Somewhat Nerdy Gaming: Shift 2 Unleashed Review

Overall Score: 7.25/10

Genre: Arcade/Simulation Racing

Systems: I played on Xbox 360, it's also on PS3 and PC
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Publishers/Developers: EA/Slightly Mad Studios

EA is known for: Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Crysis

Slightly Mad Studios is known for: Need For Speed Shift

Gameplay: 7/10

After your first race it will suggest settings for you
After second race it will suggest a difficulty level for you
Upgrading your cars performance is fun
"Best Line" is a line on the race track that tells you where to drive, brake, and accelerate. You can turn this on and off
Earn XP to level up driver and unlock cars and events
As you increase in driver level you earn extra rewards such as cash and cars
Each race track has objectives that give extra XP when completed
Get cash for finishing races to spend on cars and upgrades
You've got to be aggressive to win races
Has a very steep learning curve
Screen gets shaky when going really fast which is cool but can be disorienting
Some events have preselected cars that must be used
For 1200 Microsoft Points you can unlock all cars and events
Races you can participate in are: D Class, Hot Laps, C Class, Drift, Retro, B Class, Muscle, A Class, FIA GT3, and FIA GT1
Can buy nitrous for extra boost
Staying in control of some cars is ridiculously hard
Each car controls very differently
Car eligibility is all weird, I sold my GTI and bought a Skyline, but couldn't race it anywhere
Unable to test drive cars

Story: 7/10

I wasn't expecting much out of a racing game when it came to the story
You're a beginner racer trying to make it big
Vaughn Gittin Jr. (formula D champion) coaches you through your career

Graphics: 8/10

Sadly the best part of the game
For the most part the graphics are good
Pop in is very common at the beginning of races
Movies look pretty good, but are overly dramatic
The menu looks really cool
When you crash the screen turns gray and shakes
Bug splatters on the windshield are very cool and a nice touch
And one point my screen went black in the middle of a race

Sound: 7/10

Music is mostly a mix of slower Alternative and Indie rock, and not the good kind
Crashes sound very good
Engines sound pretty realistic
Voice acting from Vaughn Gittin Jr. is decent enough

Replay Value: Low

Would be Medium if many people played online, but there's not a lot going on there
When I got online there were only three races and about 10 people
Can earn XP online
In the race I played online the car was preselected and everyone had the SAME CAR! LAME!
Can compete in racing tournaments online
Can create custom races online
Share photos and replays online
Can also replay races in career mode

This game really isn't that great. It can be very frustrating. It froze on me twice to the point where I had to restart my Xbox. It's hard to get into 1st place, but once you do it's easy to maintain your lead as long as you don't crash. Staying in control of your car at high speeds can be very difficult. Seems like they tried to rip off Forza Motorsport 3, but failed. It's hard for me to recommend this game when Forza 3 is out there and only $30. I played on easy and it was still really hard. I played Forza 3 on medium and got 1st place in almost every race. If you're a hard core racing gamer you might enjoy it, but if you're a casual racing gamer you probably won't.

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