NFS: Shift 2

Anyone have it?

Opinions? Thoughts? Criticisms?

I've been excited about it ever since reading the writeup on Speedhunters, but I've been reading some really negative stuff about how the AI drivers act and how the cars behave if you rub.

NickF40 has it, hopefully he'll chime in.

Played the first and was not impressed. I'm not a good judge because if its racing and not a Forza game, I tend to think negatively.

Yeah, I played the demo for shift one when I was pretty hot'n'heavy into Forza 3, and the controls were just off enough that it was too irritating to give it an honest attempt. I did really like the way the way they tried to give more "feel" to speed and bumps through visual effects.

What I read on that Speedhunters article is that the head guy is the same guy who coded one of the big known PC sim racers (I think GT Legends), and that Shift 2 is more sim than that.

Browsing the review at Gamespot showed:

"The cars have a tendency to understeer in fast corners and oversteer in slow ones."

Sounds like it might be lacking a bit in the realism department. But "arcadie" can be fun. I have many fun hour playing Burnout Paradise, not sim at all.

haha thanks Ben...and yes I do, all I got left is GT3 and the GT1 championships. I love it! Probably the best one on console i've played in.....forever. Still doesn't beat TOCA for the PC but it is fantastic. Engine blows, wheels fall off, bumpers fly off, dirt gathers on your car, you can flip it, the sounds are amazing and the cars are fantastic. Tracks that even make the hardcorists proud. I think the real only problem I have with it is the constant washing out of the rear, which makes the FWD absolutly horrible in this game. Handling is great besides that factor, it's definetly wheel friendlier. The drift handling is a PAIN IN THE ASS also, its seperate from the regular handling as in it countersteers for you, which is annoying, but you can get used to it. At Irwindale and Miami it's fun because they have nice sweepers which is great fun doing some Formula Drifts. The freezing is also frustrating but at least it happens in the menus. The helmet cam is sweet, the only thing is he turns his head a little too early for my liking but a VERY SWEET idea. You have it on medium/hard, elite handling with everything off except ABS, i'm sorry, but I need that on with the controller in this game, it is sweet.

And their coming out with a DLC in the future having racers from the 60's and 70's, along with drag racing and standing mile, so looking forward to that! Alfa, Mini, E Type, etc.

I think the A.I. is awesome compared to EVERY racing game I played, and I played a lot, a few on PC and my fair share on 360 and PS2/3. They react the most realistic, they crash and flip and never follow the same line, they even rub into you and be a little aggressive sometimes, nice to have competition on a video game. It's also nice to have some Simbin guys work on this title, since they actually know what they're doing, it's not 100% sim which they wanted but it's VERY sim but still a bit arcade which is a great combo.

Nick, any comment towards the AI drivers or to how contact with other cars is?

haha just revised my comment

on medium/ hard and elite handling is when the A.I. comes alive for sure

It's a HUGE improvement over the first

I am not good enough to reach that kind of level, but it has a more arcade feel than Forza. I like it, it is fun.

I will probably play a few more hours tonight.

(just got it used at Gamestop on Friday.)

I couldn't stand the first one, is the second better? NFS games have been realistic enough for me.

yes, so much better! Just make sure you lessen the deadzones and sensitivity, it comes stock with it being too twitchy, I can give you my settings if anyone wants them.

I seem to think it gets less arcadey the higher you go in handling and difficulty

I traded in GT5 for it.

I'm tired of "serious" video GAMES. I have a stressful job, when I get home and crack open a fine adult beverage I want to play something FUN.

And drifting a slammed, 600hp V10 E30 M3 during non-drift race is fun. Superbadboyrealisticphysics be damned!

haha you sir, are my hero

Yeah, it's just a damn shame that the xbox won't support the G25.

killerkane wrote: I couldn't stand the first one, is the second better?

This.

I would be tempted, but I was burned by the first one. The cars felt as if they floated over the road surface and there was a disconnect between the steering wheel and the road. All the cars seemed to have the same handling characteristics as well.

I need to find a local friend that has a copy and borrow it. I don't want to waste the cash if I am not going to enjoy it... even if I get it used.

z31maniac wrote: I traded in GT5 for it. I'm tired of "serious" video GAMES. I have a stressful job, when I get home and crack open a fine adult beverage I want to play something FUN. And drifting a slammed, 600hp V10 E30 M3 during non-drift race is fun. Superbadboyrealisticphysics be damned!

This. I can not tell you how much fun it is to play the first one or Forza with my 8 year old doing crazy stuff. Though his favorite track is the old Le Mans track with the long back straight with the Auto Braking turned off. Good stuff.

The steering still feels a bit wobbly, and you kinda have to drive the car loose for a fast lap. Going back to back with Forza you will hit a few walls.

Let us not forget there are "games" in Forza. Tag, infection. They can be fun, but there its always someone who is tuned for games and it goes downhill from there.

Somebody knew what they were doing when they sent out copies to be reviewed. They sent out the PC version to be reviewed. Console versions don't have quite the content, and are much more Arcade-y. Unless I find this one for less than $10, I won't be getting it for the 360.