If you wanted a realistic racing simulator, you used to have few options: Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport. But in 2009, Need for Speed: Shift challenged the duopoly.
Chock-full of attitude, with more intense visuals and more aggressive racing than its rivals, it was an exciting alternative.
Its sequel picks up where the predecessor left off. The graphics are even more stylised: the cars are hard-edged and larger than life, while overblown lighting makes for a cinematic feel.
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There’s also a greater emphasis on gimmick-laden racing, with elimination events, for instance, where every half-minute the car running last in the race is dispatched.
Yet Shift 2’s visceral take on racing is enthralling. Competing against drivers who go all out to win in cars that crash and roll across the track makes each race a breathless few minutes. New ideas, such as a “helmet cam” viewpoint, are also extremely smart. And while Gran Turismo has more real tracks and more production cars, the wheels in Shift 2 are top notch, including the Lamborghini Reventon, the new Pagani Huayra and a superb collection of hot-rod 1980s classics.
The big boys of realistic racing should check their rear-views — this snarling upstart is making them look old.