Is Shift 2 Unleashed really worth buying?

[Techy]

I know the game is released around 2-3 weeks ago? However, while watching some gameplays for it, it looked pretty cool, like for instance, the helmet cam, engine and exhaust notes; the graphics, the cars, the tracks, you know. The game even received some decent user reviews. But, pretty much everyone says that vehicle handling and performance are quite inaccurate. But this seemed to be made up with all the positive features.

To be honest, the only reasons I'm getting this game is:
> The intense and fearful gameplay, unlike GT5's (It's still good, though)
> The tracks that GT5 doesn't have (e.g. Bathurst and Spa)
> The cars that GT5 doesn't have (e.g. Porsche)
> Engine and exhaust notes

So what do you, the community, think I should do -- buy the game or save my 60 bucks?

P.S. I have Shift 1, but I ended up disliking the game because every car seemed to slide and their handling is like a bathtub.

 

[kimi123]

Well I am not sure either I am more interested in Motorstorm 3 TBH as a fun arcade game.

 

[bmwisme]

If your game preference slant is towards racing games then it would be worth it. I didn't have Shift 1 so can't do a comparison but I haven't put GT5 back in since getting Shift 2 (GT5 is a great game though). Very intense racing game - even better if the patches fix some problems.
There are some that say they hate it... ask them if they would like to sell (same a few bucks). But, I doubt you will find someone willing to part with their copy.

 

[Techy]

If your game preference slant is towards racing games then it would be worth it. I didn't have Shift 1 so can't do a comparison but I haven't put GT5 back in since getting Shift 2 (GT5 is a great game though). Very intense racing game - even better if the patches fix some problems.
There are some that say they hate it... ask them if they would like to sell (same a few bucks). But, I doubt you will find someone willing to part with their copy.

Well, I may pry towards a pre-owned copy from Gamestop for 44 bucks (I think). But, with all other games out and existing in the market....

 

[UkHardcore23]

Not touched GT5 since Shift 2 came out and wont be going back any time soon...well worth it!

 

[Spagetti69]

Get Xbox version if you have a choice.

 

[Techy]

I'm still not sure, yet. But, to those who has the game: How's the handling like? Did it improve, stayed the same, or just decreased further?

 

[BPskeet69]

You just have to tune the cars... for some reason all of the cars damper settings are set as soft as possible. I made a thread with preferable tunes and imo the cars feel better then GT5 now.

 

[BPskeet69]

The reason the cars felt floaty/inaccurate is cause the springs/dampers are default set softer then they should normally be, just have to stiffen them up a bit.

 

[Techy]

You just have to tune the cars... for some reason all of the cars damper settings are set as soft as possible. I made a thread with preferable tunes and imo the cars feel better then GT5 now.

Really? Perhaps I may get the game. But I still have some questions:

1) How's Nordschleife (spelled right?)? Is it accurately done like or close to GT5's?

2) How's the career? Please Include what kinds of events it has.

3) How's the customization?

4) How's the A.I.? Is it better than GT5's?

5) How's Online/Autolog?

Sorry for so many questions -- I don't want to waste my money.

 

[BPskeet69]

Really? Perhaps I may get the game. But I still have some questions:

1) How's Nordschleife (spelled right?)? Is it accurately done like or close to GT5's?

2) How's the career? Please Include what kinds of events it has.

3) How's the customization?

4) How's the A.I.? Is it better than GT5's?

5) How's Online/Autolog?

Sorry for so many questions -- I don't want to waste my money.

1) The Nordschleife is done pretty Well IMO, Not as good as GT5s but still good, It actually seems MORE accurate in some spots, but less accurate in others. The main difference i noticed on Nordschleife is the elevation changes, im some parts, its spot on, in other parts of the track they dont seems as great as they should be. But i actually enjoy this Nordschleife more then GT5s for some reason...

