GT5 player's impression of Shift2

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I got almost 2 hours of play in. Level 14 and 20% through career. Still struggling to get used to the physics. This game is difficult with the DS3. The joystick is way too sensitive for steering and there's no way to adjust it.

Other than that this game is pretty awesome so far. The AI is very good and competitive, the sounds are top notch, and the wrecks are beautiful.

The tuning is pretty in depth and there are a lot of upgrades you can perform on the cars. I messed with the livery editor very briefly and the only thing that still bums me out is that there is yet a PS3 game that will let me make the Studie GLAD Racing Z4 lol.

The career path is interesting and there's always something different you can do.

As far as the graphics are concerned I am a little disappointed but that may come from only playing GT5 and Killzone 3 recently. The details are great though. Dusk and nighttime look fantastic, the damage is great, and the cars really take a beating and get very dirty/grimy.

Helmet cam is a pretty cool feature but I only used it once or twice. I may go back to it later. The regular cockpit cam also looks great but I am using mostly bumper cam like I do in most racing games. The difference between this and GT5 regarding bumper cam is that in GT5 the camera was still positioned pretty much where the cockpit is but in Shift 2 it is literally out on the bumper.

I looked into online once and there were only 2 games going on. I didn't join either so I can't comment on the online play right now. The Autolog feature is nice though.

The game constantly rewards you with badges and it's a great incentive to keep progressing. Every little thing you do gives you experience which is nice and it throws money at you. Money is never a problem and if you buy a car and fully upgrade it and decide you want to sell it you get all the money back for the purchase of the car as well as all the money you spent on upgrades for it.

The car rewards are pretty sweet too. I've only had to purchase one car since starting the game but I am getting to the point where I'll have to start buying a few different cars to complete different events but with the aforementioned money handouts I am not worried at all about being able to afford anything.


In closing this game is pretty solid and I am enjoying it very much. I just wish I could change the joystick sensitivity.
 
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My turn, I got the game based on the comments here.

My initial impression after several races ...

First, some confirmation. The first race was terrible (my fav car the GTR was sooo bad :) ), good thing i read here that it gets better.

It is definitely better than Shift1, a good thing.

Is the driving feel better than GT5? not quite. Is the driving feel bad? not at all. To me GT5 feels like my car with new high performance bushings, everything is tight ... precise. Shift feels my car with stock, 5-8 year old bushings, not as precise, but still a lot of fun.

I did not know that youtube functionality is in there for your replays, i was excited about this until i realized it was only a 10 second clip. :lol: Not sure if this is the maximum length.
 
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vsaber
It seems that people are complaining on excessive understeer on shift 2 with a wheel, any recommendation on one for PC? I'd like to keep playing GT5 on ps3 and gonna start shift 2 on PC.
Thanks
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Buy a MX5! the feel of the physics engine changes a lot depends on what car you have.

Actually the understeering issue is more car setup related than control issue, for example the caterham understeers like a dog stock, just need some new spring rate setting and it now flys.

Some cars are really nice stock, the supra, FC RX7 etc.
 
JJ72
Buy a MX5! the feel of the physics engine changes a lot depends on what car you have.

Actually the understeering issue is more car setup related than control issue, for example the caterham understeers like a dog stock, just need some new spring rate setting and it now flys.

Some cars are really nice stock, the supra, FC RX7 etc.
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Do you mean the car Mazda MX5? I was asking what driving wheel I should get that will compatible for both PC and PS3.
I'm sure the settings can be tweaked :)
 
vsaber
Do you mean the car Mazda MX5? I was asking what driving wheel I should get that will compatible for both PC and PS3.
I'm sure the settings can be tweaked :)
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sorry, concentration lapse. :scared:

Any logitech wheel will do, DFGT, G25, G27, all solid good choices.

Fanatec have support issues with PS3.
 
Yeah, I'm wondering how much of the wallowing/floatiness is actually just a characteristic of some of the cars. Particularly stock, a lot of these cars are set up for comfort rather than handling.
 
Adding to what I said I was wrong about the joystick sensitivity. There are a ton of options for sensitivity you can change! I thought that menu was just for wheel users but I was wrong. Wish I would have seen that before I made it 20% through the career lol!
 
Like everyone else, my review is based on the first couple hours of play and so far I'm very much liking the game. It is a complete change from GT5 and its countless hours of grinding. Don't get me wrong, I love GT5, but Shift 2 puts new excitement in the game. True you can't compare physics between the two games. GT5 is just better. It will take a lot of getting used to for Shift 2 but once you get the hang of it then the game becomes that much more fun to play.

The helmet cam is a little weird for me. I tend to miss a lot of turns when using the helmet cam cause it seems to delay what you're trying to do. I might play with it some more later on down the road but for now I'll just stick with the bumper cam (which is what i use for all racing games).

