Product DetailsPlatform: PC Download
Would you like to give feedback on images? |
Shift 2 Unleashed is a multiplayer Simulation Racer for play on PC. Follow-up game to 2009's Need For Speed: Shift, Shift 2 Unleashed leaves the traditional arcade racing associations of the Need For Speed franchise far behind as it immerses the player in an unprecedented level of realistic racing scenarios and functionality. Features include: improved first person perspective via the all-new helmet cam; access to real-world drivers, tracks, and cars; a deep Career Mode; 1-12 online multiplayer support; extensive car customization; and Autolog social networking functionality.
The critically acclaimed Shift franchise returns to the track to deliver the most physical racing experience to date with Shift 2 Unleashed. Feel what the Driver's Battle is actually like in an unparalleled racing experience that captures the physicality and brutality of being behind the wheel going 200mph. Frighteningly authentic physics and degradation of tracks and cars, thrilling night racing, and an eye-watering sense of speed combined with the helmet camera puts you right in the heart in the action. Feel every scrape, bump, and burn out in an all-out fight to the finish line. Shift 2 Unleashed sets the bar for realistic racing and gives all the excitement and exhilaration of race day in a groundbreaking authentic experience.
Like the original game in the young Shift video game franchise, Shift 2 Unleashed is a Need For Speed game, but one that falls decidedly in the Simulation game genre as opposed to an arcade racer. The game features first-person oriented racing in which players experience true in-cockpit vibrations with every scrape, bump and scratch that their cars encounter. In-game players pursue the FIA GT1 World Championship and GT3 European Championship via a point-based experience system as they take on the roles of real-world drivers and a variety of race types across equally real-world tracks in a wealth of cars.
Shift 2 Unleashed also contains powerful social networking functionality, known as Autolog. Autolog is a revolutionary system that connects friends and changes the gameplay experience by allowing you to share virtually every aspect of your racing career both while playing and when not. Compare driver profiles and career status, share and comment on pictures and videos, send challenges, and pull news feeds directly from NFS.com and Speehunters.com. Autolog recommendations amp up the social competition of real-world racing by delivering challenges based on friend activity, creating a dynamic, competitive, fun new way to play both online and offline.
 12 racer support. View larger. |  Terrifying night racing. View larger. |  Deep customization options. View larger. |  Dramatic in-cockpit views. View larger. |
|
System Requirements
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?Customer ReviewsMost Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 42 people found the following review helpful Platform for Display:PC
Fun:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just to give you some background on me (so you can take what I say with a grain of salt, depending on what you're looking for from this game) I mostly play racing games that lean far more toward the simulator side (modified versions of GTR2, GTR Evo/Race 07, rFactor, Richard Burns Rally). I have a G25 steering wheel and have my pedals & shifter mounted on stands to more accurately place them where they would be in a car. I'll spend hours trying to whittle away seconds from a lap time. So imagine how excited I was after seeing the technology video on Shift 2.
Out of the box, the game was nearly unplayable on the PC. What it feels like to me is that the game was probably ported to PC, then given a quick slap of force feedback (FFB) that isn't anywhere near being well tuned, in order to get the games released at the same time on all platforms. I say this because I don't believe the physics are entirely to blame here, but after playing other sims and then playing this one, you literally don't get any feedback about what the car is doing other than the resistance of a turn or hitting the wall & other cars (you can't tell what the tires are doing, nor the springs, or how the weight of the car is shifting). In a good racing sim, you can feel when your car starts losing traction in a turn, allowing you to make corrections (letting off the gas, etc). But in Shift 2 it is really hard for me to tell what the chassis is doing. The opening part of the game has you drive a Nissan GT-R (an advanced AWD vehicle) around a small course, and you pretty much can't drive it aggressively from the get-go because you can't feel what the car is doing. It misleads you into believing you're going to make a corner, and then the car slides out sideways without notice (you can't feel anything, you just see it happening). Anyone who has played GTR2/Evo/rFactor will know what I'm talking about. You can jump between various styles of cars in those sims and if you're an experienced driver you can adjust to the new car within a few turns just because you can feel what the car likes & doesn't like, the FFB programming in those sims is that good. It's not like that at all in Shift 2. Switching from the GT-R to the Alfa Romeo (first car you are awarded in the game) wasn't much of a difference in feel at all. Even after purchasing chassis parts & new tires, it felt the same and I never felt confident of what the car was capable or not capable of. You'll basically just end up learning your acceptable corner speeds and the best driving