GTPlanet at Shift 2 Media Event: Hands-On Impressions
As I announced a few weeks ago, Electronic Arts invited GTPlanet to a “community day” event for their latest driving game, Shift 2: Unleashed. I took them up on the offer, and I’m eager to share my impressions of the game. There’s a lot of eyes on Shift 2 after the series’ first title, billed as a realistic simulator, was highly criticized by “sim racers” for its too-friendly physics. According to EA’s marketing, these issues have been addressed, going so far as to call it “the most realistic racer ever”.
Where I’m Coming From
First, some perspective. I consider the most important thing about any driving game to be its physics model and how it communicates what the car is doing via force-feedback in the steering wheel. I spent my time with Shift 2 on a PC with a Logitech Driving Force GT, and my following impressions have all been derived from that experience. I played the game exclusively in “Elite” physics mode, all driving aids off (with the exception of ABS). Gameplay will be significantly different with a controller, so please take that into consideration before reading further.
What Shift 2 Is Really All About
Since the game was first announced, EA has claimed it wants Shift 2 to provide an “authentic driving experience”. This is best summed up in a quote by EA’s Colin Blackwood during an interview with MCV:
“With Shift 2 Unleashed, we aim to redefine sim racing so that fans get as close to the feeling of real racing as possible. [...] The game will still embody the core values of Need for Speed but we want to establish Shift as our clearly defined simulation racer.”
This sort of language is a source of confusion among sim-racing fans, because we all have such a wide range of expectations for what a “racing simulator” is. Many, for example, consider games such as Forza or Gran Turismo to be on the far end of the “simulation” scale. Others, who have played PC simulators such as rFactor, iRacing, and netKar PRO, expect a “simulator” to provide tire pressure settings, laser-scanned tracks, and extremely challenging physics that demand your full attention.
Shift 2‘s lead developer Andy Tudor touched on this while talking with us at this media event. On the scale of “racing games”, he placed Shift 2 somewhere between the more arcade Need for Speed titles and games such as Forza and GT. After spending a significant amount of time with the game, I think that’s a spot-on description. This game doesn’t match their driving physics, but it’s not really supposed to. Shift 2‘s “realism” instead focuses on the gritty, violent, rough experience that is driving a race car around a race track, and it does an amazing job of it.
Who This Game is For
I can already see the comments from smug “hard-core sim racers” on blogs and forums around the web: “So this game is just the same **** as before? **** that **** ******* *******”. If you’re expecting the game to “feel” like GT5 or your favorite PC sim of choice then, yes, you will be disappointed. If you’re looking for a fun, immersive racing game you can pick up and start playing, you’re in for a treat.
Dismissing this game for its physics is akin to throwing the baby out with the bath water – it introduces some very cool new features to the genre that other developers would be wise to take note of.
So Much to Love
You’ve got to hand it to Slightly Mad Studios’ for their selection of cars in Shift 2. Have a look over the complete list and you’ll find Caterham, Porsche, Alpina, Radical, classic M3′s, the new Pagani Huayra, and nearly every other contemporary sports car you’d expect (with the exception of Ferrari). All of them feature fully-modeled interiors and all can be upgraded to race-spec “Works” editions. The damage is extremely impressive, featuring cracked glass, crumpled, detachable body panels, and wheels torn off in violent shunts. The graphics – on the PC version at least – are among the best I’ve ever seen.
The track list is also well rounded, featuring classics such as the Nurburgring (the GP course and the Nordschleife), Laguna Seca, Suzuka, and Monza, and other popular real-world circuits such as Mount Panorama (Bathurst), Road America, Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Spa Francorchamps, Circuit de Catalunya, and many more.
The menus are fast and easy to navigate, and there’s a wide range of tuning options. Players coming from GT5 will particularly appreciate the ability to save multiple setups for each car, for each track. The game’s new “Autolog” functionality is also a slick implementation of the game’s social features, which allow you to directly compare your own progress and hot laps against friends. Better yet, EA is about to bring Autolog to your mobile phone via an iOS application that will alert you if a friend bests your lap time on a given track.
