NFS Shift 2 Unleashed - Details

  • Thread starter LittleLefty
  • 2,278 comments
  • 250,149 views
Well they don't have almost 6 years time to develop a perfect game. All they can do is bringing their best afford in the time range that EA gave them. So far it looks very promising, and who knows what else will be inside. All we can hope for is that they make the best of their short time. I have no doubt that Shift 2 will be better than Shift 1 but I don't expect any big major step forward. The GT franchise took them 5 games to be where they are now. Shift is just at the begining and their goal and focus is to get us people an idea about how it really feels like to sit in a high performance sport/racing car, with all the emotions and sounds. Exactly the thing that is lacking in GT and FM. If they can manage to get also a great physics engine then it'll be an epic game.
 
coreyvf
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.
Click to expand...
This!
 
From the previews and hands ons so far, at the highest realism level, any damage to your car that causes it to be unable to return to track (missing wheel etc) is a complete race ender for you (as in modded shift 1). And none of this "we simulate a completely realistic time machine" rewind stuff either.
 
I've always wanted that in a racing game.

I use rewind a lot in FM3, but that's because until recently, I didn't have much money, so every race was a means to an end to buy more cars for photomode. However, I don't play FM3 to be a race simulator, whereas with Shift I would.
 
boxox
From the previews and hands ons so far, at the highest realism level, any damage to your car that causes it to be unable to return to track (missing wheel etc) is a complete race ender for you (as in modded shift 1). And none of this "we simulate a completely realistic time machine" rewind stuff either.
Click to expand...

Nice news, I hope they add flag rules and drive through too, as the pc sims.
 
I think I'm allowed to but I'm still a little bit sceptical. Shift was also going to have realistic physics. EA changed it.

AS we say in Dutch; eerst zien en dan geloven.

Translation: seeing is believing. :D
 
Last edited:
boxox
From the previews and hands ons so far, at the highest realism level, any damage to your car that causes it to be unable to return to track (missing wheel etc) is a complete race ender for you (as in modded shift 1). And none of this "we simulate a completely realistic time machine" rewind stuff either.
Click to expand...

If a game had sandbox mode then this sort of thing is welcome, but anytime there is prize money, rewards and achievements attached to a race, people will always want to cheat to reverse the results, especially if it's a 24 hour race :)
 
kikie
I think I'm allowed to but I'm still a little bit sceptical. Shift was also going to have realistic physics. EA changed it.

AS we say in Dutch; eerst zien en dan geloven.

Translation: seeing is believing. :D
Click to expand...

True, expecially when we talk about them. At the end of the day Shift 2 looks promising but who know what going to happen in their EA heads. They love arcade -.- (PLEASE let Slighty Mads do their job we don't another damn arcade)
Let's see once the game get released, I won't buy it day one, I need to demo it to better understand if it's going to be a proper simulator first of all.
 
I doubt physics and graphics will be as good as GT5 and the FPS, however this is gonna com VERY close as to what I'd like out of a racing game. FIA GT1 & 3 series and single seaters. TBH, I do like cars, but I'm more of a racing nut than a car nut. So racing cars and single seaters in this game is cool.
 


Career mode trailer with a lot of game footage.

Back in the original game there was an unused system to link career event entry to your prestige and reputation level, looks like they have decided to actually use that in Shift 2.

Also I really like the way they contrast how pretty Shift 2 is with how pretty Vaughn Gittin isn't :)
 
http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/114/1146187p1.html

IGN
There's a drama to racing that video games have so far failed to capture. Even when they blow us away with their realistic tire physics (Forza Motorsport 3), spam us with beautifully reproduced cars (Gran Turismo 5) and smother us in style (Grid), racing games tend to be about everything but the actual feeling of driving a car at realistically ridiculous speeds for a living.
Click to expand...


Shift 2 retains some of the most popular elements of its predecessor – experience points, leveling, badges for performance, visceral driver/track interaction – and piles on the realism. There's now a full Elite simulation mode that nips at the heels of Forza and Gran Turismo. Full damage is now available, allowing for race-ending crashes. Debris will litter the road after a wreck, and you can shred a tire if you're already worn too thin. The physics are improved, the artificial intelligence is smarter and there are stat meters, upgrades and tweaks galore. All these changes blend to form a mystical connection between car and driver.
Click to expand...

I've only played about an hour of Shift 2's career mode, so I can't make a judgment about the final game yet. But what I've seen made me want to grab the game and lock myself in a room. In the final minutes of Le Mans, McQueen's character tries to explain to his love interest why he risks his life to drive faster than everyone else.
Click to expand...

"When you're racing, it's life," he says. "Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
 
Mmmm, graphics look cartoonish. I'm saying this because they said that they want to do better than GT5. Seems that GT5's graphics will still be better.

Cartoonish doesn't mean worse, it's beautiful but different (than the graphics from GT5).
 
They want be the better Race simulator they didnt say they will have better graphics.
 
Last edited:
I am not buying their hype,Graphics and Physics will not be better than GT5 .This is not Iracing actually from the video the cars behave in corners in exactly the same manners like Shift one .I'll wait for the final game before making judgments though.
 
kikie
Mmmm, graphics look cartoonish. I'm saying this because they said that they want to do better than GT5. Seems that GT5's graphics will still be better.

Cartoonish doesn't mean worse, it's beautiful but different (than the graphics from GT5).
Click to expand...

Im not seeing cartoonish, no more so than GT5.