Another neat feature that i liked in Shift 2 was how you can score points in each corner if you are able to take the correct driving line. It helps you to improve your driving and teachs you to brake early and take the turns as smooth as possible while still trying to carry as much speed through it as you can.

One negative thing i will have to comment about is how the game makes you feel like you're losing front end grip through FFB. This was what the main page was saying how the car felt "floaty". Personally, I don't think it should cut the grip on you so soon while turning the wheel. I've tried adjusting the wheel sensitivity but still seemed to lose FFB at the same point of wheel turn.

From playing GT5 so much these last few months, Shift 2 is a nice change for me. Good graphics, good sound, great damage models, fun immersive gameplay. I would give it a 8/10 :)
 
Ok, I have a few hours under my belt.....I like this, but I liked Shift 1 as well.

This is NOT GT5, and it doesn't have the same physics but it's not nearly as sterile as GT5 is. It does give you the sensation that you are in a race. The damage model is leaps and bounds over GT5. No grinding that I've found....just racing.

The helmet cam is a cool feature, but it makes me misjudge the turns. I've been using the hood cam for the most part.

Loosing grip. Yep, it does give you that feeling at times. If they tone that down a bit, I think it will help. Right now I think it's a bit exaggerated. I haven't messed around with the FFB setting to see if it can be alleviated to a certain extent. Maybe someone else has it figured out.

Overall, it's a very good game and just a blast to play. Like others have said....good graphics, fantastic damage model (see the crashes inside sim racing posted). If you wanted a number rating....I'd give it a 8.5/10.
 
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This looks like Shift 1 after some hours playing it,the car do not feel "under" you but TSC off and feels much better. Physics are no way near GT5 and realism is were GT5 takes the advantage. Looks fun and great in overall.

I need to play it more for my verdict,still cant beat GT5 for a Racing/Driving simulator.

ps: I see much GT5 "anti fanboys" here,which are as annoying as fanboys. Isn't this GTPlanet?
 
Dave x1
This looks like Shift 1 after some hours playing it,the car do not feel "under" you but TSC off and feels much better. Physics are no way near GT5 and realism is were GT5 takes the advantage. Looks fun and great in overall.

I need to play it more for my verdict,still cant beat GT5 for a Racing/Driving simulator.

ps: I see much GT5 "anti fanboys" here,which are as annoying as fanboys. Isn't this GTPlanet?
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We were all GT fanboys hence we come here, we cant help it if GT5 is the worst game in the series thus far...are we just supposed to accept it and not play better racing games?
 
UkHardcore23
We were all GT fanboys hence we come here, we cant help it if GT5 is the worst game in the series thus far...are we just supposed to accept it and not play better racing games?
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No.I didn't say that,it's that a big part of the people confuse both games,GT5 is a sim,boring game but realistic,Shift 2 is nowhere near,has nothing to do with a sim despite what they claim. Its more like a fusion of NFS and Dirt.
 
Dave x1
No.I didn't say that,it's that a big part of the people confuse both games,GT5 is a sim,boring game but realistic,Shift 2 is nowhere near,has nothing to do with a sim despite what they claim. Its more like a fusion of NFS and Dirt.
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As a racer GT5 is as far away from realistic as Shift is to driving.
 
UkHardcore23
As a racer GT5 is as far away from realistic as Shift is to driving.
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Strange,im not a racer but i do trackdays a lot,i find GT5 a lot more realistic as any other console game,still its a game,do not expect to be the same as reality,in some occasions GT5 is at least 80% real on the car behavior IMO,which i find it good enough.
 
sw_sephiroth
Adding to what I said I was wrong about the joystick sensitivity. There are a ton of options for sensitivity you can change! I thought that menu was just for wheel users but I was wrong. Wish I would have seen that before I made it 20% through the career lol!
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I'll have to check that out, what settings are you using now?

So far my three complaints are overly sensitive joysticks on the DS3, and the car seems a bit.. floaty or slidy? Not really sure how to describe it. It may just be due to the joysticks and the camera though. Third complaint: The incredibly annoying "bros" and "dudes" who keep showing up in videos telling me about their "mad tyte rides yo" and how I just need to "stick it" to the competition...:yuck: Do not care, and I can not skip.👎

I've only been using a GTI so far but around corners it seems like I get a little drift fairly often which shouldn't happen, and on straights minute adjustments seem to transfer the weight side to side a whole lot. Getting the middle set of tire upgrades helped a lot though.

