Shift 2: Unleashed

Shift 2: Unleashed’s introductory sequence aims high, exhaust fumes and cheesy driver expressions included, attempting to capture the visceral experience of driving a race car flat out against a full grid. And to its credit, the game does go some way in achieving its goals. Once you actually start a race, you have the option of toggling between different camera views (so far, so ordinary), but unlike other games, you also get a stunner of a helmet cam. This places you right smack inside the helmet of the driver and throws in a raft of nifty effects to sell the experience. This includes muffled audio, depth of field effects that blur out the instrument cluster, and the draining of color from your screen whenever you happen to make contact with an opponent or the nearest wall. The best of them, however, is the dynamic nature of the camera. You’ll notice that the perspective bobs with each track undulation that you drive over, and how your view turns towards the apex as you take a corner.

Tosy Turvey

Muscle car mayhem

The menus have been spruced up quite nicely, and are both speedy and intuitive to work your way through, while being visually attractive at the same time. Of special note is the soundtrack. What could have been a motley collection of inoffensive modern rock tracks instead becomes an eclectic b-sides remix set with orchestral versions of songs that work beautifully as background menu music. The in-game audio is also well done, with crunchy collision effects, tarmac effects that convey a sense of grip, and engine sounds of various cars being given well defined spacing and depth.

Inside view

The Autolog feature from Criterion’s wonderful Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit has been transplanted into Shift 2 wholesale. It tracks your friends’ performances to the minutest detail and challenges you to retry events that they’ve bested you in. You’ll find all the features intact, even if some of the functionality gives you the odd feeling that it was integrated when the game and UI were late in development. This, in addition to the standard multiplayer modes, gives the Shift 2 enough legs to last out the rest of the year.

Getting down and dirty

The game is priced at - Rs 2,499 (PS3), Rs 1,999 (Xbox 360), Rs 999 (PC).