It's Like I'm Really Playing A Bad Game!
In the short history of video games there have been plenty of great examples of how racing games are fun. From realistic crashes, takedowns, and "Crash Mode" (one of the most fun mechanics of any racing game) added by the Burnout Franchise to the huge imaginative tracks I've spent countless hours making and playing in the TrackMania games. The awesome customization and soundtracks allowed in earlier Need For Speed games like Underground 2... Or what about the fact that for the longest time Split-Screen was a standard for racing games, after all what's more fun then playing a racing game with your friends.
Now lets see what Shift 2 offers.
It removed Need For Speed from the title but not the box. That's not totally pointless, right?
Instead of some hot chick guiding you through the game (Underground 2), we now have some fat professional racer who speaks to you like the both of you are mentally challenged.
It removed split-screen because, and I quote: "There’s so much going on in the game, for example we’ve added if you’re drafting a guy now you’ll get all the little bits of crap from his car, all the gravel and rubber hit the car and they can hit your windscreen and things like that. It takes a lot of development time but it’s very authentic and that’s the experience we want. Unfortunately that means things like split-screen aren’t possible."
So there you have it, because of "little bits of crap" you can't have fun with your friends who aren't rich enough to own two copies of the game and two consoles. I hope "little bits of crap" were worth it.
The most unimaginative race tracks imaginable (appreciate that statement for a second).
REAL ONES! Remember when we'd be going through risky short cuts, like cutting through buildings, making insane jumps, and so on? None of that in this game. We now just get to go in circles a lot.
Insane customization! That's right, with every car you get 3 different body types to pick from. No, you don't get to mix n' match anything. No, you don't get to put actual cool stuff on your car, say neon lights. You can pick the color, some decals, and DOZENS of things you don't get to see, but you can tune them slightly to make it seem like you actually know something about cars. Yeah I bet that 10% less air pressure in your tires is really going to make a huge difference on whether or not you win the race. Although it's true this is still more customization then say, a Burnout game. A Burnout game has never marketed itself as having insane customization, their goal has always been to make an actual fun racing game. Whereas Need For Speed HAS marketed itself for having insane customization... But when it has less options then titles released years ago (as in Underground 2), this is a real let down.
Also if you're too lazy to unlock the cars, you can buy them all with real money. HOW CONVENIENT FOR ME, that they offer to take all that annoying money off my hands. After all I already bought the game for $60+ might as well give them more to play it for me.
It's the most realistic Need For Speed game ever. But since when has realism been good for the racing genre? Never that's when. Ever since the gaming industry got a hard on for realism video games have suffered as a whole, not just racing games. Why do I play video games? Because reality sucks. So through the use of second grade logic I've come up with this equation: Video Game + Realism = Bad Video Game. Proof? Shift 2.
But what about the racing itself? Sure everything else sucks, but this IS a racing game... so how is the racing? Haven't you been listening to anything I've been saying? Of course It sucks. Let me explain... It's not fun. On the bottom of the road are green arrows that you are supposed to follow... they tell you when you are going too fast and the best angle for you to enter a turn. I was wondering why It was so easy after the first race (of finishing last, but I was told that I did a "great job"), the game actually set it so my car automatically slows down when I enter turns... So just so you get this straight. Most of the tracks are you going in circles with the only hard part (turning) done for you. I had to stop playing as soon as I realized this.
This game did absolutely everything wrong. It's made for retards who need their hands held and pockets emptied. They almost got the name right though. Just one too many F's.
P.S. I did not personally spend $60+ on this game, I borrowed it from a friend who got it for free. If I WAS stupid enough to waste money (or have a friend who did) on this piece of Shift. I'd kill myself.