The AI in racing games is always a crucial point and unfortunately again Shift 2 is found wanting. Shift 2 is the kind of game you can stop playing at any moment and not feel like you are missing out on too much. However, unlike Gran Turismo 5 you can unlock any car at any moment there is no X1 to keep you going through the long tough races and that is a problem. According to EA this gives a much more realistic take on racing and there is no denying that driving in the car is the best view, but the driving model still feels very floaty.Īs you would expect, the game has a number of official licences from both tracks and car manufacturers and the cars are modelled to the nth degree right down to what they look like in the cockpit.
When you hit the walls or other cars at speed your view becomes blurred momentarily to represent the hit, while when driving normally your view becomes blurred and the drivers helmet will bounce around. It is no surprise given the feature set that the game is best played from within the cockpit of the car. However, in the car it definitely behaves in a bit more of a realistic manner. When driving with the outside view the sensation of speed is high, but the handling is quite arcade like and floaty. However, in some ways the game doesn't convey this well. It is clear that this game is wanting you to drive wheel to wheel without actually knocking cars off the track, or sliding around corners. Something that has been dropped from the original Shift is the XP gained for driving aggressively. You gain levels by earning XP and you earn XP by either winning races or performing good driving in the races such as remaining on the best line, or leading for an entire lap.
You really do need to leave the old Need for Speed behind before taking Shift 2 on, as it's such a quantum shift and a few decisions that were made during its development have kept it from being a must play game.Īs with Gran Turismo 5, what events you can take on is driven by a driver level.
High speed police chases are replaced by wheel to wheel racing in proper racing cars rather than high powered exotics.
Just like the Shift game from two years ago, the aim of this title is to take the Need for Speed series in a more realistic direction. So, should you check out Shift 2? Well, yes and no. But more of a worry for EA is that of the gargantuan Gran Turismo 5. Coming only months after the last Need for Speed game, many would see it as too soon. EA used that game to announce the release of Shift 2. Criterion Games, the developer behind Burnout, reinvigorated the series, but the game also had an interesting trailer attached. Racers have a unique arsenal of their own.Last year Electronic Arts took Need for Speed back to its roots with success. Like the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 releases of Hot Pursuit, police radio chatter can be heard when deploying weapons. Players are ordered to arrest as many racers as possible to get the most bounty.Ĭops are allowed to use weapons in order to bust racers, which will recharge after usage.
Players can steer cars by tilting their iPhone or iPad to the left or to the right, which is reminiscent of using a steering wheel. For both cops and racers, nitrous is available to boost speed up.īy wrecking racer cars (condition shown by health bars), they will be busted. Vehicles in Hot Pursuit mostly tend to drift in corners.
Players can also choose between automatic and manual transmission. Autolog functionality was added in a later update. The game can be played by both sides of the law, but is limited to singleplayer and local multiplayer. The more bounty the player has, the higher their level. Like seen in other releases of the game, players progress in career mode by collecting bounty and racing in Seacrest County.