2)The career is incredible, im still not done and i play ALOT. Theres sooo many races. Theres Time Attack, Person with fastest lap time wins. Elimination races, every 30 seconds it eliminates the person in last place and keep going until the last one racing wins. Theres straight races, pretty straight forward. Theres Drift races, again straight forward. Theres Hot Lap races, Theres designated times and you have top use a pre determined, stock car and beat the times. Theres GT3 races, Using the high performance GT3 race cars. theres GT1 races, using the even higher performance GT1 race cars. Theres endurance races, They arent as long as in GT5, they are 20 laps each, but the ones on Nordschleife are only 5 laps each. They take roughly 45-55 minutes for each race. i think thats it, i may be missing some.

3)The customization is sweet, I just wish the livery editor was a little more user friendly. Not too many vinyls in it, and the camera angles kinda suck when editing your own livery. But its a good thing each car has like 5 or more pre set liveries. Saying that though, its not like its impossible to make your own, ive seen some pretty sweet ones in the photomode thread. Like some guys Radical SR3 RS looks absolutely beautiful, go check it out, its on page 9.

4)The A.I. is INCREDIBLE, They are so fun to race, so competitive. It nice to have A.I. thats there to beat you instead of the A.I. in GT5 thats just there for a nice little drive. sometimes the A.I. can be overly aggressive, but if you drive with good precision, theyre pretty easy to avoid.

5)The autolog is addicting as hell. nothing funner then competing with friends to see who can set the best time! its even funner when you beat there time with a slower car lol. I havent done online yet cause im so busy with the really in depth Career still!

 

[Imari]

The Nordschleife is well done. Don't expect the ridiculous level of detail that PD put into the graffiti and such, and you will be thrown by the fact that a lot of the shrubbery looks different compared to GT5. But to drive on, it feels exactly the same to me and we've had statements that it was designed to the specs of the CAD data provided by the track themselves. Also, night mode is so much scarier than GT5's night mode on the Ring.

The career is excellent. It has a range of events including single races, championship style events, endurance races, time trials, duels with "boss" characters, and elimination events (last one across the line each lap loses).

Customization is excellent, on all cars. Very upgradable visually and mechanically. Livery editor sucks balls though.

AI is good. Very good. Be prepared to be challenged. You will laugh. You will swear. You will be convinced they are cheating. They are not, it's just very, very good AI.

Online I have only tried a couple of times, seemed good. Autolog will cost you many hours of your life, it's a simple idea that is unbelievably brilliant in the motivation it gives you to have "just one more race".

 

[BPskeet69]

Yup, was missing some types of races.

Retro races, only retro cars.
Muscle Car races, only muscle cars.
Works races, Only Works converted or GTX cars.

 

[Bagmup]

Shift 2 is what Gran Turismo used to be...fun, not grinding for hours to make a decent dollar.

 

[Techy]

^^^^

Pretty nice answers. I still have questions, though

1) How's the other tracks designed, like Bathurst, Spa, and Miami?

2) Is there any annoyances/glitches/bugs in the game?

3) How's the music library? Great, decent, good, bad, terrible?

 

[BPskeet69]

^^^^

Pretty nice answers. I still have questions, though

1) How's the other tracks designed, like Bathurst, Spa, and Miami?

2) Is there any annoyances/glitches/bugs in the game?

3) How's the music library? Great, decent, good, bad, terrible?

1) Spa has officially become my favorite track of all time, espcially during a night race. Ive never had so much fun on a track. I did the 20 Lap Spa Endurance the other day, and i wish it was 50 laps. That 54 minutes went by too Fast! So fun. The other tracks are modeled very well aswell. Glendale, Silverstone, Nurburgring GP, Zolder, The list goes on and on of great tracks.

2) the only annoyance i have, is sometimes the game freezes. It only seeems to freeze though if your switching between things too fast. But they offically announced a patch coming out soon so dont be surprised if it gets fixed in the Patch!

3)Theres no music DURING races. Which is nice for me personally because i love hearing the beautiful sound of a V12 monster roaring down the track! but the Music in the menus, there isnt alot of songs, and they get old fast.

 

[Techy]

^^^^

Thanks! Looks like my questions have been answered, and I think I will get the game quite soon. If not, then I can wait, I guess.

NOTE: I may also try to get it with a Fanatec/DFGT wheel and another cheap game, as well.

 

[Akmuq]

How is the physics in this game? Are they just a slide-fest or are they more grippy like GT5?

