Under the cover of console night, Electronic Arts (‘EA’) released ‘Shift 2: Unleashed’ (‘Shift 2’), a title well overshadowed by both Sony’s ‘Gran Turismo 5’ and EA’s own ‘Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit’ (‘Hot Pursuit’) comeback.

For the racing-philes among us, the good news is that Shift 2 couldn’t be any more different than its more ballyhooed counterparts…in a variety, good way. Shift 2 – first and foremost – is a Forza-esque arcade racer, one aimed at quick thrills on the racetrack to unlock additional said thrills.  Ironic, as EA dropped the ‘Need for Speed’ designation for Shift's second iteration. Shrug.

Introduced in Hot Pursuit, Shift 2 employs the stellar Autolog system throughout, creating an always up-to-date record of what your buddies are up to within the game’s multiple components. Live scoreboards tally both friend and regional best records, a constant reminder to get your ass literally in gear around those ‘S’ curves if bragging rights are to be had.

Autolog tells all. I confess at being aghast at how good Derek of TAGS is at this game…especially in tearing it up among the lower (‘D’), stock classes of automobile. No one should be that good with a base BMW. If anyone up in Queensland sees Derek on the roads, he’s likely to drift behind you. You’ve been warned.

Now, commencing this review with a reference to Autolog might seem a peculiar entry point, but one that helps illustrates just how comprehensive Shift 2 is as a gaming experience. Slightly Mad Studios does a stellar job in keeping Shift 2 organic, with the title continuously building around player exploits…versus frustrating learning curves from the reverse end of this equation.

To elaborate, Shift 2 begins by uncomfortably throwing the player behind the wheel, a trial by fire of all of the game’s dynamics and nuances. In addition to potentially unwanted bowel movements, results produce a suggested base realism configuration, one that intelligently both eases (steering/brake assistance) newbies into Shift 2 while allowing series and/or racing veterans (realistic damage/physics) to fine-tune every aspect of a vehicle. As trophies are a bit hard to come by, training wheels won’t expedite bragging rights.

Purists like Derek, however, might reason for social Darwinism, learn quickly or get off the damn track. There is, of course, considerable logic to that…but it’s also hard to appreciate a gaming experience if one is constantly banging his/her head against the damn wall to develop scar tissue. Which was my unfortunate experience with MotoGP 10/11.

This is not to say that easier configurations are always jaunts in the park. Drifting in Shift 2 is painfully difficult, with various message boards on the game ripe with drift rants and criticisms. (Of which I agree with most sentiments.) While I didn’t have the chance to test a racing wheel…I’ve been duly warned of a frustrating affair requiring oodles of radius tweaking.

At its core, Shift 2 is your standard racer title; work up the ladder (from D to GT class), win races, buy upgrades…then more cars. Rinse, wash, repeat. Shift 2 rewards perfection versus completion, with well-executed turns, lap leads and/or top finishes producing additional Experience Points (XP). As usual, XP buys more ways of pimping your present and future ride. You go to the dealership, but you never cop nothin’? Not anymore, if you reach the podium.

A very clever heads up display (HUD) continuously updates said XP, a constant incentive to salvage even seemingly lost racing experiences for well placed, XP-laden ‘mastered’ turns. Thus, big-ups to Slightly Mad Studios for keeping Shift 2 tracks and challenges to a few minutes each, total. There’s nothing addictive about laboring through the alternative of 10-minute laps. In my best Zoidberg: “Thirty years of racing games, and this a new concept?”

A solid mix of vehicles and classes similarly stimulates, as Shift 2 allows even new players to jump in/out of retro, higher class and drift events via ‘loaner’ cars. I wouldn’t declare enormous gameplay differences across vehicle types…but they were certainly noticeable where they should be (engine noise, gear ratios, brake/tire match, drift sensitivity, etc.). Still, being able to jump in/out of vehicle classes becomes sorely welcome after grinding away at D class circuits.

Speaking of circuits – and as one could imagine – knowing your car is a pre-requisite for victory. Shift 2 offers a slew of upgrades for each stock vehicle, with very accessible explanations for what each produces both descriptive and numerically. One oversight, however, is the absence of guidance toward keeping a vehicle within a certain class.

Let me explain.

Purchase too many upgrades, and a vehicle no longer qualifies in its current division…the one you’re attempting to master via the friggin’ upgrades. There’s also no rhyme/reason as to what upgrades wreak the most havoc in this area, leading to a careful exercise (but often guesswork) in calculating cost of upgrade/performance boost  - available class points = purchase decision. They’ll be a quiz on this later…so pay attention.

Thankfully, Shift 2 is very generous with car and upgrade purchases, offering full refunds to cancel any of these items and/or sell a car (to buy a higher class model) at a later date. If you’re married to a particular vehicle, it also rolls over existing purchases into full performance class upgrades (should you wish to go this option). This is a particular ‘Winning!’ moment for me, as I confess to many a stupid, uninformed race game upgrade decision over the years…ones that required starting a new profile from scratch to compensate. Look, if I’m man enough to nitro up my MX-5, that’s my decision, damnit. Now give me my money back if I want an Alfa Romeo C class.

On to the nitty-gritty of gameplay. Shift 2 plays quite good…but not great. Even with driving assistance aids turned on, Shift 2 sports a constant feel of being on a puddle of oil when making moderate to significant, lateral moves. In contrast to Hot Pursuit, it’s quite difficult to hug corners, movements that replaced by draft-centric, oversteer and throttle caress necessities. While I thought ‘Midnight Club: Los Angeles’ (‘Midnight Club’) was a fun game in its own right…running controlled races emphasizing draft-heavy, vehicle passing loses a little in translation. With rumors of a gameplay patch specifically addressing steering, I’m hoping Shift 2 meets me somewhere halfway between Midnight Club and ‘Test Drive.’

As with most next-gen racing games, Shift 2 looks fantastic, with wonderful vehicle and track models. I dig the ‘turn gray, everything disconcerting’ bit when running into walls. The famed helmet cam? More hype than substance. I came, I saw, I switched to external view during actual races. It was, however, fun to watch cockpit-based views during replays. Sound is great…music, non-existent. Many a time I longed for turning on the radio in my car…one stuck on the same…damn…silent station. Instead, I got my professional racer buddy barking enthusiastic orders at me all the damn time. It’s like Susan Powter…but she won’t shut up. And is wearing a sponsored tracksuit.

There is one noticeable wart in Shift 2, that being opposition AI. Also known as, ‘the jackasses hellbent on running you into the damn wall on any street-style course.’ This would be fine and all if: a) it hurt them as much as it hurt you in both damage and race position; b) the game didn’t emphasize ‘clean’ routes/races via XP; c) there wasn’t oodles of room for them to either pass or simply drive around you. Expect to play the same track several times over for the sole purpose of memorizing turn details to avoid opposition inspired by ‘Days of Thunder.’

Thus and to summarize: Shift 2 is a solid, arcade-centric racing title emphasizing experience over realism. The game’s array of cars, race types and upgrades keep things interesting, likewise an Autolog encouraging buddies to get in on the action. Gameplay has some hiccups in drift, turn and opposing AI dynamics. Still, speedbumps in yet another solid racing title from EA.