AI in Shift 2 is extremely impressive – they’re aggressive, but clean. The other driver’s performance is “dynamic”, and will adapt to your performance. If you’re struggling, your competition will also make more mistakes to keep the competition close, but they’ll pick up the pace as your skill improves.
The Driving Physics
There’s been a lot of discussion of the new “Elite” physics mode introduced in Shift 2. Unfortunately, I didn’t find it particularly challenging with a steering wheel. With a Logitech Driving Force GT, cars often felt “floaty”, as if it was difficult to keep the car pointed straight. I found this to be less of an issue with older, heavier cars, which provided a more rewarding driving experience.
Regardless, it was difficult to “feel” where the tires were at in terms of lateral grip. There was little communication through the wheel’s force feedback in corners, and the surprisingly unpleasant tire squeal sound was either “on” or “off” – as if it was activated only after the tires had exceeded their limit. These are two of the most important indicators of how hard you’re pushing a car in a video game, and they’re sorely missed in Shift 2.
I also found there to be a general lack of oversteer in the physics model, most noticeable in powerful, rear-wheel drive cars. I took a Shelby Cobra 427 to Road America with stock tires, for example, and found it difficult to create any power-induced oversteer. I experienced this same unnatural level of grip while testing the Corvette C6R and many other cars.
It’s Fun
Despite a physics engine which will leave sim-racers wanting more (ok, a lot more), this is a fun, exciting, and intense driving game. Without doubt, the Shift series is definitely headed in the right direction. I had an absolute blast racing with other members of the press during the many LAN races held in the EA offices, and that’s what really matters.
Head on over to our Shift forum for more discussion!
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Newest comments are displayed first.
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March 30th, 2011 at 12:01 pm - #PistonHead
That’s cool the question is if driving those cars in shift is anything like the real thing, if not I don’t see the enjoyment of driving those cars as a substitute of GT5, is just for the look and fun gameplay like project gotham racing?
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March 30th, 2011 at 12:23 pm - #Dragonitti
@PistonHead
You hit the nail on the head. Some little small touches in the game I have enjoyed since I’ve played a couple of hours last night. One is the track can get dirt kicked up onto it. I thought, Now that was a neat little touch. Then that felling all vanishes when you run over that dirt/gravel and expect your grip level to change, when it doesn’t even in the slightest bit. GIMMICK!
And as you said, fine and dandy they have the modern day cars you see in the mags on your news stands today…however, the game version of those cars are MINUS they way they drive in real life. It’s all visual/graphical in that sense.
This is not a substitute for GT5 even in the least bit. Call the cars in GT5 “non-race cars” all you want or call them POS cars…at least they FEEL like you are driving a car and not rowing a boat.
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March 30th, 2011 at 2:26 pm - #Streaker
Driving a car in GT5 isn’t like the real thing. I have several of the cars in the game, none drive like in real life like the do in GT5. And cars in GT5 driver different offline then online. And when I hit something, and I have totaled a car, it doesn’t go “thunk”. Have not seen a review on Shift 2 that has given it under 8/10, B+ or under 80%. The PC version already has Mods out. One reviewer said it gives an authentic feel to the cars with significant differences between them. And you can’t do things like use cars on the track to get around corners like in GT5 either. Another reviewer says that EA probably isn’t going to be successful converting arcade players into sim players with the game, but “Shift 2 has finally created a racing sim that gives car geeks like myself numbers to tweak, but puts the real focus where it belongs, on the visceral joy of actually racing the car.”
