NFS Shift 2 Unleashed - Details

  • Thread starter LittleLefty
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I played a lot of Need For Speed games in the past (before it became a game about making your car flashy like Fast and Furious) and I always hoped that the game developed into something more close to a simulation.
I really hope they can get the physics and handling right. Why would someone hope for the game to be bad?
 
Imari
Bit hard to tell from a video like that IMO, as the major things holding it back from stuff like GT5P was the 30fps and 720p. You can't really evaluate those from a 360p handicam video.
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Well it sure don't look like the trailer they released a while back that much you can say :)
 
Great sound, great graphics. I can't comment on the physics though. It's too hard to tell from a trailer of few seconds.

:D If shift2 has the same physics and tire model as Netkar Pro, I'm happy. I won't settle for anything less. [/joke] :D
 
It should just call itself netkarpro and then they can get away with being called the most realistic ever both before and after they discover their tyre model is substituting sin for tan :)

The more I read people talk about sims and the preposterously large effect of brand name/cachet the best thing I can see they have done for physics is calling the game "shift 2 unleashed (need for speed)" :)
 
Let's see how the cars handles and how the console version will work, I really hope to find a serious GT5 contender in the PS3 market, even if it's called "need4speed".. (not a problem for me at all) this will mean:

1)More choice for us
2)Poliphony can't sit back and relax ( and this is GOOD )

Looking forward to have a better idea how the physic work with a demo, I really hope in something different from Shift 1 and please remove the crash points rewards! A really arcadey feature.
 
Night time variant on all tracks.
Damage will wipeout headlights.

Sounds promising. Fingers crossed on the physics front.
 
Spagetti69
Night time variant on all tracks.
Damage will wipeout headlights.

Sounds promising. Fingers crossed on the physics front.
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Is that confirmed? I'd be pretty impressed if it is.

Night time on every track is something, in my opinion, that is more important than "1000" cars
 
I'm really upset about that video.... as it looks like I'm going to have to buy surround sound :lol: .

For me it looks like long term purchase strategy for PS3 will be NFS for the sheer experience, noise, tracks and GT5 for the little quirks and the sheer volume of cars!

m0rris
 
machschnel
Is that confirmed? I'd be pretty impressed if it is.

Night time on every track is something, in my opinion, that is more important than "1000" cars
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Article on IGN. Sorry on iPhone so can't post link.
 
http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/114/1144255p1.html

Every track in Shift 2 can be played at night, but some of the tracks are out in the middle of nowhere, with very little lighting. The track is pitch black, except for what's illuminated by your headlights.

Because there's so little lighting, your competitors become your allies. They can light the way with their headlights to give a clearer view of the road ahead. I found this interesting strategy of purposefully staying a few cars back so I could watch the taillights of the AI drivers and read the course by their movements. I've never experienced something like this in a racing game before and it's enough to make Shift 2 noteworthy.

I'm conditioned on the rules of the virtual road. In racing games, bumping other cars isn't just a natural occurrence, it's a way to sometimes save yourself when misjudging a turn. Cut inside another driver, turn and if you go wide, you nudge them and avoid going off the track and really killing your speed. That tactic totally screwed me in Shift 2.
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I would rate IGN slightly in front of "some guy's blog" in terms of general "probably won't make **** up"-ness so that's promising news :)
 
Yeah, really, I saw some guy on virtualr dispute that they could possibly be the real engine noises from the game (and vowing not to buy it because surely it is an EA LIE!!1!!). But wow, if they deliver that kind of audio I think I would be happy to drive it around with the monitor turned off.
 
Yeah, I've been burned by EA enough times to know not to trust them or to buy into any hype... but at the same time, if I cover the words "Need for Speed" and "EA", Shift 2 is really promising... I hope they get away from the whole rewarding for crashes thing too... crashes and damage are spectacular aspects of the sport, and important to capture in a racing game, but they shouldn't be encouraged or glorified... it takes away from the realism and simulation of the game... so I hope they're telling the truth when they say things like they want to take Gran Turismo on.
 
So with some tracks in nowhere and at night. I think a night race at the Nurburgring will be very fun especially without headlights.
 
