Review of NFS Shift 2: Unleashed
- NFS fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Need for Speed Shift. And indeed: why wouldn't they? We were fed the most beautiful screenshots, where the driver of a race car moved his limbs so realistically, plied with promises that this game would make everyone forget the series of failures EA had endured. The game came out, and what do we see? A pile of glowing, enthusiastic reviews, an even bigger pile of angry speeches (foaming at the mouth), decent sales (over four million copies worldwide!).
EA didn't miscalculate — the game truly overturned many people's idea of NFS. It would have been simply foolish to abandon the series (not everyone was ready for such significant changes to the game's structure). EA didn't abandon it. And two years later, players got a new product — Need for Speed Shift 2 Unleashed. What changed in it? What arrived? What left? Let's find out.
But first, we should say what characterized the first part of the Shift mini-series. First — the behavior of the cars on the track. This was a fundamental change to the entire game, brought about by enlisting a new studio — Slightly Mad Studios (remember GTR? Their work). Heavy, powerful machines stopped being obedient and steerable with your left pinky toe — to keep the car on the track we had to make an effort, sacrificing precious speed.
Second — the graphics. Undercover's rendering turned out to be remarkably unsuccessful (according to players). Some complained of tired eyes, others simply disliked this style of rendering (a predominance of yellow tones), while others just thought the graphics were ugly. EA listened carefully to the players and made a leap in the opposite direction: in Shift the color palette shifted toward white. The detail of the car interiors in Shift was pleasing to the eye (though it wasn't without flaws, such as a clock forever showing 12:53 or 9:00, a fuel gauge that didn't budge an inch no matter how much you drove, and many other little things), even more pleasing to the eye was the interior trim, as well as the appearance of the car after a good crash. All of this also added points to Shift's tally.
Third — the game's concept. These weren't Undercover's street races, these weren't ProStreet's semi-legal competitions, but genuine professional racing. Closed tracks (some of which actually exist, by the way), spectators behind the barriers, starting lights — everything as in real life. Here exotic cars such as Pagani, Lamborghini, Bugatti became more appropriate than ever, though plain Nissan 200SX, Honda S2000, etc. hadn't gone anywhere either. On top of that, the handling model could be configured, so with the easiest settings the game wasn't all that different from its predecessors. Thus, Shift was adapted for a fairly broad audience of virtual racers.
Why am I recalling all this? The answer is obvious: Shift 2 Unleashed is more a development and refinement of Shift than a standalone game. Let me try to show this.
So, the physics of behavior. It underwent changes. Neither big nor small, but simply changes. The cars gained more "individuality." Switching from an Aston Martin to a Porsche, you will most likely spend a whole lap getting used to the new car (and the next lap getting used to the new track). An "Elite" handling model was added, in which cars supposedly behave the same as their real-life prototypes. But let's be honest — no computer game (even one with an FIA license, like the NFS Shift 2 Unleashed under consideration) is capable of simulating the behavior of a real technical device 100% accurately. So the developers were fibbing here. But I'll still give them their due: driving the car became genuinely difficult, though awfully interesting. And without a wheel, with such a handling model there's absolutely nothing to do in the game.
Separately, I want to talk about drifting. If in Shift the path from complete "noob" to ace drifter took half an hour to an hour, here everything is much tougher. I, for example, have been playing Shift 2 for over two weeks now, one of which I devoted entirely to drifting, and still, completing many events is something as yet unattainable for me. I'll note that with improper handling and no tuning (or conversely — overly zealous tuning) the rear tires can easily blow out, and further drifting will be possible, but winning the event no longer will be. And many will have to forget about the handbrake altogether: if you hold it for more than half a second — you'll spin out instantly. Overall, I was very pleased with the updated physics. Playing from start to finish became genuinely interesting.
Moving on. Graphics. Here the changes are not so obvious. Yes, it changed, the lighting changed (just a tiny bit, but EA did catch the ideal between a "yellow" game and a "white" one). Little things changed (again, not all — the frozen clock and fuel gauge are with us again). If you glance at the neighboring car on a turn — you'll see glowing brake discs, and you'll also see your colleague moving (only you won't have time to admire this beauty, believe me). A "driver's eye" view appeared, i.e. part of the screen is blocked by the inside of the helmet, the head itself became movable: a jolt on the road will inevitably shake the camera too. All this is, of course, beautiful, but as I already said, there's no time to admire it: the gameplay occupies your attention too much. More on that next.
The process of playing (now denoted by the fashionable word "gameplay") has also undergone changes. And first of all they concern the car and working with it. The process of installing "upgrades" has practically not changed (except that we are told which part we want to install, why it is needed and what it will give). But I would like to talk about tuning all these upgrades in more detail. Now every part requires finishing and adjustment. A driver who has installed all the improvements and rushed onto the track will face failure. Having installed new tires, do not forget to adjust the pressure in them, a new suspension entails adjusting stiffness, new brakes will require adjusting braking force and distribution. Only a avid fan of technology (like me) will find this interesting, and for "simpler" people there is a corresponding less detailed adjustment (i.e., instead of adjusting gear ratios in the gearbox, we will simply be offered to shift the balance towards speed or acceleration, etc.).
The changes made can be saved for a separate type of competition and even for a separate track. For subsequent adjustment, you can always load the saved setup. Thus, after working hard, you can mold almost a race car out of a Nissan 200SX or similar junk (junk compared to a Lamborghini, of course).
Career has hardly changed (except that there are more car classes and new competition pictures have appeared) - we still race, get the next levels (now there are 15 instead of 50), unlock new competitions, at the end participate in FIA competitions and listen to how great we are. Everything as before.
There are more cars to drive (now there are about 130 of them, among them such "dinosaurs" as the Nissan Skyline R32 and exotic race cars like the Pagani Huayara). Well, the arsenal is not meager - everyone will find something for themselves. The Autolog social network also migrated to Shift straight from NFS Hot Pursuit, though I never managed to use it.
What do we have in the end? Shift 2 has become more complex, "subtler", more interesting than its predecessor Shift, has become closer to the ordinary person, yet has also drawn closer to the sophisticated audience of "super racers". EA is gradually restoring lost fans, and at a considerable pace. They deserve praise for this, as well as thanks for such an interesting game that they gave us.
Author: Редуктор