Struggles to break free of it's Arcade prison but there's still not enough Simulation power.
Graphics:
Same as the first Shift but the overall performance is a bit better.Also,there are a few visual bugs to be dealt with and some improvents needed.
For some reason if find the graphics of the first Shift a bit better,the cars were a little bit more detailed,especialy the interiots, but maybe thats just me.Overall,still great.
Sound:
One of the best fthings of the two Shift games.Its as good as it was.Again i think it was a tiny bit better.
Physics:
Improved,but not as much as EA was promissing. They dont feel "NEW" as they said they will be, just improved old ones.
The rear end slides for no reason again but a lot less and its almost never noticeable except when playing from the chase camera.
Other than that, the cars do what they are supposed to do.Well...most of the times.
Some tweaks are needed and if the company isnt planning on doing it, i'm sure the modding community will do and make it a lot better.
AI:
Maybe a little bit better but ,unfortunately, still bad. If you dont launch yourself in the first place and get away fast, you will certainly find yourself facing the wrong way with a shattered windshield and one or two wheels missing, or something along those lines. Seriously, the AI HATES YOU.
Gameplay/Interface:
Simple again but (IMO) worse than in the first Shift.Especialy the new car classification,i prefered the one in Shift but i think thats a matter of personal taste beacause the functionality is almost the same good generaly.
And now a few words about some the new features:
1: Helmet Cam!
Horrible! overpowering and confusing. I hope the modding community has allready started to work on removing it or at least reducing its effect.
A simple "look into the apex" effect would do the job just like in GTR series games.
Plus, it seems to have taken the place of the good cocpit view and the second cocpit view (without the helmet cam) is way too close to the steering wheel.A must fix!
2: Upgrading/Tuning: Much better than before imo.
More parts for tuning including engine swaps and an updated tuning system,a little bit more detailed and offers more flexibility by giving the ability to create setups for each track individualy.I like them a lot.
Bottomline:
EA is getting closer and closer on creating a very decent sim racing game. No its not a simulator yet. Its still 30-40% arcade imo but in terms of simulation, its better than the first Shift. If there will be a 3 one, i think it will hit the spot.I hope so.