SHIFT 2: Unleashed Message Board

#gamingappoftheday Learning to drive a stick shift on my mother's BMW 325 was one of the most maddening experiences in a teenage life full of them. I just could not figure out what the hell that thing's clutch wanted out of me. It defied all verbal instruction. It was a car of undeniable quality, and a bad one to learn on. I feel the same way about Electronic Arts' Shift 2 Unleashed on the iPhone. More »

An update for Shift 2 Unleashed has been released. This update includes the free Shift 2 Unleashed DLC Pack.

You know the worst thing about racing? All that turning. Left, right, left, more left – who needs it? Best not to worry about those finer details and stick to what’s in front of you. This new Speedhunters DLC pack for SHIFT 2 should help with all that bother, adding the ability to go very fast in a straight line. Six tracks covering the Quarter Mile and Standing Mile disciplines, with fourteen new specialised cars, are landing June 30th alongside the Legends DLC, which features five tracks with the more traditional curvy parts and a dozen new cars of its own.

Both have been out for a couple of months in console land but us PC types will be getting them for free, via Origin. The excitable trailer’s eyeing the horizon after the jump.(more…)

We here at Joystiq never play the console superiority game; play on what you like, man. But, when it comes to Shift 2 Unleashed, it would appear the PC is the superior platform -- at least, in a getting things for free kind of way.

EA has announced that the Legends and Speedhunters packs, both $10 pieces of DLC on consoles, will be released free of charge on the PC. Beginning June 30, PC players can download both packs for free from EA's new digital distribution hub, Origin.com.

Race on past the break for a video primer for the free DLC and a breakdown of what you'll get.

Previous DLC for Shift 2: Unleashed offered up some classic cars and tracks for cash, but this next pack is all about a balance between the two: old muscle cars and expensive modern roadsters.

For $9.99 on PSN and 800 MS Points ($10) on Xbox Live, you'll get two new branches, each featuring nine events with mandatory manual gear transmission use: Drag and Standing Mile. Drag is all about judging time over a quarter mile, while Standing Mile is a competition based on the top speed players can achieve over a mile strip.

Race past the break for a list of cars and tracks, as well as a new trailer.

A sneak peek at the new cars in the Speedhunters DLC for SHIFT 2 Unleashed.

Are the newfangled autocontraptions in Shift 2 Unleashed a little too modern for you? Not a fan of all the vehicular bells and whistles fastened to your 21st Century whips? EA has announced a DLC pack that should give you the sweet, nostalgic release you crave. On April 24, the game will receive 14 retro cars and five equally retro tracks -- most of which hail from the 1960s and '70s.

You can pick up the new rides and venues for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). Check out the full list of new-old content included in the "Legends" pack after the jump -- and while you're back there, why not check out the DLC's announcement trailer?

Unlock a classic driving experience with new maps and old cars in the SHIFT 2 Unleashed Legends Pack DLC!

It's known as racing's golden age. The late 1960s and early 1970s featured a dramatic range of race cars known for their powerful engines, technical handling capabilities and dramatic car designs. Beginning April 26, racing enthusiasts can experience the intensity of the driver's battle in some of this era's most iconic cars in the SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED Legends content pack. Players can purchase the Legends pack for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace or $9.99 on the PlayStation Network...

More of the most dangerous corners in racetracks across the globe!

It was a wise move for EA to subdue the Need For Speed in the title of its sequel to last year's first racing sim in the franchise, Need For Speed: Shift. That's not to say Shift 2 Unleashed is unworthy of the brand -- far from it -- but given how well received the last arcade-style NFS title, Hot Pursuit, was, there would surely be plenty of folks who'd think this was the sequel to that game. It's so very not that.

The original Shift remains one of my favorite racing games of all time -- and one of my most-played titles ever, too. So, to say that I've had some pretty high expectations of its sequel would be an understatement. Since last year, I've wondered how EA and Slightly Mad Studios were going to improve on the most realistic feeling, visceral and downright fun console racing sim to date. The short answer: They made it more realistic. The long answer is after the break.

