seeing the epic intro which gives you goosebumps. And then kicking into the career mode.
Story: 3/5
To be honest, there isn't really much of a story. The player is just a dude who wants to be a professional race car driver. With some fat guy being the player's "Guru" like the first game, the player will start off in a time trial and a race just like the first game. Instead, in a Nissan GT-R (one of my favourite cars of all time.) From there on, its just repetitive gameplay, which i'll be covering.
Gameplay: 2/5
Unless if the player knows how to customise the options of the driving system (Like in Test Drive Unlimited 2 but less illogical.) The driving physics is fishy. Although I generally learn to deal with the driving physics in a realistic racer, this one is rather hard to bear with. Similar to Test Drive Unlimited 2's half-arsed realism-arcade hybrid styled physics, but I digress. Out of the 3 current-gen sim-racers that I have, (Gran Turismo 5, Forza Motorsport 3, and this game.) This is the hardest to get used to. Another problem is that the game is difficult as doing a math problem without studying. Example: 2 of the same cars are racing head to head on a straight. The A.I rubber-bands across the track (Traditional Rubber-banding from the NFS series). Even if the specs of the cars are exactly the same.
Graphics: 4/5
The graphics are better than it's prequel, Need for Speed: Shift. However, the graphics do look a bit outdated, and with the traditional Console frame-rate problem, the game's graphics looks like as if its made in a hurry.
Sound: 3/5
The soundboard of this game... Whoa, the sounds of the vehicles, tyres screeching like a mega-beast and the menu theme, fits the game well. The "Gladiator remix" menu music has a somewhat "Need for Speed" ambience, which was missing in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010). There is sadly no racing music which makes the race a little boring without it.
Overall: 7.0/10
Shift 2: Unleashed is a game great for those who enjoy Sim-racers. But it's sloppy driving physics and unbearable difficulty will be getting on your nerves from time to time.
Buyer's Tip: Just rent it. Buying it is not worth it.