 

[Techy]

^^^

Wondering about that, too. By the way, one more little question: Is there a engine noise while a car is idle?

 

[UkHardcore23]

How is the physics in this game? Are they just a slide-fest or are they more grippy like GT5?

Once upgraded and tuned very grippy, maybe not the superglued to the road racing tyres of GT5 but that is a good thing.

 

[RomKnight]

Its impossible to miss so much fun (i won't replicate the reasons posted above). I sure am lucky though because i don't have many of the problems reported and only one freeze until now.

I don't care for a track being a bit off here and there so i don't count this as annoyances. Who cares about photo-realistic graphics when everything passes so fast and you need constant attention to driving. Its like being on a race and looking for babes

A wheel with settings tweaked to my taste makes the game a lot more enjoyable (lag wise). Even more if driving a properly tuned vehicle.

So yes, buy it.

 

[bestwelmichel]

AI = rubberbanding
lead a race 2/3 and get a max lead of 2 sec. spin out on the last lap. be 4-5 sec behind the leader and still catch them up before the finish line. at least it's not as bad as the latest nfs hp where if they spun out they'd be on your tail before the next corner

really like it that you can switch engines on the cars, and sometimes they gain weight by doing so.

really like the gt1 and gt3 cars.

anyway don't compare gt5 to this or the other way around.
gt5= simulator
shift is more of an arcade racer

 

[JeffKill]

I myself don't regret buying the game, and definitely think it was worth it. I picked it up used at gamestop so I had the option of returning it for a full refund if I didn't like it. I would suggest doing the same if you have doubts though, just to be safe.

 

[Techy]

Alright, guys, I'll give the game a shot.

This thread is now closed, but since I'm not premium, I'll leave this thread up if anyone is wondering to get it or not, or if anyone wants to post anything that is prior to the thread's subject.


Thank you every one of you guys for contributing! 👍

 

[buziii]

I'll give you perhaps the best endorsement yet...

I'm one of the unlucky ones that doesn't receive all the bonus cash I earn leveling up. And yet, I keep playing, and playing. Hopefully, the upcoming patch will fix that, but right now I don't care.

Yes, I have GT5, and I love it too, but it hasn't been back in since I started playing this. I'm not a techie, can't give you technical reasons, but...it's just fun as hell.

There...enough said. I'll see you on AutoLog.

 

[paytonlow]

Buy the PC version if you can, the Metacritic scores show some interesting figures:

PC - 85/100
XBOX360 - 83/100
PS3 - 82/100

The member feebacks on this forum also show that PS3 version has most problems, e.g. input lag, poor graphics.

 

[Imari]

AI = rubberbanding
lead a race 2/3 and get a max lead of 2 sec. spin out on the last lap. be 4-5 sec behind the leader and still catch them up before the finish line.

Are you playing the same game as the rest of us, or is this something that kicks in on the easier modes or something? I'm on Elite Hard, and I've just done pretty much exactly what you described apart from the catching up part. I got ahead, I stuck a wheel in the sand, I got passed and I couldn't for the life of me catch up again. That's been my experience the whole game, if I let them get too far ahead I will have no hope of catching up because the game has been doing (mostly) a very good job of matching the speed of the AI to mine. Nothing's perfect, but the majority of the time I get very, very close races with no hint of rubberbanding in race. The AI does change difficulty levels between races based on your results, but SMS have admitted that and it's part of why the AI ends up being so close with us.

 

[OLDSKOOLACURA]

AI is good. Very good. Be prepared to be challenged. You will laugh. You will swear. You will be convinced they are cheating. They are not, it's just very, very good AI.

lol that sounds about right

 

[boomee]

Well I am not sure either I am more interested in Motorstorm 3 TBH as a fun arcade game.

THan why are you on these forums thats kinda weird.

 

[boomee]

Buy the PC version if you can, the Metacritic scores show some interesting figures:

PC - 85/100
XBOX360 - 83/100
PS3 - 82/100

The member feebacks on this forum also show that PS3 version has most problems, e.g. input lag, poor graphics.

xbox is also having the exact same problems