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March 30th, 2011 at 4:49 pm - #PistonHead
@Streaker
Driving a car in GT5 isn’t like the real thing(no sim is LOL) but for many cars is the most close that you will find on any system, shift is just a weird mix of arcade, a sim with wrong physics and a Michael Bay movie, sure that NFS user base will love it LOL
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March 30th, 2011 at 8:45 am - #crsn891
I picked this game up yesterday… it does not compare to GT5 at all. In terms of graphics, most of the cars look like standard cars in GT5 and the handling? Forget it. They should replace the track with water because it feels like you are driving a boat.
I am pretty disappointed with this game to be honest.
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March 30th, 2011 at 7:00 am - #ev0lutionX
Am worried about the floating too.. Shift 1 was really unplayable due the odd handling. The only thing that made me semi complete it was the DBR9 and Spa.
I’ll give this one a go too though. GT1 and GT3 models made it for me. I just wish GT would do the same and not entirely focus on Super GT.
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March 30th, 2011 at 1:00 am - #Ferrari
great review
thanks mate
I’ll be getting this game tomorrow.It’s great reading reviews by people who actually care about racing games rather than going to IGN or other big critic websites
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March 29th, 2011 at 6:43 pm - #Streaker
Shift 2 even has export to Youtube, a big feature that Kaz decided to take out because it took, what he thought, was too long to render the video into Flash.
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March 31st, 2011 at 5:15 am - #4Marsh20
Yet loading screens aren’t a problem somehow??? lol
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March 29th, 2011 at 1:34 pm - #Stu
I wonder if this Shift 2 coverage is the start of GTPlanet expanding their coverage? With GT5 letting so many down, Shift 2 implementing so many features and Forza 4 potentially nailing the console sim it would be a shame if this site did not cover these developments if only to push PD.
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March 29th, 2011 at 5:55 pm - #Panjandrum
Agreed. I really want GT6 to be great (heck, I want PD to fix GT5 and I want them to fix it NOW). If nothing else, broadening the scope of the primary Gran Turismo site on the planet will hopefully get PD and Sony to step up their game. Competition in a market is usually good for the end user…
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March 29th, 2011 at 6:35 pm - #Streaker
@Panjandrum Uh, I don’t know if you read the news but Japan just had a triple whammy disaster, the largest in its country’s known history. PD is in Japan along with Sony’s HQ. This video game is the last thing people in Japan are worrying about. Trying to find non-radioactive water, missing family and friends and a place to live are more on their minds. Its shaping up to be the biggest disaster in the history of mankind. So, don’t hold your breath on PD and Sony “stepping up their game” for end users any time soon.
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March 31st, 2011 at 5:20 am - #4Marsh20
@streaker
Not trying to take anything away from the terrible things happening there, not all of Japan is hurt by this, but most have given up on trying to find people and they arent struggling to find “non-radioactive water” and it isn’t shaping up to be the worst disaster in the history of man-kind, please don’t be making silly claims.
The people of Japan are strong and will get through this, it’s in their nature to push on with their lives and jobs
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March 29th, 2011 at 1:22 pm - #jorgerostro
Why are you guys putting all these comments about NFS
Shift 2?
You should be playing Gran Turismo 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-
March 29th, 2011 at 11:39 pm - #yokie
Last I heard, GT5 is only 90% finnished. I’m waiting on the release date…..
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March 29th, 2011 at 5:39 am - #Cornelyus
I prefer a propper sim, but then i do enjoy GT5 a lot and its country mile away from being a sim. I dont think shift is Sim contender on a PC, but on consoles it might provide reasonable sim experience when played with joypad.
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March 29th, 2011 at 7:30 am - #PistonHead
LOL at gt5 is not a sim
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March 30th, 2011 at 5:27 am - #Cornelyus
is not a sim, you dont have propper tire model, tire wear is not discriminated in “out/middle/in”, dont have mechanical damage, dont have totaled, dont have popper fuel usage, cant select fuel gals, dont have propper car setup, cant modify toe, cant modify gears, rev limit, radiator size, engine brake, caster, tire presure, cant modify lateral weight, dont have clutch work, dont have day/night cycle in any track, etc.
