# Need for speed shift vs Dirt 2



## ruffneck23 (Sep 20, 2009)

Ive just got N4S:Shift on the PC and very tasty it is too it looks fantastic (once you figure how to get it out of windowed mode ) , the in car view is really the best way to play it as they have made move / judder as it would if you were in the car. I usally prefer a 3rd person mode but this time ive conceded and am  thouroughly enjoying it. Its on a completely different level to the truly awful Undercover offering of last year

Ive also seen this Dirt 2 has just come out. Has anyone played both ? Is it worth investing when it comes out on PC later in the year ?

Also its my brothers birthday in Friday and he loves his racing games so i need to chose ( he has an xbitch360 )


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 21, 2009)

has no-one played either ? 

Am i the only one whos interested?

this thread is so fail


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## Silva (Sep 21, 2009)

It's not like I'd be able to play them, but thank fuck the NfS series got out of that pseudo _The Fast and the Furious_ bullshit. A shame it will be too late to have something like NfS4 on the PS2


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## bmd (Sep 21, 2009)

I've got the NFS one on PC but not tried it out yet. Dirt 2 does look remarkably like Grid though. When I first saw the game ad on telly I kept expecting it to rewind.

Grid 2 is beating NFS by 1 point on Metacritic...so...that's good then.


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 21, 2009)

played the dirt2 demo meh! is my review it's more of the same but less realistic more arcady in it's handelling. and it's gota rewind fucntion which is't any use at all IE it takes ou back tot he start of your accident not the start of where it went wrong or just any previous place what's the fucking point of going back to where it's already gone wrong then?  so I can see my accident twcie.

The rally section tried was more fun that the circuit races but it's still gash...

Have been totally disappointed with the ever decreasing lack of Quality control on NFS games although the latest one looks lovely it'll be another in a long line of less inventive bland rip offs of that seemingly unending brand... 

TBH since they removed the key component of the game cops and robbers 2 player chases giving you a need for speed then it's gone totally down hill, it's not Grand Tourismo and should stop trying to be as even GT is a bit old hat and the new one still doesn't seem to have a decent damage engine so will be utterly unplayable and dated as a concept.


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 21, 2009)

i heard that dirt has a rewinding feature like Grid too( doh sorry garf just read that in your post  ). Also the point to point rallying only take up less than 20% of the game. Which has put me off

Last night i was racing a bugati in NFS:S and the sheer sense of speen is brilliant , you really can tell the difference between that and the earlier tier cars.

This really is a return to form for N4S finally


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 21, 2009)

butit still doesn't have the hot pursuit part back so it's another racing game...


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 21, 2009)

True, but its a good one


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## bmd (Sep 21, 2009)

I keep playing NFS in the hope that they'll do another like Underground. I loved that game. But yeah, completely agree that they've been getting shitter. The last two were brewed up in Satan's underpants I believe.


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## D'wards (Sep 21, 2009)

GarfieldLeChat said:


> butit still doesn't have the hot pursuit part back so it's another racing game...



That NFS was fucking brilliant, racing through the French countrysaide, that sort of thing.

Then the film The Fast and the Furious came out and ruined it for us all...


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 21, 2009)

D'wards said:


> That NFS was fucking brilliant, racing through the French countrysaide, that sort of thing.
> 
> Then the film The Fast and the Furious came out and ruined it for us all...



was a remake of the original hot pursuit game for the ps2 tho which allowed two people to ride one cop car with one steering and one shooting was excellent...

never again has N4S got anywhere near as good...


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## bmd (Sep 21, 2009)

Have just played the new NFS. I quite liked it. So glad they've got away from the whole city thing, that was well past its sell-by date.


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> Have just played the new NFS. I quite liked it. So glad they've got away from the whole city thing, that was well past its sell-by date.





that entirely misses the point of need for speed which was a cops and robbers chase game through cities.

once they moved away from that formula then i agree the city part became kinda redundant....


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## bmd (Sep 22, 2009)

GarfieldLeChat said:


> that entirely misses the point of need for speed which was a cops and robbers chase game through cities.
> 
> once they moved away from that formula then i agree the city part became kinda redundant....



Well, Mr Rolleyes, I didn't really get that that was the point from Underground. It had cop chases but I thought the best thing with that version was the racing.


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## Chz (Sep 22, 2009)

DiRT 2 is nothing new, but it's nothing new done exceedingly well I think.

NFS starts out well, but I got sick of it really quite quickly. The feel of it is all wrong - hard to describe, but it's just not holding my attention. All those achievements they give you should keep you interested, but they don't.


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

Which view are you using ? 

Im using the in car view and to me it feels much better...

I dont like the driver assistance tho


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> Well, Mr Rolleyes, I didn't really get that that was the point from Underground. It had cop chases but I thought the best thing with that version was the racing.



this is my point.

The game originated as a cops and robbers chase game.

something which is sorely needed on the next gen platforms rather than a hundred different slightly altered racing games. 

