Review by: Brian Rowe

Shift marked a bold departure in the Need for Speed series, away from arcade-style drifts and unfettered speed, and into a world of cautious turns and meticulously tuned engines. Shift 2 Unleashed isn't as groundbreaking, and some changes hold the entry back from the brink of excellence, but Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport finally have some competition in their rear-view mirrors.

The integration of Autolog is the hot topic of Shift 2. As seen in Hot Pursuit, Autolog tracks the performance of you and your friends in every race, pushing you to battle for each millisecond-worth of bragging rights. Topping best times is also a good way to accumulate XP for unlocking new races and car components. Although Autolog is an effective way to inspire competition, it often takes too much priority. It's easy to see how you stack up to your friends, but cumbersome to check your placing against the A.I., which is an equally important factor of progression.

With over 60 real-world tracks, Shift 2 lacks neither races nor variety, including one-off elimination matches and circuits with cumulative standings. Races are divided mainly into classes (A,B,C,D) and a few car-specific challenges. New content is exceptionally easy to unlock. I wasn't finished with the D-class races before B-class content opened up. You still have to complete early races if you want the unique cars offered as prizes, not to mention the constant pull of Autolog, so you might find yourself wondering why other games are so stingy about unlocking races.

The oddest aspect of Shift 2 is the lack of practice laps before a race. You have to back out to the main menu, enter the tuning section, and then locate the proper race. It's one of many strange quirks in Shift 2's presentation and organization that should raise some suspicion, such as the inability to change the music, which loops over and over in while shopping and tuning. Most frustrating are the three-seconds of loading between every car when browsing through the shop.

Shift 2 features over 120 cars from the usual suspects – Toyota, BMW, Dodge, Honda – the luxury and sporting manufacturers – Mercedes and Maserati – and vehicles that most people will never get within arms-reach of – Lamborghini and Pagani. Although this is a matter of personal preference, I would have liked to see more amateur-level cars. I enjoy taking a beater and turning it into an underdog champion. Shift 2 features a handful of such cars, like the Toyota Corolla AE86, but the emphasis is definitely on world-class performance machines.

Driving physics are top-notch with an impressive array of tuning options for gearheads, while less technical players can use simplified sliders (e.g. top speed vs. acceleration). The cars are striking responsive to adjustments; make a small change to a sway bar or tire pressure and you can easily notice the difference. I am not a fan of Shift 2's approach to purchasing components though. In general, buying the most expensive part in every category is the way to go, which is anything but realistic. More problematic is the inability to adjust the sensitivity of the controller. The analog is stick is outrageously touchy, with a 60-percent tilt nearly performing a full turn.