14 DAY TRIAL // The upcoming Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed racing game differentiates itself from other games in the NFS series through its more serious racing simulator gameplay, according to Andrew Hahn, community manager at Electronic Arts, the game's publisher.
EA's Need for Speed franchise is being overhauled by the company, and is no longer being developed by just one studio, but by multiple ones, each with their own niche, including arcade, action or simulator.
The upcoming NFS: Shift 2 Unleashed, a new entry in the Shift spinoff series from UK studio Slightly Mad, will really show how different it is from previous NFS games.
Hahn says that all marketing efforts will showcase the changes between Shift 2 and other NFS games like the most recent Hot Pursuit, in terms of actual gameplay and overall experience.
"It's been important for us to differentiate Shift from NFS designs in Arcade and Action, as well as other simulation games," he said. "The assets being released are meant to show how the overall design is now in direct competition with the best simulation games; how powerful the physics simulator is that Slightly Mad Studios has created to power Shift; how much progress is featured in Shift 2 over its predecessor."
Even if EA will differentiate Shift 2 Unleashed from the last title released by Criterion Games, the Autolog online system, first seen in Hot Pursuit, will still be present, in order to provide an optimized and familiar experience to all NFS players.
"Autolog is now franchise DNA and is a key feature to all NFS designs. Online competition has always been popular amongst our community of fans. This collection of social features is now combined into one nerve-center, serving up Recommendations based on favorites, and direct challenges via the Speedwall. Regional as well as global leaderboards presented during load screens is a key aspect of bringing personal competition to our racing games," Hahn added.
Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed is getting ready to be released onto the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 29, in North America, and March 31, in Europe.