On the other hand, I can finally put my wheels on the GTI (not able to in GT5), and being able to do a full works conversion should be cool. I'm excited about the car and track list as well. Though I'm bummed about how fake the track scenery is. Laguna Seca looks like it feel into the set of some post apocalyptic movie. I did get similar times with my GTI there as I do in Forza and GT5 though.

As others have said, the general feel of the racing and damage is top notch. I've gone sideways through the grass and dug in and started to roll a few times. Definitely makes you pay attention. The short races I've done so far (only modern D) combined with the punishing collisions, even little bumper taps, make a crash of any kind a game over. Much better than GT in that respect.

All in all, it's pretty darn fun. I'll still play GT when I want to do hot laps, but Shift and F1 will be for racing. Between the three (GT, shift, Forza), Forza is still the best combination for me.

Sorry for the long post, hopefully someone reads it :)

edit: one last thing, the MkV GTI sounds terrible, GT5 actually did a better job. Hopefully the other cars sound better.


Dave x1
Strange,im not a racer but i do trackdays a lot,i find GT5 a lot more realistic as any other console game,still its a game,do not expect to be the same as reality,in some occasions GT5 is at least 80% real on the car behavior IMO,which i find it good enough.
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Most people on the site (myself included) who have a problem with the racing in GT5 enjoy the driving in GT5 very much. I love to grab a car, pick a track and do a dozen laps trying to knock of tenths here and there. On the other hand, picking an event and racing the AI is downright boring and, in my opinion, some of the worst racing I've played this console generation. Driving can be great, but if you don't get the racing aspect down, you don't have a race, you just have a couple of cars on a track driving in circles.
I hope that explains it.
 
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@freedomweasel Yeah thats pretty much it,when including Racing,its a completely boring game,no way you can lose a race in GT5,its all plain boring and the AI which seems that is smoking weed,it needs to be more aggressive (Shift 2 pretty much has a good "aggressive" AI),i was talking about car behavior,driving dynamics etc,which can be tested perfectly in Time Trial mode,you spot the difference between the real the game than,its here when GT5 comes closer to reality than any other game.
 
This game is a winner. All of the features that should have been in GT5 are in S2. I dont know why PD couldnt figure out what gamers wanted. And the load times are soooooo much better. The only thing that GT5 may have overS2 is the sharpness of the graphics and higher detailing of thier car models. Maybe. I've been a long time fan of the GT series - since GT1. S2 is my game now.
 
freedomweasel
Most people on the site (myself included) who have a problem with the racing in GT5 enjoy the driving in GT5 very much. I love to grab a car, pick a track and do a dozen laps trying to knock of tenths here and there. On the other hand, picking an event and racing the AI is downright boring and, in my opinion, some of the worst racing I've played this console generation. Driving can be great, but if you don't get the racing aspect down, you don't have a race, you just have a couple of cars on a track driving in circles.
I hope that explains it.
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Exactly. That's why I'm keeping GT5: for time trials, WRS, online racing with friends. Shift covers everything else so well.
 
tyl0r_r
Exactly. That's why I'm keeping GT5: for time trials, WRS, online racing with friends. Shift covers everything else so well.
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That's right. Shift covers all that pretty good. But for me, that lack of a real feel for driving can not be compensated by the other good stuff. Racing is based on driving. I am sure it could be a lot of fun for the pad/controller people.
 
carlosy
That's right. Shift covers all that pretty good. But for me, that lack of a real feel for driving can not be compensated by the other good stuff. Racing is based on driving. I am sure it could be a lot of fun for the pad/controller people.
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I use a wheel and haven't had any problems with the physics and I have played and enjoyed rFactor, GTR, Iracing, etc... The physics in Dirt, for example, I grew tired of really quickly. Shift 2 has kept me interested so far. Mileage may vary for everyone I guess.
 
tyl0r_r
Exactly. That's why I'm keeping GT5: for time trials, WRS, online racing with friends. Shift covers everything else so well.
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Yes ... shift2, GT5 and dirt2 (soon to be dirt3) will live happily together on my shelf.

carlosy
That's right. Shift covers all that pretty good. But for me, that lack of a real feel for driving can not be compensated by the other good stuff. Racing is based on driving. I am sure it could be a lot of fun for the pad/controller people.
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I took some time setting up the wheel (G27) and the game before i could enjoy it. It feels different when you loose grip, it feels out of control i can't tell where it's going. :) This gives a bit more excitement, i think. It's a large step forward from shift1 and i hated shift1. :lol:

Don't expect it to feel like GT5, it will not happen. But it does feel better once you get somewhat used to it.
 
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The feel of racing is sure present in Shift 2. The customization options are well implemented too. Damage? Top notch. However....

The driving in the game is not what I expected. Perhaps its a setting adjustment, but man, it feels horrible. I played for an hour last night after work, and I am disappointed.
 

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