GT and Forza Beware!

[RavenSEAL]

NFS: Shift 2 is looking GOOOOOOD.

http://www.needforspeed.com/shift2unleashed

 

[Cuda1447]

Graphics look phenomenal.

 

[RedRooster]

I fell for the same things they said when the first one came out, and it wasn't that great at all. Again, this one looks amazing though, dare I try my luck twice?!

 

[Ms. DICKINSON]

All pre-rendered materials look amazing. Will see.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Looks good, but in my opinion, it wouldn't take much to outdo GT and Forza in the actual driving aspect (they're far from awful, but I still feel very much that I'm playing a game and so I never really get fully engrossed in the racing). Of course with both of those, its about more than just the racing, its the library of cars, the tuning, and customization, but there's plenty of room for improvement in racing games.

If the racing holds up, and paired with Autolog, Shift 2 could become a stellar game. I think Autolog actually is better suited for this game than Hot Pursuit.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Uh, yeah, NFS has never been anything close to a racing sim, which Forza and GT are. NFS is somewhere between an arcade and a racing sim, depending which game you look at.

 

[Zargon]

you mean Burnout beware right?

 

[AstroManLuca]

Might have to get this. Maybe once it drops in price. I bought Shift for the full $60 and sold it a couple months later for $20. I did like a lot of aspects of it but it did need some polish.

I really love arcade/sim hybrid racers. True sims are boring and too difficult and I have no desire to ever get a racing wheel. I prefer shorter, more intense races. Forza has way too many long races where all you really have to do is not screw up for half an hour.

 

[Raduque]

You know, I didn't care for Shift 1 and I probably won't care for Shift 2.

Bring back something like Underground 2, throw in a decent/non-rubberband AI, and I'll buy it day one, no questions asked.

Most Wanted was pretty good too, I enjoyed that one a lot.

 

[thegimp03]

You know, I didn't care for Shift 1 and I probably won't care for Shift 2.

Bring back something like Underground 2, throw in a decent/non-rubberband AI, and I'll buy it day one, no questions asked.

Most Wanted was pretty good too, I enjoyed that one a lot.

Most Wanted was the last NFS game I really liked. I'll wait and see on Shift 2.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

I don't know about this one but the last one wasn't enough of a sim.

 

[dpodblood]

Although NFS Shift was a bit rushed, once it was patched it was actually an excellent game. My friends and I played it for months. Based on what I have seen of Shift 2 it looks like a day 1 purchase. My hopes is that they are pushing it even more in the Sim direction, and that this time they have a decent damage model.

 

[Kabob]

The first NFS Shift game "looked" good as well, it just played like crap...

 

[dpodblood]

The first NFS Shift game "looked" good as well, it just played like crap...

How so? A lot of people seem to hate on it, but I loved it. It may not have been a "true" sim, but it was certainly more realistic than GRID.

 

[American Gunner]

I am sure that Forza and GT are not scared at all of this game. I remember in an interview that they said they weren't going for a ton of cars. That is one of the draws in a sim racer, having a huge garage of exotic cars.

 

[purbeast0]

nfs:hp was really fun to me, and nfs:mw was the only one I liked before that. if thee is a demo of this game i'll try it out but wouldn't just go buy it w/out playing it.

 

[dpodblood]

nfs:hp was really fun to me, and nfs:mw was the only one I liked before that. if thee is a demo of this game i'll try it out but wouldn't just go buy it w/out playing it.

Guaranteed Shift 2 will be nothing like HP or MW.

 

[purbeast0]

Guaranteed Shift 2 will be nothing like HP or MW.

based on part 1 ... im going to have to agree with you heh.

 

[jrphoenix]

I fell for the same things they said when the first one came out, and it wasn't that great at all. Again, this one looks amazing though, dare I try my luck twice?!

Me too. After playing Forza, it felt a little to arcade for my taste. I say, look out Shift.. Forza 4 is coming to to town (oh yeah, look out GT)

 

[Kabob]

How so? A lot of people seem to hate on it, but I loved it. It may not have been a "true" sim, but it was certainly more realistic than GRID.

Maybe I was spoiled with Forza but 30 FPS and REALLY crappy physics/driving mechanics don't help.

 

[tdawg]

Wow, the visuals look great. I'm intrigued but with Fight Night and MLB 11 The Show landing in the first two weeks of March, there's no way I can add a 3rd title to the purchase list. Hopefully the reviews are good on this one because the visuals are just begging for quality sim gameplay.

 

[Beev]

The NFS series will NEVER be a better sim than any of the GT's or Forza's. Ever. In fact, The NFS series as a whole is pretty damn awful anymore. The new Hot Pursuit was certainly nice, though. Is Criterion making Shift 2? If not then it will be a rental at best, and probably not even worth that.

 

[destrekor]

The NFS series will NEVER be a better sim than any of the GT's or Forza's. Ever. In fact, The NFS series as a whole is pretty damn awful anymore. The new Hot Pursuit was certainly nice, though. Is Criterion making Shift 2? If not then it will be a rental at best, and probably not even worth that.

I dunno... the talent behind Shift has the ability to create a game to compete with GT and Forza.
It's whether or not their reigns are given enough slack for them to work properly.

If they have continued to work on the underlying physics engine, I think they have a chance. The underlying engine for the first Shift was exceptional, but they tweaked the variables and how the variables were used, and it messed things up even for the mod community. But my copy of Shift is heavily modded, and it's a more enjoyable almost-sim. Far more punishing as a game now too.

Realism Developer Diary

That gives me some hope. The tyre modeling, if done correctly, can completely change the face of the game.

However, I'll believe it all when I see it. I have hope but am prepared to be disappointed.

If it can rival the accuracy of other sims, and still play the way the game does, I'll be all over it. It's the only "sim" game that takes any strides to actually make racing feel like racing. The sense of speed is ridiculous, and the whole presentation just helps give that white-knuckle feeling that taking these cars up to speed around a track actually induces.

It definitely looks like they are improving upon the feeling of racing for Shift2, here's to hoping the strides they are taking on the underlying physics simulation truly makes the game more realistic/accurate. From what I had read at one point, there is supposed to be a "Simulation" difficulty level, so taking it down a notch will make it more approachable to other gamers, but the top setting would provide what some of us with more discriminating tastes are seeking.

Again, it is to be believed when it has been seen. All the trailers are really selling it, but that's the point of the hype machine; hopefully there is a demo with full settings available - returning PC games can be a bitch... it's likely a day one purchase, but I fear it will let me down and I'll be upset if I don't like it but have to hold onto the game.

 

[Beev]

It's whether or not their reigns are given enough slack for them to work properly.

This is definitely what I was thinking of when I wrote my last post. I wouldn't ever intentionally knock on a developer I don't think, unless they were stupid full of themselves like Peter Molyneux is these days , but I will certainly rant about EA :awe:

 

[exar333]

Uh, yeah, NFS has never been anything close to a racing sim, which Forza and GT are. NFS is somewhere between an arcade and a racing sim, depending which game you look at.

This. NFS is fun, but not remotely close to GT/Forza in realism or simulation. You are kidding yourself if think otherwise.