Ranking Every Modern Need For Speed From Worst To Best

Need for Speed always tries to switch things up with different types of racing and among them is the simcade genre popularized by Gran Turismo. They first tried this with Pro Street in 2007 but found better success with the Shift series.

Shift 2: Unleashed continues where the original left off and focuses on realistic racing. A big success here is its helmet camera which provides an immersive racing experience combined with its FOV changes.

This feature would even be added to Slightly Mad Studios' own racing franchise, Project Cars. Another great aspect of the game is the sense of speed. Driving any car feels as terrifying as it is exhilarating as the wrong move can lead to your car crashing.

One aspect the game did not do well, however, is its handling. Unlike Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport, Shift 2 doesn't quite get its vehicles right with handling feeling jerky, especially with controllers. And so while the title does well with making racing scary like in real life, it doesn't quite capture the accessible simulation-arcade style that it was going for.

Still, Shift 2: Unleashed proved that the series could experiment with different types of racing and still deliver a good game.