Game: Shift 2 Unleashed

Lovers of games and especially racing, welcome to my blog. In this opportunity and following with the review of some games of the Need for Speed saga, this time I bring you Shift 2: Unleashed which is the 15th saga of this famous video game within the players of any kind or even simracing, since this game gives us the opportunity to try other types of racing as far as the open world is concerned. Unlike the other games that I wrote about before, this is no longer an open world arcade game but a simulator game, or at least that's what the developers of this game, Slightly Mad Studios, tried to do. It will be officially released on March 31, 2011 for Europe and March 29, 2011 for the United States of America for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows platforms.

This game is a simulator which is great for me as I am more of a racing simulator game than an arcade game. As far as gameplay is concerned, Shift 2 Unleashed is very interesting because the player must race the world championships of GT cars, specifically FIA GT1 2010 and the 2010 FIA GT3 European Championship, where races are held on the best race tracks in Europe. This is something innovative in what to Need for Speed games because in previous games of which I commented the purpose was mainly to drive without any rule, the important thing is to win, however in this saga the goal is the same, to achieve the victory but with rules of the best European GT car championships. In the game are available the most famous brands of real world cars in terms of production or racing respect, among them we have Acura, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford in its different versions, Honda, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, among others. The ones missing in this series are the ferrari cars that surely the game did not obtain the license for use in the game.

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There is a history mode that is the same as above, but using more retro cars. As for the multiplayer mode, Shift 2 Unleashed also has this style for those who like to play more with real life people than with AI. This online mode allows us to play games of up to 12 players at the same time, in which you can do traditional races, time trials, driver duels, comeback duels and group comebacks. The best thing about this mode is that as you win the races and the different championships, you will also gain reputation in the communities of the video game Shift 2 Unleashed, either among friends or any virtual pilot of our planet earth. In short, this mode is great fun because it gives us a variety of game options so that users do not get bored so easily.

The game is a simulator so it is difficult to play, however it is not a high difficulty simulator but a moderate one. The artificial intelligence is very aggressive giving a touch of realism to the game since sometimes they also make mistakes that a pilot would make in real life. The regulation is strict, the car configurations can be adjusted to have a better performance in the race. As far as Shift 2 Unleashed is concerned, it also has aids, but these can be disabled or not, depending on the player's skills. These aids are steering aids, braking aids, gearbox aids, traction control aids among others. Due to the difficulty of this game, it has been compared to even some of the best and most famous racing simulators, such as Gran Turismo 5 and Forza Motorsport 4, which I have written about before.

Graphically Shift 2 Unleashed is correct, where it highlights the modeling of cars that look so real, in addition to the circuits as many fictional as real life, among them are the legendary Laguna Seca or Suzuka, however do not cease to be present in urban circuits within cities that in the visual part and its landscape stand out a lot. The reflections of the cars are great, and include the real thing that you see the reflections of the sun where in the outer camera as in the inner camera inside the car, which is also one of the things that stand out within the racing simulators. The fluidity within the game both in traditional single player racing and online racing the game looks with a good fluidity even though the graphics look so sharp, but of course in the case of the PC game the player has the required system specifications to make the game work properly. In short, this is one of the most outstanding parts of the game.

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The Sound of Shift 2 Unleashed is also correct where it highlights the different sounds of the engines of the car brands that are present in the game, the sound effects of the cars when skidding, crashing, braking, among other things. As this game is a simulator, the race engineer is available to give us important information during the race, such as the condition of the car and the opponents, the tires, the condition of the track, when there is an accident or when the circuit is free for the driver to step on the gas when necessary, etc. Among the soundtracks that stand out are Stone Temple Pilots, The Bravery, 30 Seconds to Mars or Rise Against. Finally and less important is that the Spanish dubbing of the game is very well taken care of which is fantastic and another positive point for this game.

In conclusion Shift 2: Unleashed is a very good game from the Need for Speed saga, but it's very different from the other games in this series, as it tries to be more of a simulator than an arcade game, so much so that it was and is compared to great racing simulators such as Gran Turismo 5 on PS3 or the Forza Motorsport 4 on Xbox 360. The game's playability is good, with the aforementioned World Series Championship being highlighted in the publication as the online mode where up to 12 players can play and with a variety of tests within it. The graphic part of the game is exceptional, because the modeling of the cars and the circuits is very correct, the sensation of speed and the effect of the sun's illumination make the game as realistic as a simulator has to be. The sound is not left behind, the difference in the engine sounds of the variety of car models present in the game is remarkable, followed by the correct selection of the bands and background music that adorn the game. From the latter also stands out the track engineer and the important information he gives us during the race. In short, this is my favorite game of the Need for Speed saga, because it is not only a game where you are in a city doing missions and escaping from the police, but you have real races in real or fictitious circuits.