NFS Shift 2 Unleashed (its EA so everything)

[merf]

very very quick impressions from a short play last night, seems ok but wouldn't go further than that.

handling feels a bit odd (standard settings on an MS Wheel) and the cars feel a bit light plus have a weird 'pendulum' effect on the straights.

went to a traditional bonnet cam as found the in car view quite clever but too much obscures your view on the screen.

these are very quick impression - ok but not feeling instant love.

[sharky_ob]

Change the deadzone settings on the steering to 5% - this should solve your problems with the sway on the straights. It's insane having the deadzone set to 0% as default!

Also, setting the sensitivity of the throttle and brake to max is a good idea too.

I'm liking it so far. Night racing is amazing.

[merf]

top tips matey, why do devs ship software with stupid settings like that ?

[Neon Ignition]

Oh My God! Oh My God! Oh My God!

Do I sound excited? Because I'm NOT. I really liked Shift 1 and so have been kinda looking forward to this. First impressions though are epically poor. Unless I'm missing a trick this looks uglier than Shift 1, plays MUCH worse and feels soulless. I'm going to commit time to it this weekend as I'm hoping it'll click like the other did but at the moment it stands as my biggest disappointment this year.

[Marmite]

In contrast i didn't play Shift 1 and am really enjoying this (save for the autolog issues ive had all day which FINALLY seem to be sorted by EA's helpline now).

Handling is definitely different, but on elite mode with the xbox wheel i've had some cool races. You definitely have to be careful not to brake on an angle, and have to take the corners pretty carefully, but its got something and its got my attention at the moment.

Loving the in-car views, although helmet cam makes me feel a bit wobbly so ive stuck to cockpit cam for now.

Looking forward to getting stuck in further over the weekend, especially now autolog is up and running (touch wood).

[merf]

Thanks to altering the default settings this is a lot better, handling still a bit light and twitchy but I don't pendulum down a straight any more.

My biggest complaint is the lack of feel, I don't get the feedback as to what the wheels are doing as well as many other racers, F1, Dirt2, Forza etc all managed to convey grip from all 4 wheels brilliantly, just don't get that from this. I even upped my car from a humble focus to something a lot nestled and it was still missing.

At present I'm sticking by competent but nothing stellar for this

[Marmite]

Had some awesome races last night on this. I don't think its perfect (it wobbles a bit too much on the straights, and like Merf said you cant really feel what the wheels are doing when accelerating away etc), but man, when it comes together online in some of the faster cars its seriously intense, especially in cockpit or helmet cam view with the surroundings starting to blur. Had some races in the Radicals and Porsches which were particularly cool, especially at night.

[Uli]

is this really worse than Shift in its initial, unpatched state? the first Shift required you to get into a "works converted car" asap in order to have reliable handling and actually enjoy the game to the fullest. is this option in again?

and how does the new helmet cam fare in comparison to the regular cockpit view?

[Tankshell]

Guys I am totally loving this game. Took a few hours to click... but once it did, I love it! Some of the tracks look stunning (lighting is awesome), especially in replay mode when you can swing the camera around your car whilst not having to concentrate on actually driving.

I have the PS3 version (traded in GT5 on PS3 and got this for ?4.80 at Tesco yesterday with the deal they were doing!) and am looking for some PS3 friends to race against.

My PSN id is: Tankshell

Cheers!

[Neon Ignition]

I've done some faffing about with the settings and it's back in the region of reasonably playable again. It's very... functional looking. There's zero clarity to the visuals but a good sense of speed when it's going well. I hate the black and white blur when you crash, it just gets in the way of your recovery and the race line guider is useless. It's improving but I don't think it's going to be a strong entry into the series.

[merf]

i'm trying really hard to like this but coming to the conclusion its a bit rubbish.

I've fiddled with the settings, have a big deadzone set for the wheel, yet I still fell like driving down a straight in a line at speed is far harder than it should be, the car weaves and pendulums around and thru no fault of my own I'm not where I want to be.

Put some proper handling and feel in this and I'd be very happy with it, as it stands I may be chopping it in pronto as its borderline unplayable for me.

[Marmite]

i'm trying really hard to like this but coming to the conclusion its a bit rubbish.

I've fiddled with the settings, have a big deadzone set for the wheel, yet I still fell like driving down a straight in a line at speed is far harder than it should be, the car weaves and pendulums around and thru no fault of my own I'm not where I want to be.

Put some proper handling and feel in this and I'd be very happy with it, as it stands I may be chopping it in pronto as its borderline unplayable for me.

I know what you mean about the swaying, but its definitely not on all the cars - I upgraded an old Skyline R32 to C998 level last night, concentrating on non-engine upgrades and it handles like a dream, solid in a straight line and really quick through the gears. So it is certainly possible to avoid the swaying issue with the right car.

Im really enjoying this. The intensity of cockpit view offers up something unique vs the squeaky clean environments of games like Forza (which i do also like, dont get me wrong). The choice of tracks on this is great as well, with some awesome lighting and lovely off-track details too (helicopters flying over Silverstone for example, people waving flags and taking photos).

And the sound of the cars is just wow - got to a race in Single player last night in a Corvette at Catalunya and the roar of that thing made me smile a lot!

[merf]

i wish the handling wasn't so borked cos everything else is right up my street and I'm sure I'd love it otherwise.

the lead guy talked the talk pre-release about where this was placing itself against the competitors but yet again its dev hot air.

[nakamura]

Not played this yet but I found the handling on Shift one to be a little sensitive to sliding on full throttle on the more powerful cars. Is it possible to reduce the throttle sensitivity Merf?

[merf]

there are a plethora of settings to adjust including throttle but dont believe that is my issue, you can be on a nice straight in a not too powerful car and it just sways, quite a few you tube vis of the peculiar handling.