Prior to the release of Shift 2, the developers made some bold claims that it was their goal to knock Gran Turismo and Forza off the top podium spots. Does Shift 2: Unleashed do this? No, it’s not better than those titles, though it’s not worse than them either. The competition can get the handling down right off the line, and this is an area the Shift franchise has to work on. Where Shift 2 lacks in handling it makes up in the experience of being behind the wheel of a powerful racing machine. It’s not fair to compare Shift 2 to the other established games in the genre because it very much has a style all its own. Slightly Mad Studios made this sequel accessible to new players and encourages experimentation by tuning the experience to suit their tastes. It will be interesting to see what they do with Shift 3.
A breakdown of the best PS3 racing games according to Rantgaming.com. Games are rated based on replay value, graphics, gameplay, and controls
I'm not impressed with much in terms of racing this gen. Graphics have been really raised racently, and it wasn't by the "two kings" (GT and Forza) in racing. Shift 2 and the upcoming Project Cars are now DOMINATING racing games graphically, GT5 and Forza 4/H do not even compare. But physics and gameplay-wise, most everything's been "off" aside from a select few. My short list would be.
#1 GT5. It's still rocking everybody in terms of gameplay and variety. It's got every kind of 4 wheeled racing almost from Karts to F1 and everything in between. GT needs to step it up graphically now though. Forza is the LEAST of their worries there.
#2 Motorstorm Pacific Rift. Just the #1 most fun and intense arcade/off-road racer ever made or ever will be made. SOOOOOO much variety compared to the bare bones (but great) first game, and a way better racing game than the 3rd game which was more like Split-Second than MotorStorm in THIS Motorstorm Fan's opinion.
#3 F1 Championship Edition. This PS3 exclusive launch game is imho still the best F1 game this gen in terms of the racing.
#4 FerrariChallenge/SuperCar Challenge. Alot of people havn't heard about these, they got VERY little attention. They sucked because not alot of cars, but it's a fact that System 3 put into these PS3 exclusives (they were on Wii too, but they weren't as advanced) the most advanced, realistic physics to ever be in a console racer. The same physics they put into their PC sim. Good graphics for the time too. Very under-rated.
#5 Shift 2. This is only here because I think graphically, it's a sneak peek at the next level in racing sim graphics. Project Cars is improving on that. But Shift 2 has HORRIBLE physics and I disliked playing it. If Project Cars can get the physics more in line than Shift 2, and have enough of a garage to have the variety in the racing while keeping the online field fairly even like GT5 does, it will truly be the next level of racing sims, and something may actually pull me away from GT5, which nothing has based on gameplay.
Also: WipeOut HD- awesome game, awesome value, it's expansion makes it an even better value, top notch quality.
John Bedford (Modojo): Modojo rounds up the best of the price-drops for Wednesday 4th July.
Origin have released a new set of 50% off game in week 2 of it's Best of 2011 Sale.
I have to say that I've had shift for about 6 hours. I don't know how anyone could call it a sim. The handling (the most important part of a racing game) is abysmal. The original Shift was better. Shame.