NFS was different always from ridge racer from GT from PGR from all of them by being a cops and robbers game the moment they left that mechanic out to make it more accessible for non gamers (and way way way easier) it lost all it's appeal as it's never been an accurate reflection of the cars themselves or a decent car modification type game or a shopping game all of which it has become. 

underground wasn't the last in the line of cops and robbers it was way post hot pursuit which was the last time they bothered to have the cop/robber dynamic and although good was still not a patch on previous versions.

The racing isn't good enough on any of the NFS games because it never has been and never will be a good racing game.  the cars steer like they have poles through the middle and don't turn in they clash of building and barriers like the were running into duvets and the damage engine is utterly pony...

this was all excused when it was a cops and robbers game since then where's the need for speed...


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

GarfieldLeChat said:


> The racing isn't good enough on any of the NFS games because it never has been and never will be a good racing game.  the cars steer like they have poles through the middle and don't turn in they clash of building and barriers like the were running into duvets and the damage engine is utterly pony...



I disagree with this , it may have no cops and robbers but the racing is superb in shift IMO


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

ruffneck23 said:


> I disagree with this , it may have no cops and robbers but the racing is superb in shift IMO



shift was the biggest pile of shit going again made easier for non gamers it felt like shit utter shit really nothing like really racing nothing like a decent arcade game so way of base on both levels... 

It's neither sim nor decent game mechanic and falls short on both levels...


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

its been out 5 days and you come to that opinion? 

Im sure you must have givien a plentyful playthrough 

We seem to disagree but never mind im enjoying it thouroghly ( and im certainly not a non gamer )


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

ruffneck23 said:


> its been out 5 days and you come to that opinion?
> 
> Im sure you must have givien a plentyful playthrough
> 
> We seem to disagree but never mind im enjoying it thoroughly ( and im certainly not a non gamer )



and have a certain level of game testing in hand at this stage in the evolution of console games yes...


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

i just think ur bitter cos there no Po-lice in it 

Seriously tho , im no EA fanboy ( I used to test for them and dont really like the way they treated the testers)

 I really wanted to hate Shift but i cant.....



Would you reccommend Dirt 2 tho ?

You dont seem very enamoured by either?


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

ruffneck23 said:


> i just think ur bitter cos there no Po-lice in it



you just think that them removing the central game mechanic from a game to make it easy for others to play in essence making it another bland rip off no different racing game with no progression no learning curve and no interest holding items makes me dislike the tawdry shell of what it once was in terms of a gaming mechanic...

then yes you'd be entirely correct...

made shit for mass market rather than made great for proper gamers... 

and you like it.

which highlights which camp you belong to...


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

dirt 2 isn't great either...

save your cash seriously unless you like shelling out 40 notes for something which will lose it's appeal in under 3 weeks...

or you have some pathological need to spend money on tawdry games.... 

the more people who buy this shit means they'll make more of it... just because there's a new racing game head to head title launch doesn't mean you have to buy them...


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

oh garf you know me so well..... 

nice to see you can take a joke


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

GarfieldLeChat said:


> dirt 2 isn't great either...
> 
> save your cash seriously unless you like shelling out 40 notes for something which will lose it's appeal in under 3 weeks...
> 
> ...




who says im paying for em ?


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

you think it's a good game I can prove categorically how it isn't and in the long line of NFS titles this one will be as lost as all the other non discript ones are


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

ruffneck23 said:


> who says im paying for em ?



I nowif i was i would spend my cash on em....


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

GarfieldLeChat said:


> you think it's a good game I can prove categorically how it isn't and in the long line of NFS titles this one will be as lost as all the other non discript ones are




all you can ' prove ' is your own opinion

which id give a bit more credence to if you werent so hostile about it 

anyway im not going to sit here and argue with you each to thier own and all that.....


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

but a serious question , are you a games reviewer ? or have you just formed this opinion from the demos or did you go out and throw your hard earned cash at them so you could come to your verdict ?


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

ruffneck23 said:


> but a serious question , are you a games reviewer ? or have you just formed this opinion from the demos or did you go out and throw your hard earned cash at them so you could come to your verdict ?



a gamer who's been playing consoles for around 20 odd years and has a games collection to rival most game shops I get the occasional freebie to test/review...which considering the amount spent on the industry over the years is fair payback...


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

ruffneck23 said:


> all you can ' prove ' is your own opinion
> 
> which id give a bit more credence to if you werent so hostile about it
> 
> anyway im not going to sit here and argue with you each to thier own and all that.....



nope I can prove the physic engine isn't as evolved as say older games I can prove they've increased their pixel count and shading budgets but not spent as much time on the physics engines as they have done in the rendering engines I can prove this is a long line now of minor improvements to the rendering engines which have in technology terms left the physic engines in the dust.

I can prove that there has been a shift from making a game designed to last a significant period to marketing demanded shift of a game lasting no more than a month to completion.  Lead in part by the shift to accommodate the Japanese gaming market and to the larger US gaming market and the idea to sell more units to wider audiences of the pick up and play generation rather than the pick up and learn gamer generation. 

EA and others have lead the way in this change in dynamic of games where they make the games as easy as  possibly to prevent replay value and make you go out and buy new products thus keeping them all in business...