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March 30th, 2011 at 8:08 am - #PistonHead
@Cornelyus
Sure but is funny that at the end emulates better than any other sim out there how a branded street car drives for real and all the differences and nuances between brands and models, if that is not a sim then you are blinded by pc sims and prefer more configuration options and fake physics(home made setups LOL LOL) than driving accuracygood luck searching a better nurburging + street car simulator than GT5 LOL
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March 30th, 2011 at 12:16 pm - #Dragonitti
Where have you been that you didn’t know GT5 had mechanical damage? Or that you can’t modify gears, rev limit, caster, weight modifications. What you mean don’t have clutch work? Since when did GT5 NOT have a day/night transition? Shift 2 is not even REMOTELY close to being a SIM sorry. That’s coming from someone who has the game. I have GT5 and I have Shift 2. Shift 2 = Another Arcade racer, fun…but arcade.
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March 30th, 2011 at 4:22 pm - #Cornelyus
No one saying is not fun, and i love GT, but i see you running to buy a PC and falling into real sim, dont spit up, LOL LOL
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March 30th, 2011 at 6:09 pm - #PistonHead
@Cornelyus
I’m not obsessed in being a mechanical engineer LOL I’m more obsessed in being Jeremy Clarkson LOL LOL just give me a wheel a track and the most realistic driving in road cars -
March 31st, 2011 at 2:43 am - #Murcie
“is not a sim, you dont have propper tire model, tire wear is not discriminated in “out/middle/in”, dont have mechanical damage, dont have totaled, dont have popper fuel usage, cant select fuel gals, dont have propper car setup, cant modify toe, cant modify gears, rev limit, radiator size, engine brake, caster, tire presure, cant modify lateral weight, dont have clutch work, dont have day/night cycle in any track, etc.”
Very funny and all but on a serious note, have you actually played GT5 at all or have you just ignored all of those features that are actually included in the final product?
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April 1st, 2011 at 5:58 am - #Cornelyus
@Murcie
I was mind that those features are not propper applied
@PistonHead
You really buy me with the LOL LOL thing
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March 29th, 2011 at 1:33 am - #DMC_S2000
I think I’ll be getting this for PC, co’z I’m pretty sure there will be mods for the pc version…
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March 28th, 2011 at 9:09 pm - #RPM
I would proudly say that I started playing GranTurismo 1 since I was 7 years old “11 years old” sinc eI am now 18 years old. Yes I would probably say right now that GranTurismo is not for kids who only wants is racing because I agree that Need for Speed is usually enjoyed by kids. For me, I think since I started playing GT1 10 years ago, it was my 18 year old brother who introduced the game to me that’s why through the years, I actually enjoyed GranTurismo all the time. I’m a fan of Need for Speed too but I always have Granturismo first then “Need for speed” just for an alternative game. You know, just to try and see what is in the game but right now so far, GT5 is beyond amazing. The physics is so real “even my dad says” :) I will get the NFS SHift tomorrow and check if it’s deserving to be called “sim racing” One major thing why I buy NFS as well is the variety of tuning are more exciting compare to GT and the engine sound.
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March 29th, 2011 at 1:23 pm - #jorgerostro
i started playing GT2.. Gran Turismo has been my favorite title ever since
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March 31st, 2011 at 11:43 am - #the piston
@RPM: I agree with you, NFS and GT are totally different driving games. They are incomparable. NFS for fun, GT for enjoyment. But I do wish that PD did improve the engine sounds though.
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March 31st, 2011 at 5:39 pm - #the piston
I meant GT for enjoyment in driving cars. Sorry correction.
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March 28th, 2011 at 8:58 pm - #ilove evos
Also they are supposed to have settings for the wheels so i think it maybe just an issue of tinkering with the wheel and settings as well as tuning and if that is the case I’m sold. Lets see OK physics, great car selection, every car can be customized extensively, The best damage i have seen so far in a console racer, great AI, Good soundtrack, the best and most diverse track selection i have seen in a console racer, good night racing, drifting engine seems good and car sounds are awesome. Vs GT5 great physics but lacking in so many of the other areas. I will take the first choice any day
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March 29th, 2011 at 2:08 am - #Streaker
My thoughts exactly on the wheel.
