Difficulty:

Very Hard

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Disastrous"

Shift 2 Unleashed is the sequel to the original Shift game. Need for Speed Shift was a out of nowhere surprise with a great cockpit view that provided a new sensation for driving. Now, EA made a sequel. Shift 2 unleashed attempts to improve on made the original Shift so good, but ends up falling on its face and failing miserably. The physics later on into the career are a disaster and a poor user interface, lack of people playing it for Autolog,and buggy driver line just make the situation worse.

The game has a career mode just like every other racing game on the market. Along the way, you'll encounter different rivals who will present their prized racing cars if you can make it to them and beat them. You'll encounter eliminator challenges where the racer in last place gets eliminated every 30 seconds, time trials, drift events, and rival duels. New to Unleashed are night time races which look spectacular, especially behind the cockpit view. These events are often the most thrilling that Shift 2 has to offer and are a solid addition.

One great thing Shift 2 has going for it is the variety of courses. 70 tracks spread over many different locations make sure the player is never playing on the same track too many times. And you'll be experiencing these tracks from the new helmet cam. The original cockpit view from the first game is here and just as great as before, but the new helmet cam is a very cool perspective, especially just before you enter corners. The new view is off-putting at first, but becomes very immersive.

You earn experience Shift 2 by driving clean throughout the career and even online. This experience helps you level up and unlock new upgrades, livery's, cash, and new cars. The problem is that there is so much content in the career mode that you will reach the last level well before the end of Career mode. This is annoying and I don't know what the developers were thinking when they implemented this system. And as annoying as this flaw is, things just get worse in Shift 2. The user interface is simply horrible. The menus are so cluttered with information and simply badly presented. This applies to end of race menus and especially the autolog. Not that it matters since there's no-one playing Shift 2 unleashed anyway for good reason. The menus for vehicle customization are not any better either.

Now the most important feature of any racing game is the physics and car handling. Shift 2 Unleashed is a miserable failure in this aspect. Now early on in the game it is possible to have fun. The cars are actually drivable and you may even feel an addiction as you level up. The addiction goes away when you reach the level cap and start driving the high end models. The handling and physics are awful. The cars are simply impossible to drive for any serious amount of time. Shift 2 is an extremely difficult game in the worst possible way. The A.I is way too aggressive and just briefly tapping on your opponents back end will make you spin out, regardless of what you do. I'm all for a good challenge, but this isn't a good challenge. It's a lesson in frustration and an unnecessary one at that.

The poor physics and handling are a shame because the visuals and sounds are great. The lighting during night races is amazing, but the environments and cars look terrific too. The game features solid damage modeling which is something you're going to see a lot. The best thing about Shift 2 is the amazing sense of speed in both 3rd person and cockpit views. The audio features some great sound effects from the crashed and the cars themselves. There aren't many songs in the soundtrack, but the songs are pretty good.

Shift 2 unleashed should be a lesson to all developers looking to make a great racing game. Focus on the vehiclehandling/controls first and make sure it's actually fun to play. It's a shame Shift 2 turned out the way it did, and it's unlikely there will ever be a sequel. However, lessons can be learned and should be learned from this game. The original Shift can be found for $20 and is a far superior game so if you want to experience the cockpit view that makes the Shift series stand out, that's a much better way to go.

Overall- 4/10