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## Awesome Wells (Sep 22, 2009)

ruffneck23 said:


> has no-one played either ?
> 
> Am i the only one whos interested?
> 
> this thread is so fail


Do NOT play Dirt 2 online. Unless you enjoy being smashed off the road constantly.


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

Awesome Wells said:


> Do NOT play Dirt 2 online. Unless you enjoy being smashed off the road constantly.



this has sadly started happening in real racing on track too... grrrrrrrr


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## Awesome Wells (Sep 22, 2009)

Dirt 2 is unplayable online because of the handling, nature of the tracks and the fact there are twice as many cars as the track can handle, and the fact that ALL people do is use YOU to bounce off. It's so shit to be first and then slow to corner and have the fuckwit behind you just smash you out the way and take the race leaving you spinning out into last. Got my copy when it came out, sold it yesterday on Amazon and won't look back. Would love to try out Shift, but I'm so wary of games now as they've all been so crap for so long (excepting Batman even though it's painfully short).


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

GarfieldLeChat said:


> a gamer who's been playing consoles for around 20 odd years and has a games collection to rival most game shops I get the occasional freebie to test/review...which considering the amount spent on the industry over the years is fair payback...




you havent answered my question , have you piad out for the full copies of the games and review them or have you just reviewed the demos ?


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## bmd (Sep 22, 2009)

GarfieldLeChat said:


> this is my point.
> 
> The game originated as a cops and robbers chase game.
> 
> ...



I would like to see a wider breadth of car driving games, and agree that they are very watered down. I have played the ultra realistic ones like GT3, with a force feedback wheel (it's in the shed gathering dust now) and they are incredibly involving but I just haven't the patience and time to put into them.

I think that, if the latest iteration is anything to go by, NFS agree with you and have started to put some more choice back into the game as far as the mechanics of the driving goes. With the option to turn off the 'rails' it does seem that this is so.

That said, NFS: Underground was the first driving game I bothered with. Gran Turismo didn't light my candle. I loved the drag racing in NFS:U and got into the rest of it through that.

So yeah, I get what you're saying about NFS being a certain way and there being no need to change it as there's a million other generic driving games out there just like the one they changed it to, but I don't agree. It's special to me.


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

ruffneck23 said:


> you havent answered my question , have you piad out for the full copies of the games and review them or have you just reviewed the demos ?



not paid for full copies but have full copies... as i said...


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

ok fair enough


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> I would like to see a wider breadth of car driving games, and agree that they are very watered down. I have played the ultra realistic ones like GT3, with a force feedback wheel (it's in the shed gathering dust now) and they are incredibly involving but I just haven't the patience and time to put into them.
> 
> I think that, if the latest iteration is anything to go by, NFS agree with you and have started to put some more choice back into the game as far as the mechanics of the driving goes. With the option to turn off the 'rails' it does seem that this is so.
> 
> ...


it's a travesty that they've all become mix and match the same if you ask me...

even burn out got blander with each iteration...


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

Awesome Wells said:


> Dirt 2 is unplayable online because of the handling, nature of the tracks and the fact there are twice as many cars as the track can handle, and the fact that ALL people do is use YOU to bounce off. It's so shit to be first and then slow to corner and have the fuckwit behind you just smash you out the way and take the race leaving you spinning out into last. Got my copy when it came out, sold it yesterday on Amazon and won't look back. Would love to try out Shift, but I'm so wary of games now as they've all been so crap for so long (excepting Batman even though it's painfully short).



Thanks AW  thats the kind of answer i was looking for to help me choose.

Looks like my bro is getting shift ( due to the gaming demographic that Garf has thoughtfully put us into  )


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

GarfieldLeChat said:


> nope I can prove the physic engine isn't as evolved as say older games I can prove they've increased their pixel count and shading budgets but not spent as much time on the physics engines as they have done in the rendering engines I can prove this is a long line now of minor improvements to the rendering engines which have in technology terms left the physic engines in the dust.
> 
> I can prove that there has been a shift from making a game designed to last a significant period to marketing demanded shift of a game lasting no more than a month to completion.  Lead in part by the shift to accommodate the Japanese gaming market and to the larger US gaming market and the idea to sell more units to wider audiences of the pick up and play generation rather than the pick up and learn gamer generation.
> 
> EA and others have lead the way in this change in dynamic of games where they make the games as easy as  possibly to prevent replay value and make you go out and buy new products thus keeping them all in business...




Are you playing on xbitch or P$3 or pc ?

Im asking as the PC version has the phsyx engine running on nvidia cards.  

Im wondering how different the handling is.......

I might get it for my Bro and see the difference between the 2.


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## GarfieldLeChat (Sep 22, 2009)

ps3 never gotten asked to do xbox reviews and can't justify playing things on an inferior machine (waits for flames...) though have all 3 of the next gen as previous gens too...


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2009)

nice , if you were in Surrey id invite you rund to check it out on my phat PC


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## Awesome Wells (Sep 22, 2009)

NP.

It's not that Dirt is a bad game (except online), it's just not a good game. The single player gets boring very quickly and there really isn't much incentive to completing it at all. The rallycross mode though is just awful, utterly awful.


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