I saw the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in there. As well as what looks to be Suzuka at dusk, possibly Monza, and some open wheel cars[not Indy or F1, but a lower open wheel spec series of cars].
 
Wow. Go Suzuka!

If they put the right tracks in, plus the good selection of tracks they already had in Shift 1, plus a good car selection, plus the epic sounds...this could be amazing. All they need to do is make a physics system that isn't immediately offensive to the GT/FM crowd.

I find myself praying they don't screw it up. They have the recipe here for a truly outstanding game.
 
Everything looks fantastic so far, and like others have said they have a very good recipe for a fantastic game, but the physics are what will make or break this game.

The only thing I don't like so far is the "aggressive" advertising. It makes them seem like sort of douchebags, and they should be focusing on selling the games strong points instead of trying to best other games in their ads. Just my opinion, however.
 
peobryant
The only thing I don't like so far is the "aggressive" advertising. It makes them seem like sort of douchebags, and they should be focusing on selling the games strong points instead of trying to best other games in their ads. Just my opinion, however.
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I guess, but they are kind of the underdog in the market they've chosen to go into. FM and GT are well established brands with huge fanbases. Whether consciously or not, the game is being compared to those two. Might as well come out and say it in your advertising.

It does sound kind of douchey, but I give them credit for even trying to take on the juggernauts that those two games are. You just know that there's thousands of people out there that will rip them to pieces even if their game turns out to be the best thing since sliced bread.
 
Imari
It does sound kind of douchey, but I give them credit for even trying to take on the juggernauts that those two games are. You just know that there's thousands of people out there that will rip them to pieces even if their game turns out to be the best thing since sliced bread.
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Exactly, they're raising the bar, and they need to live up to it themselves too. This shows exactly why competition is a good thing for us racegame fans. 👍
 
Yeah, I don't think there is much point in declaring you are going after the other franchises in your niche and and then having your marketing campaign amount to "oh, ours is also quite good" :)

Still, I wonder if Shift/SMS are quite the underdog they're made out to be - their first go equalled GT5P and beat Forza 3 sales wise, without any console pack in, and it has EA backing it up. It's the guys like Codemasters, Eutechnyx, SimBin, etc, who seem to be doing it pretty tough these days.
 
boxox
Still, I wonder if Shift/SMS are quite the underdog they're made out to be - their first go equalled GT5P and beat Forza 3 sales wise, without any console pack in, and it has EA backing it up. It's the guys like Codemasters, Eutechnyx, SimBin, etc, who seem to be doing it pretty tough these days.
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Oh, they're certainly not an underdog sales wise. Whatever they put out will sell just fine, considering the marketing they have to back it up. Which is quite good really, we can trust them to keep iterating until they get it right. Their stated goal is a game we'd all love, it's just whether they get there with Shift 2 or Shift 7.

In terms of the quality of the game, they're going to have to step it up a bit though. It's been a while since FM3, and GT5 frankly fumbled the ball in a lot of ways, so it's a perfect time for them. If they can pull off a game with all the features they're bragging about and no major bugs it will be a severe blow to the competition and establish them strongly in the eyes of the racing game types. That's what will matter here, going from a series that sells well but is an also-ran, to being the king of the hill series that all the other developers look to when they're designing their next game.
 
I don't really see the fuss about all this, anyone who's into cars and is a gamer will end up buying all these games sooner or later
 
Imari
In terms of the quality of the game, they're going to have to step it up a bit though. It's been a while since FM3, and GT5 frankly fumbled the ball in a lot of ways, so it's a perfect time for them. If they can pull off a game with all the features they're bragging about and no major bugs it will be a severe blow to the competition and establish them strongly in the eyes of the racing game types. That's what will matter here, going from a series that sells well but is an also-ran, to being the king of the hill series that all the other developers look to when they're designing their next game.
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Yeah, the bugs thing is the biggest issue for me too. I just found another fairly large bug affecting all cars this week (turns out - no suspension upgrade ever does anything to dampers as it's meant to - only spring rates are increased). Really hoping there are not still bugs to find in Shift 2 16 months later...
 

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