Having already proven his absolute comprehension of the sweet science of Shift 2: Unleashed, pro racer Tommy Milner now faces an even greater challenge: besting Irish driver Darren McNamara using the game's Autolog feature. Can he preserve his honor? For America?

Darren McNamara and Tommy Milner show off their racing skills in an autolog challenge.

Does SHIFT 2 Unleashed capture the thrill and terror of real-life racing? Find out in our official SHIFT 2 Unleashed review!

Next week, Shift 2: Unleashed will race to retail, but the post-launch festivities at developer Slightly Mad Studios are a bit dampened by the news of layoffs. According to comments made by studio head Ian Bell to GI.biz (registration required), another project that was underway has been suddenly canceled, affecting several studio staff.

"Essentially we were let down at the last minute by one publisher who we'd signed a deal with only for it to be canned before we even started. I can't say who," Bell said. He went on to say that he's still in talks with the publisher in question among others. As for the studio's next project, that's currently up in the air. Bell says Slightly Mad hasn't been able to "secure a deal for a new project... yet," though he adds that he's "optimistic about the future."

Those affected by layoffs at Slightly Mad have somewhat of a silver lining: Ian Bell and Slightly Mad's other co-founder, Andy Garton, recently formed their own social/mobile studio, Gamagio. Currently, the two are attempting to raise capital for the new venture and, according to Bell, employing ex-Slightly Mad Studios devs.

Shift 2 Unleashed is one handsome-lookin’ racing game, yes sir, and it’s out next week in the US and, er, now in Europe, I think. Anyway, we’ll let you know our thoughts on the game fairly soon, and until then you might want to whet your appetite on the launch trailer. There is tasteless rock music and a car that didn’t make it. I’m sorry. It was just his time. (more…)

The roar of the engine, the rumble of the exhaust, the screech of the tires these sounds help draw players into the world of SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED to deliver this year's most authentic racing game. Audio is as important an aspect of the entertainment experience as gameplay and visuals but it's the gam...

Shift 2 Unleashed is the follow-up to EA's Need: For Speed Shift. Developed by Slightly Mad Studios, it attempts to bring the Need For Speed series into the simulation realm without sacrificing accessibility. Check Out Shift 2's Career Mode Find Out More About Shift 2: ...

It's no secret that real professional race drivers play racing video games, sometimes even for training. EA has released a video of Dubai 24h winner Tommy Milner taking Shift 2 Unleashed, which hits March 29, through its paces in a Corvette C6.R GT1 at Leguna Seca. He's really, really good.

Tommy Milner takes the wheel at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in this video featuring actual gameplay footage.

This driving experience is not for the meek! Check out the raw untamed power of this vehicle on the track of SHIFT 2: Unleashed at PAX East 2011.

#video Here's Shift 2: Unleashed being played at PAX East on three extremely large television screens, shot by our man there, Stephen Totilo. More »

Showcasing some of the real world's most dangerous corners in racing.

I'm holding a titanium bolt in my hand so light that it feels like cheap plastic. Hardly the sort of sentence you'd expect to open a racing game preview, perhaps, but then this is no ordinary bolt: immaculately inscribed around its head is the word 'Pagani'. It will reside in a future Huyara, Pagani...

Just a California bro doing some drifting, eatin' in his car.

Racing stars put SHIFT 2's Autolog to the test in this documentary video on the game's updated features.

Straddling the line between simulation and arcade.

In a genre that depends on realism, Shift 2 takes it to another level.

EA says that Shift 2: Unleashed will be the first video game to feature the Pagani Huayra supercar, the Italian manufacturer's followup to the popular Zonda series that's due to arrive in the US later this year. You can see the $1 million, 700 horsepower set of wheels in the trailer after the break.

EU folks will have to wait just a little bit to get behind the wheel. The game was originally announced for release in that region on March 24, but EA is now saying it'll be on shelves March 31. The North American date hasn't changed; it will be out on Tuesday, March 29, as planned.