Gaming

Turn 2: Review Unleashed

All right:

• Wide variety of cars in the style of the Need For Speed ​​series.

• Many social functions in online mode.

• The feeling in the driver’s cab is AMAZING …

Bad:

• … but is it that important to the game?

• No return option.

• The steering of the cars has yet to be developed.

• AI aggression can really drive you crazy.

• Is it Need for Speed ​​or what is it?

Recently, the entire gaming industry is overwhelmed by the desire for realism. Publishers and developers are making an incredible effort to bring our virtual experiences closer to reality. Sometimes the result is excellent, other times it is not.

Take Kinect, for example: instead of playing your favorite console comfortably sitting on the couch, you need to constantly stir the air like a lunatic.

Or take Shift 2: Unleashed, for example

Instead of carelessly flying over 200 km / h, the player now has to think about when to stop, how exactly to take turns, and how to avoid colliding with other cars. Yet this is exactly what Electronic Arts and Slightly Mad Studios are aiming for.

The developers of Shift 2 are trying to distance themselves from the traditional features of the Need for Speed ​​series, so that the average gamer doesn’t create a false sense of nostalgia for the old days. While the previous game was titled Need for Speed: Shift, this time the famous three letters NFS were removed and the title was transformed into Shift 2: Unleashed. This reflects the EA’s intention to make Shift independent of Need For Speed ​​but growing in parallel with NFS.

However, comparisons are inevitable

It’s not so easy to say goodbye to Need for Speed. Regardless of what the guys at Slightly Mad Studios offer, there are bound to be unhappy folks who will see the new game as another step in the wrong direction. Because if the original Shift doesn’t suit you, the continuation of the series, which stubbornly becomes more like a simulation, doesn’t suit you either.

Although there were claims of realism, Need for Speed: Shift was more like an arcade game than games like Forza Motorsport 3 or the new Gran Tursimo 5. This time, at least in theory, Shift 2: Unleashed tries to be much more realistic. . and behave. As before, the game begins with a test lap that will test your driving skills and offer you the optimal car settings and overall difficulty. There is nothing wrong if you select full support and gradually, as you start to feel more confident, disable the features without which you can.

First person runner

The most important feature of the game in its quest for realism is the Driver’s View, located directly above the driver’s helmet. For most gamers who are used to driving the car itself, not the driver, this can seem quite strange. The truth is that when you get used to the new point of view it seems unique. Certainly the feeling is as if you are in the cockpit of the vehicle, not as if you are flying above it like an invisible spirit. To be adequate on the road, this time you will have to perform different maneuvers even with your eyes, such as stealing a quick glance in the rear view mirror. For maximum control, the game recommends using a HVOH360 compatible steering wheel or controller. The reason is partly in the behavior of the cars themselves: it still varies between the arcade and the simulation and sometimes it seems that the cars are not on the track, but they glide over it in an unrealistic way.

The feeling is again enhanced by the current jolt that occurs in a collision. Your vision dims, the virtual pulse begins to beat, and the view through the windshield melts into impenetrable fog. This is probably the most painless way to experience the sensation of a frontal impact and it looks really realistic. Particularly impressive are the night runs where the visibility does not exceed three or four meters and it is very difficult to see where you can snuggle up next. The catastrophe in such a situation is really terrifying.

At least the graphics are amazing!

There is no doubt that transferring the player directly into the epicenter of events is a great idea. But the question is whether this really helps the gameplay. Judge for yourself: a racing driver has years of practice, experience and an unquestionable advantage in seeing the immediate surroundings with his own eyes and his own head that can move when and where he wants. You, on the other hand, are forced to get used to the restrictions of your two-dimensional screen. In other words, you and your virtual head have different reflections that do not improve the gameplay at all.

Speaking of collisions, a big downside to this game is the lack of a button, which could roll back time to avoid premature or aggressive attack maneuvers. The realistic Forza 3 and the small arcade DiRT 2 have this similar function, but unfortunately in Shift 2 it is absent. The aggressive AI of the other contestants often leads to clashes, as a result of which both cars can run off the track. For the opponents it is nothing, for you this sometimes means the end of the race.

Wherever the road takes you

Shift 2: Unleashed still has fewer cars than Gran Turismo or the upcoming Forza 4, but with over 140 cars from over 30 producers, the garage is arguably the largest in Need for Speed ​​history. Either no, wait … this isn’t actually an NFS game or … I don’t know, I screwed it up.

If we continue our comparison with the best racing sims like Forza 3 (and this is obviously EA’s wish), we must bear in mind that Shift 2 has much more diverse races in its catalog. In the game of Turn 10 practically the concept is the familiar “Be first after Lap X”, which inevitably gets boring over time. Despite the absence of straight tracks, here you can still have fun drifting and with the so-called knockout fast lap. All of them are scattered over more than 40 tracks, some of which actually exist (like Suzuka and Donington) and some of which are fictitious (like the races in Miami).

After beating the other competitors

As in Need for Speed: Shift, and here your progress is measured by level increases through XP point gain. In this regard, the game is quite generous, as it rewards you for every correct action you take. Sailing through the perfect band, making proper turns, catching the opponent, even a simple overtake – all of this gives you points to add to your score. Also, the competitions have additional tasks, such as being the first for a complete lap, and again they give you XP.

This way, the points earned are used for upgrades and upgrades, but don’t expect anything that resembles the old Need for Speed ​​games. The advantage of Shift 2: Unleashed is still the presentation of the track. Fortunately, XP can be transferred to online mode which is well established. Thanks to the new Autolog feature that we first saw in Hot Pursuit last fall, you can coordinate your presentation online, interact with friends, and just generally have fun.

In the goal

Shift 2: Unleashed’s biggest problem lies outside the racetrack. Is it even a Need for Speed ​​game? Are the authors trying to preserve some of the old features of the series or are they determined to break away from all things Need For Speed? Did they give up the series’ unique heritage to shed all their hopes on a competition with established leaders like Forza Gran Turismo? And wouldn’t it be better if they had created their own unique approach to the racing genre, rather than copying already established parameters?

These are questions to which at present it is difficult to give a clear answer. We only know that EA has big ambitions for Shift and if the game succeeds, it may become the new leader among the racing simulation series. But what would be the price to pay …