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March 29th, 2011 at 7:46 am - #PistonHead
It’s a good choice for arcade players that’s no doubt, sure they are going to enjoy more than rfactor or lfs.
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March 29th, 2011 at 8:27 am - #Streaker
@PistonHead Tommy Milner is on Twitter. He gets paid to race cars, ALMS, going to be in Nurburgring 24 hours this year. He seems to enjoy Shift 2. What would you call Tommy? An arcade racer? Ask him about it. @tommymilner or go to his website, same name.
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March 29th, 2011 at 9:03 am - #PistonHead
@Straker
I would him them a race driver that get paid to promote a game lol some aspects would feel realistic for someone not accustomed to play sims but it lacks when us players compare to other sims. Just read this page article. Tokyo drift games hired real drifters to promote its realism LOL forza was the same -
March 29th, 2011 at 9:05 am - #PistonHead
@PistonHead
“I would call him a race driver that gets paid to promote a game”
correction lol
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March 29th, 2011 at 11:26 am - #Skiddy
I still need to see how they modeled the Nurb. The one in shift 1 was “ugly”.
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March 29th, 2011 at 4:47 pm - #Streaker
@PistonHead 1) No one made Milner work on the game. 2) No one that works for a website called GT Planet is going to say, “This game blows GT5 away”.
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March 30th, 2011 at 12:15 am - #PistonHead
@Streaker
1)do a search and you will find all the promotion that he is doing for NFS games and EA, even has publicity on his race cars LOL2)GT5 is sim, NFS arcadish, nobody with common sense will say here or at the moon that shift blows a sim lol
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March 30th, 2011 at 4:21 am - #Streaker
@PistonHead 1) And who put a gun to his head to do it? 2) Not my point. I reiterated YOUR point. You said Milner would never say its a bad game, he gets paid by them. I said anyone working for a GT5 dedicated website isn’t going to say any game is better then GT5. Get it?
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March 30th, 2011 at 5:42 am - #Buck
So what your saying is unless an advertising spokesman has a gun pointed at their head, the spokesman truly believes everything the sponsor pays them to say?
If that’s your point, wow, I guess there really are people who fall for it. Amazing. -
March 30th, 2011 at 7:43 am - #PistonHead
@Streaker
1)A signed contract for promotion and sponsorship that pay him and his team part of its racing career, seems you never seen an F1 pilot advertising his sponsor brand like the best thing in the world LOL2)LOL this website is independent and made by a fan base not Sony or Polyphony, no one here is getting paid to speak good or bad about a game LOL seems you missed all the GT5 negative news and comments in the past
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March 30th, 2011 at 11:54 am - #Razor
Streaker> I just tried this game. AND ITS TOTAL CRAP. It is just another arcade game. It is better arcade than previous ones but it is still ARCADE.It’s nowhere near GT5.Not even close.Physics are soo poor and so primitiveprimitive.Car is shaking and wobbling unrealistically, there is no connection between wheel and road, you don’t feel surface grip, car is moving stupidly and that self-shifting headcam is just a joke.Remember golden rule – don’t believe in that marketing hype and in those hired racers telling you a LIE. It is not “most realistic racing game”.Not even close.Period.
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March 30th, 2011 at 12:58 pm - #the piston
@Streaker:Grow up and stop wasting your time, do you have a life. LOL this is just a game. Stop having a flame war you’re just gonna be proved even more wrong. Open your eyes it’s NFS and simulation just isn’t what NFS is a pro at.At the end of the day NFS is an arcade game and might never be a simulator. Now GET OF THE INTERNET.