Looks beautiful though, looking forward to this.
 
Shift 2 Unleashed is shaping up really nice. I have a feeling that this will be an amazing driving game! :)

They have launched the new site for the game. Look here, apparently they have 35 different locations and for some locations there will be different configurations and all will have day and night racing! :)
Plus the game will have Bathurst, Spa, Suzuka, Monza, Brands Hatch, Laguna Seca and (hopefully) Nordschleife and all the other great tracks from the first game! 👍

But what intrigues me the most are the following screenshots:
(from the Limited Edition Trailer)
shift2clouds.jpg


(from the official Shift 2 Site, the London Track page)
shift2londonclouds.png


Could it be possible that Shift 2 will feature weather/rain? I hope so... these are some very menacing clouds... ;)
To be honest I don't think that weather/rain will exist in Shift 2 since they have never mentioned it.
But I am sure the game will be great either way!! :)
 
Im pretty sure it was already confirmed they wont be including it. which is a shame but perhaps something to look forward to for Shift 3.
 
vrooom
Shift 2 Unleashed is shaping up really nice. I have a feeling that this will be an amazing driving game! :)

They have launched the new site for the game. Look here, apparently they have 35 different locations and for some locations there will be different configurations and all will have day and night racing! :)
Plus the game will have Bathurst, Spa, Suzuka, Monza, Brands Hatch, Laguna Seca and (hopefully) Nordschleife and all the other great tracks from the first game! 👍
Click to expand...

Also from the website the car and manufacturer lists are incomplete but show 36 manufacturer spaces and 145 car spaces.
 
This is starting to shape up rather nicely, I'm not fussed if it doesn't look as good as GT5, because it doesn't need to be. At the moment it's still offering more of what I want; racing cars and a variety of locations, not to mention my favourite racing series.

Also, I'm pretty sure I spied Silverstone in this video (as part of the game footage not the actual real life action) which would make sense, considering it's a track from the FIA GT1 World Series track rosta and was in the original Shift.



0:38-0:41 has some footage of the Sumo Power car stationary, then at 1:48 there's a very brief in-car footage (game again obviously) and it kind of looks like Silverstone. But I could be wrong.
 
porsche 9146
I think that FM3 has more tracks, but I think that shift 2 will have more locations than either game.
Click to expand...

I dont count variations, its just a way of selling through numbers.

If we are talking variations, every track in Shift2 can be driven at night, doubling its variation number.
 
Track List as of 1/26/11:

Ambush Canyon
Ambush Canyon

Bathurst
Bathurst

Brands Hatch
GP, Indy

London
Royal
River
Embankment Loop
Club Drive
Whitehall Drive

4 Locations and 9 configs as of now.
 
http://www.needforspeed.com/de_DE/shift2unleashed/track/miami :)

Stats
Ort United States
Year Opened 2011
Number of Configurations 5
Names of Configurations Bicentennial, Biscayne Blvd., Bayfront Park, Bayside Run, Drift

Interesting digging through seeing what you can find, also, it will give you a distinct error message if you type in something that is going to be there but isn't up yet, or if it doesn't exist yet. Reminds me of when we got the Ferrari DLC and dug through it for whatever we could find, and ended up finding the exotic DLC car list buried in a binary file :)
 
DonZonda
They want be the better Race simulator they didnt say they will have better graphics.
Click to expand...
Yes they did but not in so many words!

EDIT:
It certainly seemed to polarise opinion, but on the whole we are looking forward to seeing what Slightly Mad can bring to a genre that is set to get very crowded. Speaking to Official Xbox 360 Magazine, Shift 2: Unleashed producer Marcus Nilsson had the following to say when asked if the team were aiming for a locked down 60FPS:

“You have to make a choice with today’s tech. Either you go for – and this is harsh but it’s what I think – the bland graphics of GT and Forza, or you try to push the bar for what consoles can do. That’s what Slightly Mad is doing, and hence the decision was made to aim for 30 frames.”
Click to expand...

Slightly Mad is making some bold claims. “We want to beat Gran Turismo 5 and Forza” declares Executive Producer of Shift 2 Unleashed, Marcus Nilsson.
Click to expand...

If that isn't a hint that they want to beat GT5 graphics wise, then I need to start learning English all over again.





MildAshers
Im not seeing cartoonish, no more so than GT5.

Looks beautiful though, looking forward to this.
Click to expand...
I do and I didn't say that it doesn't look nice. It does.
 
Last edited:
This one is interesting.

On Official Page there is new section for tracks:

http://www.needforspeed.com/shift2unleashed/tracks

When you click on currently available tracks, URL changes from plural "tracks" into singular "track" and after slash comes the track name (for Brands Hatch for example):

http://www.needforspeed.com/shift2unleashed/track/brands-hatch

So, I decided to make few blind-tries and type Laguna Seca and Nurburgring.

While typing http://www.needforspeed.com/shift2unleashed/track/laguna-seca gives message "Track Not Available", typing "nurburgring" gives result "The requested page could not be found."

Conclusion - Laguna Seca will obvusily be in, Nurb will not (or the content of it is being prepared).

I made few more blind-cards, with "Tokyo", "Siverstone" and "Dubai Autodrome", both with results "Track Not Available", confirming they are part of the track rooster if my logic is good.

So, I can conclude we can confirm Laguna Seca, Silverstone, Dubai Autodrome and Tokyo are probably in the game.

:)
 

Latest Posts

Back