line without feeling what the car is doing, which entirely detracts from what a simulation is about. I make this distinction only because EA made such a huge deal about how realistic this game was going to be. And for someone who is all about the driving aspect of the game, you're going to feel like something is missing. That connection between man and machine. It's more like being a witness to some very pretty graphics. Private parties (modders) have already made a couple of mods to fix some of the issues in this game. There's a fix to make the sidewalls of the tires stiffer so the reaction to turning is improved (feels less mushy), and I think there's a mod to remove some of the effects of colliding with other objects that cause the lag issue. But this game feels like it's unfinished, if only because of the sub-par FFB. The game looks brilliant with the graphics cranked (better have a fast rig) and the car selection is very nice and highly varied, without having too many cars that nobody will ever touch. Some of the new effects are nice, like the inside-helmet view, the look-to-apex function (which takes some getting used to, since I use TrackIR in other sims, and Shift 2 doesn't support TrackIR [but there is a mod for TrackIR support already too]). Hopefully EA patches this game soon. It really is a solid 4 or 5-star game, marred by very poor feedback support. Heck, if you're going to play it on PC with a gamepad you might really like this game. It is definitely fun (FFB issues aside) and looks great, it just needs some TLC from EA to make it more of a complete offering for people who drive with a steering wheel setup and take their racing games seriously (again, I only mention this because EA made much ado about how realistic this game was going to be). EDIT - Okay, 1 week and a lot of forum research later, I'm starting to get this dialed in with my G25 wheel. First of all, you need the latest Logitech Profiler software, and you'll need to set the spring effect strength and damper effect strength to about 40% or so (more or less to suit your taste). Most sims don't use these effects, so we tend to set them both to 0%, but EA built their FFB around the use of these two effects, as well as the FFB strength (which I have at 113% currently). I am using 362 degrees of rotation in the Profiler software (not the full 900 like I have in my other sims), and I have the Profiler set up to launch off of the Shift 2 executable (you can do this under Edit -> Properties in the Profiler software). In-game, I have the wheel set to 50% sensitivity with 360 degrees of steering lock. You can widen these figures if you like (460-540 or so) but for some reason it feels really loose to do so in this particular game, and you may be turning the wheel excessively. Now, with these settings in a stock vehicle, it still probably won't feel quite right. That's because you still need to go into each and every car you own in-game and adjust the steering lock in the car's tuning settings itself. Each car will be at default 20 steering lock, and most need to be lowered (for instance, I'm using 18 on the Lotus Elise 111). Plus, the feel of the cars gets proportionally better if you buy better tires & suspension and adjust them halfway decent. It's a shame that EA didn't make it simpler to just hook up your wheel and go, but at least we are figuring this stuff out. I feel like it has seriously marred what could have been a great launch for this game on PC. Also, EA has confirmed that they are coming out with a patch that will eliminate some of the lag in steering response, but I'm not sure when that will be. But the way I have it set up now is miles better than it was when I first started playing it, and I'm really starting to enjoy it as much as I'd originally hoped... 24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By Mark M.
Platform for Display:PC
Fun:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MY DECISION TO BUY:
I was on the fence even trying it out based on the reviews, but having tried it I now know SHIFT 2 has gotten a seriously undeserved bum rap. Finding it for $25-$1.5 ebay bucks on ebay shipped was enough for me to give it a go. OVERALL IMPRESSION It's worth much more than what I paid, though I'm glad I got a good deal; I don't like spending more than $30 for a title. EA, you were due, and you hit it out of the park! Playing it feels amazing. It doesn't take tinkering to get it playing nice, just a few basic considerations. The game play is silky smooth on my current PC... But there are a few things I'd like to share with all you current disappointed and potential players because SHIFT 2 is getting a bum rap. And I can sort of see why, but I also know why it's not right. If you're on the fence or discounted SHIFT 2 without trying it (properly), please read my whole review and reconsider. I want EA to get proper feedback and come out with great titles like this one and even better racers in the future instead of accommodating crasher kids and going in the wrong direction with their development. (But if SHIFT 2 is where EA peaks, then it's still a win in my book because SHIFT 2 is the best NFS title to date.) SHIFT 2 is not just a fun game, it's more advance than that. It's actually quite revolutionary, and here is my detailed yet not-nearly-exhaustive account. MY PC HARDWARE It's important for you to know what hardware I'm running so that you know what my experience is based on. Previous PC system (built on September of 2006) AMD Opteron 165 (server-grade CPU) 1.8Ghz dual-core overclocked to 2.4Ghz Asus A8N-E motherboard OCZ PC4200 DDR 2GB CL3 2T dual-channel RAM running at 2x266Mhz Samsung HD103SJ 1TB hard drive (115MB/s average transfer, 177MB/s burst transfer rate) Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 1280MB DDR5 RAM video card Xbox 360 wired USB controller for Windows Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Current PC system (built on May of 2011) Intel i7 2600k 3.4Ghz quad-core, 1.6Ghz-3.8Ghz in EPU and turbo mode Asus P8Z68-V Pro motherboard G.Skill PC10666 DDR3 8GB CL7 2T dual-channel RAM running at 1333Mhz 2x Samsung HD103SJ hard drives in Raid0 (215MB/s average transfer, 1473MB/s burst transfer rate!) Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 1280MB DDR5 RAM video card Xbox 360 wired USB controller for Windows Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit INITIAL IMPRESSION ON MY PREVIOUS PC I did not like the game on my previous system. Even with the Nvidia GeForce GTX470 video card, it was just too much for my 5-year-old system to handle smoothly. Turning down the graphics took away from the experience and the steering feedback still wasn't responsive and fast enough to really be playable. With my current PC system, I love it! I have all the graphics settings turned up all the way and I still never have to wait more than 2-10 seconds for the run to begin. (I can't even read the entire message between transitions because everything loads so fast, which is good, though a pause feature between loading could be nice, but probably asking too much, it really doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the game.) Everything is smooth as glass. I can't stress it enough - I guess I'm not used to playing a NFS title with all the settings all the way up right after its release. I'm using the Xbox 360 wired controller on Windows. At first it felt twitchy and too sensitive but a few considerations and adjustments (mostly mental but some in-game) were needed for me to get it to work well. 1.) Weight transfer matters (both front-to-back and side-to-side) so moving the joystick left to right fast only works if it's timed right, like in real driving. 2.) Otherwise, smooth, timely yet conservative movements work best. Staying on course and on your line requires small movements (something easier done with a steering wheel), but turning and accelerating after having slowed down enough to accelerate out of a corner requires moving the joystick fast all the way to the side and back, as well, something that's difficult to do and modulate on a steering wheel, so there's a trade-off between using a controller pad and a steering wheel depending on what you're more comfortable with. You get used to it and it feels pretty good 20-35% into the career progress, just in time to enjoy the really fast machines the game gives you as you progress. My G25 steering wheel is in the my garage (ironically inappropriate), but I don't have a mount to put it on so I haven't played with it yet on SHIFT 2, and indeed not for over 2 years now, sadly. It was great with Live for Speed (PC) and Gran Turismo 4 (PS2). ' ON COMPARISON TO PS3 and XBOX 360 I'm not certain why the 5-year-old PS3 & XBOX 360 can handle SHIFT 2 well (I'm presuming) but my GTX 470-armed 5-year-old dual core overclocked, server-grade processor computer could not. I don't think it's necessarily sloppy code, but it just seems PC games require more processing power. Maybe with purpose-built console systems like the PS3 and XBOX 360 it's easier to write for 1 specific set of hardware criteria so great optimizations can be made, whereas considerations for stability, compatibility, and running from a Windows Operating System (which takes its overhead) across a lot of different hardware configurations has to be made and so maybe PC coding isn't as "efficient" by nature as the consoles. SHIFT 2 on PC appears to still use DirectX 9c, and yet requires more computing resources than most players are used to, so maybe this is where the poor reviews are coming from, especially as that affects the control and driver feedback, spoiling the experience. DirectX 10 & 11 drop frame rates even more (e.g. look up frame rate benchmarks of DIRT 2 in DX 9 vs. DX 11) with little benefit for a racing game, so I could see why EA avoided going with DX 11 on this title. It also seems the Xbox 360 reviews are better than PS3 and mixed on PC so this could be due to the system hardware having a large effect on the overall experience, which would be consistent with my impression with my old vs. new PC system. COMPARED TO GRID ... feels different from GRID but equally, if not more enjoyable, in different ways. I like GRID a lot, which ran well on my previous PC. In contrast, SHIFT 2 wasn't good on my previous PC. But on my new PC, SHIFT 2 is smooth, detailed, and quite pretty. You could see the passion that went into this release with all the details, features, and overall finish (see below). I was a fan of NFS since IISE, but skipped the last few releases, including the first SHIFT. It was interesting, especially the best line, but didn't win me over GRID. On SHIFT 2, all the talk about physics and the helmet cam had me interested, as well as the actual details of the Amazon reviews left for the PC game, taken with a grain of salt. GRAPHICS, FEEL, CONTROL, & PHYSICS These all go hand in hand. They all have to be in line for an immersive experience. SHIFT 2 delivers nicely like no program before it, but your PC system has to be up to the task of producing sufficient driver feedback. GRID also suffered from poor driver controller feedback on too high settings for the PC to handle, and so does SHIFT 2. You have to have a powerful enough system