First let me start off by saying that I own all the major gaming systems. I'm a di-hard console racer who appreciates all of these titles for the different things each has to offer the player. I have all the major console racing titles too (including the first NFS Shift on both the PS3 and XBox 360).
Unlike the vast majority out there I was VERY pleased with Shift 1. Granted (like every title released today) there are some issues with it. Many consumers in the very beginning ditched Shift 1 before the first patch was even released. I honestly think that group of people really don't understand what they missed out on with Shift 1.
I pre-ordered Shift 2 Unleashed because it appears that SMS has addressed many of the concerns that were present in the original title, and added more. There are now two modes for the physics (which looks very promising too). Night racing has been added, and much of the original title (which had some VERY good features) has also been carried over as well.
My biggest gripe with the first Shift was the AI. Even though the physics were very arcade like (due to the center axis steering).., I was able to find ways to compensate for that with minor tweaking of the controls. For me the AI was horrible.., and in many instances just seemed like SMS said "lets see how many a-holes we can pile onto one track". The AI essentially ruined Shift 1 for a lot of people.
Shift-2 (based on the development interviews) has done a complete overhaul on the AI.., and are supposed to have seriously toned down the aggression. That IMO is a HUGE improvement by itself!!!
The original title had issues with consumers because the boneheads on the development team (cough cough.., Jesse Abney) were dumb enough to tote NFS Shift 1 as a SIM. That was one of their biggest mistakes IMO. They set the bar too high for themselves, and didn't raise themselves or the game to that level in order to meet consumer expectations. IMO.., had Shift been marketed properly (simply as one of the best arcade racers to date) things may have gone better. Truthfully..., Shift 1 (is) in terms of physics.., the best arcade racer made. There is also GRID.., but the physics in GRID don't compare to Shift.
I think SMS has learned a lot from their mistakes with Shift 1. Plus Shift 1 was a HUGE gamble for SMS and EA. All the franchise fans were pissed to see the illegal street racing and cop chases taken away. That's understandable.., but it's also understandable when a franchise decides to make changes to titles based on "current gaming popularity". Truth is.., SIM style racing is starting to take off with the consoles. The need is there.., and EA had to make a wise business decision to stay in the game. That's just business folks.., as I really have a hard time accepting EA wanted to piss off all the fans. They had to go with current consumer expectations.
I'm very excited about Shift-2. Will it have issues upon release..., hell yes it will. What title doesn't these days. For Pete's sake even GT-5 with all of the time they spent on development wasn't "really finished" upon release.
Bottom line.., you're either gonna like the Shift franchise or you're not. Those of you who bitched an moaned about the first Shift not having cop chases.., well you simply have no room to groan anymore, so don't bother flooding forums with negative posts trashing the game just because it doesn't have cop chases. We're now on the 2nd edition, and those of you should ALREADY KNOW it WILL NOT have cop chases.
The market shows that consumers interest in console SIMS is greatly increasing. Personally.., I'm glad they took this route with the Shift series. Shift 1 (being based on circuit racing) is the ONLY reason I bought the title to begin with. I've passed over ALL of the previous NFS titles because I have no interest in illegal street racing and bling blinging a car to the point of "ghetto-fab". (That's just me though).
**Just on a side note..., even though I have GT5 Prologue, GT5, Forza 2/3, GRID, DIRT 1/2, F1-2010, Race Pro, and several others.., NFS Shift-1 still gets a lot of play time on both of my systems. The original Shift IMO still to date has THE BEST cockpit experience on ANY console title.**
Unlike the vast majority out there I was VERY pleased with Shift 1. Granted (like every title released today) there are some issues with it. Many consumers in the very beginning ditched Shift 1 before the first patch was even released. I honestly think that group of people really don't understand what they missed out on with Shift 1.
I pre-ordered Shift 2 Unleashed because it appears that SMS has addressed many of the concerns that were present in the original title, and added more. There are now two modes for the physics (which looks very promising too). Night racing has been added, and much of the original title (which had some VERY good features) has also been carried over as well.
My biggest gripe with the first Shift was the AI. Even though the physics were very arcade like (due to the center axis steering).., I was able to find ways to compensate for that with minor tweaking of the controls. For me the AI was horrible.., and in many instances just seemed like SMS said "lets see how many a-holes we can pile onto one track". The AI essentially ruined Shift 1 for a lot of people.
Shift-2 (based on the development interviews) has done a complete overhaul on the AI.., and are supposed to have seriously toned down the aggression. That IMO is a HUGE improvement by itself!!!
The original title had issues with consumers because the boneheads on the development team (cough cough.., Jesse Abney) were dumb enough to tote NFS Shift 1 as a SIM. That was one of their biggest mistakes IMO. They set the bar too high for themselves, and didn't raise themselves or the game to that level in order to meet consumer expectations. IMO.., had Shift been marketed properly (simply as one of the best arcade racers to date) things may have gone better. Truthfully..., Shift 1 (is) in terms of physics.., the best arcade racer made. There is also GRID.., but the physics in GRID don't compare to Shift.
I think SMS has learned a lot from their mistakes with Shift 1. Plus Shift 1 was a HUGE gamble for SMS and EA. All the franchise fans were pissed to see the illegal street racing and cop chases taken away. That's understandable.., but it's also understandable when a franchise decides to make changes to titles based on "current gaming popularity". Truth is.., SIM style racing is starting to take off with the consoles. The need is there.., and EA had to make a wise business decision to stay in the game. That's just business folks.., as I really have a hard time accepting EA wanted to piss off all the fans. They had to go with current consumer expectations.
I'm very excited about Shift-2. Will it have issues upon release..., hell yes it will. What title doesn't these days. For Pete's sake even GT-5 with all of the time they spent on development wasn't "really finished" upon release.
Bottom line.., you're either gonna like the Shift franchise or you're not. Those of you who bitched an moaned about the first Shift not having cop chases.., well you simply have no room to groan anymore, so don't bother flooding forums with negative posts trashing the game just because it doesn't have cop chases. We're now on the 2nd edition, and those of you should ALREADY KNOW it WILL NOT have cop chases.
The market shows that consumers interest in console SIMS is greatly increasing. Personally.., I'm glad they took this route with the Shift series. Shift 1 (being based on circuit racing) is the ONLY reason I bought the title to begin with. I've passed over ALL of the previous NFS titles because I have no interest in illegal street racing and bling blinging a car to the point of "ghetto-fab". (That's just me though).
**Just on a side note..., even though I have GT5 Prologue, GT5, Forza 2/3, GRID, DIRT 1/2, F1-2010, Race Pro, and several others.., NFS Shift-1 still gets a lot of play time on both of my systems. The original Shift IMO still to date has THE BEST cockpit experience on ANY console title.**
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It'll end up being a "I had it first" daily argument in my house 