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March 30th, 2011 at 2:56 pm - #Streaker
The fanboys rear their ugly little heads. “Get off the Internet”. ROFLOL. I doubt either of you have driven a car. Its probably much different then the back of a short bus you guys are used to riding in.
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March 30th, 2011 at 6:40 pm - #Narf
Only one fanboy I see on this page is a 2011 Streaker model with BS injection, and a need for a new muffler.
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March 31st, 2011 at 5:53 am - #Jonesy
Dude, lol, Gran Tursimo has some of the biggest fanboys of any game. I have seen reviews for GT5 where the reviewers are afraid of saying anything negative about the game for fear of backlash. They had to repeatedly say, we love GT, so don’t send us hate mail! Seems like the dude just wants to give the game to get a fair shake, everyone on here is like, oh, its NFS, it must be an arcade. Games change. Look how they destroyed SOCOM with the last two.
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March 31st, 2011 at 7:30 am - #PistonHead
@Jonesy
LOL GT5 has been beaten with no mercy by most american reviewers(maybe they were NFS fanboys LOL LOL) seems you don’t know what you are talking about, GT has nothing to do with shift being a mess as a sim LOL -
March 31st, 2011 at 11:39 am - #the piston
@Streaker:LOL ya you should get of the internet, look who’s talking calling me a fanboy I love NFS for enjoyment and it is more fun than GT5, but for simulation you must be kidding me! Always saying in your comments how this game is gonna beat GT5 in the in the simulation department. Always answering peoples comments about how this game is gonna smash GT5 in simulation.Now that’s a fanboy. Congrats, your officially a NFS Shift fanboy. Don’t call me a GT fanboy. The reason I like GT more than other driving games is because this is the driving game started driving simulation in consoles in the first place and PD are never too cocky about their games unlike EA saying that Shift 2 has the ”MOST ADVANCED DRIVING PHYSICS”. Heck I don’t know why I’m wasting my time on replying to your retarded comments.
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April 1st, 2011 at 4:50 am - #Jonesy
@PistonHead First off, you are the wrong one here. From Wikipedia, “Gran Turismo 5 was met with generally positive reaction from game critics. The game currently holds a GameRankings score of 84.72%. Reviewers praised the number of cars, car-specific information and commented positively on the driving physics which had been improved from Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The inclusion of karts as well as licensed World Rally Championship and NASCAR vehicles was also received positively.” Second, you totally missed my point. Any criticism of GT is met by fierce reactions. Or in your case, unfounded ones. But, you seem to know so much, enlighten us further.
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March 28th, 2011 at 8:54 pm - #ilove evos
I agree with streaker in a lot of what he says and without playing the game myself I am not going to prejudge it. Many complain about not keeping the car straight but I drive GT5 with the fanatec turbo S wheel and full club sport setup and i have issues with the wheel jerking back and forth even with dead zone set. So It’s the same thing. GT5s clutch is not simulated correctly to me but I still play it and enjoy it. The lack of customization and limited aero kits are another big issue with me. The graphics tearing and being incomplete in GT5 (Just look at the track map and you will see the jaggy outline surrounding it). I can go on and on about flaws that are in GT5 but people overlook and praise because the name GT has become synonymous with a good game. I think a lot of people have already made a decision on this game based off of the previous title and already have labled EA a arcade racer manufacturer so even if they did in fact create a good driving engine etc they would still bash it. I remember the older GTs had issues with understeer but people still praised it and tuned their cars accordingly. I’m actually glad that the fixed the oversteer issue from shift 1 and my only question for the original poster was did you actually tune any of the cars or drive them stock?
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March 28th, 2011 at 7:50 pm - #Mygroth1989
I’m so gonna get this game. I think my friends will like this game more than GT5. Finally friends to race online against.
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March 28th, 2011 at 7:47 pm - #Justin
So basically, all they need to do is get the physics engine and FF right and they’d completely destroy GT5 in every aspect! Maybe PD will wake up now and fix their game??