so that the interface is smooth, your controller input and visual output have to sample enough times so that your body feels it's real, otherwise your car will jerk from side to side as the control inputs you are giving are delayed and executed too late, making for a frustrating and poor experience. The graphics on my new system are turned up all the way, and actually my system throttles down to 1600Mhz quite often during gameplay, without any hiccoughs. The gameplay is butter smooth. Controls are accurate. Feedback is exceptional. Physics are top notch, especially the weight shift of the car. Weight transfer has not been executed as comprehensively in previous programs, so it takes getting used to but it's closer to reality than previous titles and a great step forward in driving simulation games. Stabilizing the car by fewer/smoother steering inputs and a gentle acceleration settles and straightens the car out, just like in real life on the track! It's quite good, and I've come to appreciate this accurate portrayal of real life physics. (Again, this goes horribly wrong when the PC system can't keep up fast enough with sampling the input/output correctly.) Taking a jump from going over a hill on one of the tracks too fast, I could "feel" the weight transfer approximating reality better than previous titles and it looked really accurate on the replay, too. Weight transfer is particularly noticeable in drift events, where the physics feel different than racing events (presumably because the car tuning is for drift?), but the same concepts about weight shifting apply. You have to stabilize the car and keep it stable. Correctly timed, smooth steering inputs (even when applying steering quickly side to side ' it's a bit hard to explain) are just as important as knowing when to feather the throttle and when to mash it. Though with more driver assists off, more mashing will probably be counterproductive. Head to head driving in helmet mode was at first disorienting, as I interpreted head movements for car movements, making me lose control of the car. But soon after, and certainly by only 10-15% career mode progress, it was intuitive, and became a REVELATION! This is the only way to drive in a racer. It feels so natural and I miss it very much in other view modes. In car view is not enough for me anymore, and I don't know how it ever was. Read more › 9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A.R.G.
Platform for Display:PC|Amazon Verified Purchase
Fun:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I find Need for Speed Shift 2 a very fun game. The graphics are excellent, and the game play is great. I own every driving game available. My family loves to play these. I have a very sophisticated simulator made from the entire cockpit of a real Corvette with functioning dash, shifter, handbrake etc. I was skeptical given so many poor reviews here. I purchased despite my trepidation. I am glad I did. I recommend this game with out reservation. As with all driving games, it is much more fun with a steering wheel like the Logitech G25-G27.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
love the game
I was initially not sure that it will play on my PC, but it did and I love it so far. I do get frustrated sometimes as the race tracks are challenging, but eventually I can figure... Read more
Published 13 days ago by anshu
4.0 out of 5 stars
Expected More
After reading all the hype about this game I was expecting a great racing game. After playing for a while I have to say I'm not really that impressed. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Brandon Zitterich
5.0 out of 5 stars
Old man having fun
I am retired and 68 years old but this is a fun game for anyone who still enjoys life. I have driven a real race car at over 180mph and I can tell you who ever was the advisor for... Read more
Published 1 month ago by JohnJ
2.0 out of 5 stars
just a bad game with good graphics
The only NFS I could not finish, simply because the simulation is horrible. poor physics and absurd "glue" when you touch another car, even slightly. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Freireer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excelente articulo
El articulo llego en excelentes condiciones, el articulo llego en las condiciones que el vendedor estipulo. Muy a gusto con la compra
Published 1 month ago by Heindery Perea
3.0 out of 5 stars
not trying till NFS Shift works
I've had no luck on Ubuntu with NFS Shift, even though it installed with Wine, so I'm holding off on this sequel for now.
The YouTube videos for it look good, though.
Published 3 months ago by ERIC R GOERLITZ
2.0 out of 5 stars
No PC multiplayer. Service discontinued.
Unleashed 2 is a very handsome driving game with great vehicle selections and many tracks and a great reward system. Read more
Published 3 months ago by BrooklynRider
5.0 out of 5 stars
Four boys in the house and fast cars
It was everything I thought it would be service was fast and I receive as stated. I bought it at half of the original cost so I am a happy shopper.
Published 4 months ago by sylvia
3.0 out of 5 stars
no me gusto el juego
el producto no me gusto no lleno las expectativas
no lo recomiendo es adecuado para regalos elegui esta calificación porqueno me gusta el producto
Published 4 months ago by Ronald Lopez
3.0 out of 5 stars
Graphically great, but...
Using just keyboard its almost impossible to control the cars... don't know how people are faring with a wheel or controller.. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Herk
Look for Similar Items by CategoryPlatform: PC Download
|
