After gathering good reviews in its previous version, the second shift comes to innovate not only in its title (no association with the franchise Need For Speed), but the gameplay and online options. Check out:
The beginning of a new saga
Everyone knows that the Need For Speed franchise has gone through ups and downs. While their versions Underground were phenomena of sale, driven by fashion "tuning", the version ProStreet was a real fiasco in trying to carry the franchise for the traditional circuits. So, few were those who placed confidence in the success of NFS Shift.
Blew everyone away, EA has managed to develop a game efficiently enough to make 3 games like Forza and Gran Turismo 5 (which at that time had not yet been introduced) inconvenienced. Since the success of Shift 2, a title more weight would enter the race to the rank of best game of the genre.
When all the games were released, Shift fell into oblivion, but when there were rumors of the new version, attention turned again to EA. The producer promised too much in their video release. However, much of which was announced could not be effectively represented in the game, making two Shit is just a good racing game, far from disturbing Forza and Gran Turismo 4 5.
Do not stay alone
The big advertising second shift was about the game online interaction with your virtual community called Autolog. Through it, you can track the progress of your friends and other performance comparisons. We also have the facility to invite them to disputes over the network.
In single player mode, the game focuses on the Career Mode, where you have to win competitions in the game to evolve, to acquire credits for upgrades on their vehicles or even buy other machines. But casual gamers need not be burdened because Shift also features two events so loose in the Single Racer.
These, in turn, are already known to the players of the franchise and other games of this genre. They are divided into: simple race against time, eliminating around the famous Drift (race in which the score is acquired according to skid maneuvers), among others. The game also features local split-screen multiplayer.
Perhaps the only problem is finding all this and be guided, as the menus Shift 2 very confused and still have a slow out of the ordinary. For online browsing, even with a good connection it may take time to check everything that rolls in Autolog.
You must be a pilot!
Gameplay Shift 2 divides. There are those who defend the excellent sense of speed imposed on long lines, demanding full attention of the pilot, as a simple shift in direction can result in a serious accident. While it is realistic, it is very annoying how easily the fastest vehicles lose control at high speeds.
Perhaps the best option is in automatic mode by driving a few options such as traction control and braking. However, they also can not be fully efficient, causing the pilot still be cautious all the time.
But what really bothers Shift 2 are the escapades of the car during cornering. At all times they insist on sliding sideways giving the impression that the track is quite slippery. After we come across other games in the genre that have a more accurate gameplay, it's hard to get used to the "sambadinhas" cars in this game from EA.
Spanking in the cockpit
What most impressed in the previous version of Shift 2 was the system of internal vision within the cockpit. No game today, so perfectly able to reproduce the feeling of driving a race car in the vision of a pilot. Besides the possibility to look around and view mirrors to check the alignment of adversaries, the vision was compromised during the time of high speed, which was incredible.
View from inside the driver's helmet in Shift 2 Unleashed (Reuters)
What's more, the collision system helped keep the atmosphere of "one day pilot." After a strong impact, their vision was blurred as a result of sudden deceleration and a shakeout in the brain. What's more, the damage to the car mechanically and visually compromised performance during the remainder of the race.
All these elements are maintained and enhanced in Shift 2. The game also has a new - look into the driver's helmet. This is farthest from the inner panel, but allows a wider angle of view of the track, further enhancing the climate of the race.
Gráicos median
Graphics Shift 2 received a good overhaul. You may notice a more detailed scenarios, both on the outside (in depicting landscapes and other external elements) and on the inside. A good example is remarkable about the details that make up the asphalt, they in turn show signs of wear and braking of the vehicle even during races.
The cars are reproduced faithfully to the original models. Even at the time of the collisions, where the consequences are reproduced in an acceptable manner, something that many games like that can not play with such quality.
You may also notice a thorough work over the audible portion of the game. The audio of the impacts through a surprisingly sharp sense of the bodywork is splitting, with the right to pilot a whimper, after a bad accident.
However, when making a comparison with the giants of the genre (Gran Turismo and Forza), Shift 2 still falls short due to lack of detail and reflection in the bodywork of vehicles. Nothing that a new version can not fix.
Conclusion
Shift 2 showed that deserves to be disconnected from the Need For Speed franchise and be considered a real game in a franchise that promises. Developments in relation to their previous title is quite remarkable, especially in appearance. However, to reach the hands of the genre need a good overhaul in the gameplay, even if it still continues to please most of the players.