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March 28th, 2011 at 7:56 pm - #stoney71
Yeah, what he said !!!
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March 28th, 2011 at 9:15 pm - #BWX
Yeah but it is obvious that will never happen.
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March 29th, 2011 at 1:32 am - #DMC_S2000
YES! DESTROY GT5!!
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March 29th, 2011 at 7:23 am - #PistonHead
yeah and you only need to run faster than Usain Bolt to completely destroy them in every aspect!! LOL LOL
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March 29th, 2011 at 8:54 pm - #LeeC2202
@BMX: Which bit, EA fixing the engine, FF and physics… or PD waking up and fixing GT5? ;)
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March 28th, 2011 at 7:15 pm - #Sporkafife
Turned out just as I expected really: A fun, graphically impressive game with lots of customisation options and lots of cool exotic cars. I didn’t expect the physics engine to be that great. Personally I won’t buy it, I already have too many games and not enough time to play them (I’ll be starting Uni in September) But I do lol at all the butt-hurt GT fans that knocked this game with every fibre of their being just because it slightly infringed on the same genre… XD
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March 28th, 2011 at 5:37 pm - #carcoll13
I am picking up this game tomorrow, but I’m keeping in mind that I have 7 days to return it for a full refund.
I didn’t expect the physics model to be BETTER than GT5 but do expect it to be improved upon Shift1.. I am really worried about the feeling of racing with the G27 from what I’ve read, and my bad experience with Shift 1 though.
I really hope with adjustments that the driving will feel right, I mean in GT5 the G27′s FFB doesn’t even seem supported well and feels bland.. and then the fact that the A.I and “race experience” leaves much to desired to the point that I only do time trials (usually on the nurb) leaves me looking for more.
Heres to hoping, and thanks Jordan for the review.
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March 29th, 2011 at 8:51 pm - #LeeC2202
“I am picking up this game tomorrow, but I’m keeping in mind that I have 7 days to return it for a full refund.”
Where do you live to be able to do that? Over in the UK, if you open the game, then you can’t return it.
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March 28th, 2011 at 4:51 pm - #PedanticNerd
This game looks awesome, but it’s come out too early for me. Still happy with GT5 for the moment and I need my money for other things.
Such a shame, if this was released in May I’d buy it in a heartbeat. -
March 28th, 2011 at 2:49 pm - #sanpanico
“intense night racing, and a helmet cam that recreates realistic driver head movements”
Night racing piques my curiosity. It brings back memories of racing the 24 hrs of Le Mans in GRID, when your race transitions from day to night. (incidentally, I like the fact that 1 minute = 1 hour in that game since I don’t have time to sit with my PS3 off and on for 24 hours!)
All in all, what I’ve learned here since 2005 is that no racing game is going to suit everyone. Like most, I have my my minor issues with each of the racers I own, but I have fun with them and that’s what matters most to me. I for one am looking forward to scooping up this game as well as Forza 4, TDU2, DiRT3, etc… My biggest reservation is where am I going to put my PS2, PS3, PS4 (for GT6), XBOX, XBOX 360, and whatever the next console will be. I rather enjoy going back to previous games occasionally. It’s a shame Sony and Microsoft couldn’t (or wouldn’t) make the backwards compatibility work much in the same way Nintendo did for the Wii/Game cube games.
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March 28th, 2011 at 2:48 pm - #GDub
I wanna hear what someone has to say about playing the game with just a regular controller. I can’t stand racing wheels.
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March 28th, 2011 at 3:15 pm - #schigara
Wow! I don’t think I have ever heard anyone say this before.
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March 28th, 2011 at 4:48 pm - #Tvensky
for sure schigara, agree!
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March 28th, 2011 at 7:54 pm - #stoney71
I sorta agree with GDub. I borrowed a wheel from a friend for a couple of days and I just couldn’t seem to get used to the force feedback always sawing the wheel back and forth, even on the straightaways. Maybe I just didn’t give the wheel enough time to get used to it, but it just felt weird to me, not at all like driving any real car I have ever driven. I think I will stick with the controller for now myself. I can’t really afford a wheel right now on my budget anyway, my wife would kill me.
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March 28th, 2011 at 9:03 pm - #schigara
Stoney,
The wheel is not the problem. The problem is the instructions the wheel is getting from GT5. There is no dead zone so the wheel just bounces back and forth when trying to go straight.
It took me about 5 days at 3 hours a day to get as good with a wheel as I was with the DS3 controller but ultimately it was so worth it because I am now much faster and more consistent and smooth.
A wheel in GT5 takes so long to get used to because the feedback from GT5 is just not right so it makes the wheel feel totally unnatural.
I bought GTR Evolution(very good racing sim) on the PC and hooked my wheel up to it and instantly the wheel felt right and natural. The wheel no longer bounces back and forth while trying to hold it straight while going fast.
Now I almost hate driving in GT5 because I have experienced how a wheel should behave, you know, like a steering wheel in a real car!
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March 29th, 2011 at 1:35 am - #DMC_S2000
you’re looking for a hardcore simulator but you don’t like playing it with steering wheel?? are you serious??!
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March 29th, 2011 at 2:17 am - #Streaker
Many people go to a wheel after the controller and just don’t like it at all. Nothing wrong with that. One of the videos in Prologue show, GASP, Kaz and others at PD working on the game and are USING CONTROLLERS! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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March 31st, 2011 at 5:37 am - #4Marsh20
@Stoney71 & Schigara
You obviously havent driven a real car as there is no such thing as a “dead-zone” when you’re racing at high speeds as you are constantly hitting bumps, dips, etc. that knock the wheels about -
April 2nd, 2011 at 6:13 pm - #stoney71
Here we go with the assumptions and insults about driving experience and ability. For the record, I have been driving for about 25 years (I’m not 12) and I have driven MANY different types and models of cars. I have never driven a true race car or supercar, but I have driven everything from a hot hatchback to a sports car like the Corvette. I have driven at VERY high speeds on VERY challenging roads but, unfortunatly, no racetracks. That may not qualify me to be a race driver, but I do think I know what a REAL car drives like in the REAL world. I think you misunderstood what schigara meant about a dead-zone. What he says seems to make sense, and he may be on to one of the reasons about why the wheel seems so unnatural to me instead of realistic like it should. I think for now I will continue using the controller until PD can get the feel right with a wheel. What is wrong with that? I really can’t afford one right now anyway.
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March 28th, 2011 at 2:43 pm - #johngt
Jordan: “For the record, I was not using the game’s “helmet cam”, a camera view which is independent from the standard cockpit perspective.”
In Shift 1 when using the bonnet view/bumper cam the effects that were in the in car view (black and white, blurring etc) were also present. This includes the way the camera moves independently of the car as it goes over bumps, hence the ‘floating’ effect that Streaker has described.
GTPlanet on Google+
I got the game and played it for three hours last night. I have been racing and competing in HPDE and time attacks for the past eight years and I also instruct. The first thing I noticed about the game is it plays in 720p not 1080i and the picture is not as crisp as gt5. As far as making me feel like I am in my car it is pretty much spot on. When I crash or spin out it does not feel real with a bunk. In shift 2 it feel just like what it does when I spin out on track. The racing is more fun and every car is a race car. No pos cars in shift like GT5. This does not mean I do not like gt5 because I love it. I can now race my e30! I must say the helmet cam is very hard to drive fast with. I like it and it is different but not for me. The floaty feeling is there but I can over look that when I am pounding up the hill through the esses at spa.
GT5 = you need more real race cars instead of grocery getters and trucks. You need more real tracks. Tonight I am going to race an e30 evo and a e36 m3 at road america is anyone going to do this tonight on gt5?
Both great games
GT5 yes 6/10 game 10/10 sim
Shift 2 10/10 game 8/10 sim.