I wouldn't go so far as to call Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed the best looking game in the long-running franchise (I believe that recognition goes to last year's superb Hot Pursuit), but it comes damned close. This game deserves kudos for the gritty, violent aesthetic applied to the general presentation. This shift in tone is readily apparent less than ten seconds after the first load screen; Need for Speed: Shift was all about putting you in the driver's seat, and Shift 2 Unleashed is clearly all about terrifying you while you're in the driver's seat. The cars look sleek and sexy, and there's a ton of environmental variety. The best part of Shift 2 Unleashed's visuals takes one of Need for Speed: Shift's best innovations a bit further. I'm talking, of course, about the first-person helmet cam. There seems to be a bit of artificial intelligence behind this perspective; as you approach each turn, your driver's head turns ever so slightly, as if he's preparing himself for the insane lateral g-forces he's about to inflict upon his body. Oh, and don't even get me started on the horrifying violence of the first-person crashes. Shift 2 Unleashed would make a great companion piece for those traumatizing driver's ed gorefests. Regardless of which camera angle you're using, each crash is disorienting; the screen blurs, the colors wash out, and you lose your bearings for a good five seconds. It's impressive. Even more impressive are the speed effects; there's a real sense of danger as the camera shakes and the screen blurs. Bits of dirt even collide with the "lens."

I can't really fault Shift 2 Unleashed's sound effects. The cars sound great, whether they're roaring down the track or literally rolling down it. As much as I can praise the sound effects, I can't quite say the same about the soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, I like Jimmy Eat World and Rise Against just fine; I just think it's more than a little pretentious to set samples of their songs against a dark synth orchestral backdrop for the menu screens. There's also a bit of voice acting from real drivers, but I rarely appreciate this kind of thing in a game like this unless they do something really special with it -- like they did in DiRT 2.

Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed is a return to the somewhat-realistic street races of classic Need for Speed, rather than the full-blown arcade racing experience that it occasionally becomes. Fortunately, it features lots of the same bells and whistles that make great racing games, well, great. The Career Mode is nice and lengthy, and takes you all over the globe to participate in a number of varied events and competitions. Most importantly, the allure of new unlockables is ever-present, encouraging you to complete just one more race. There are tons of cars to obtain and trick out; even if you're not into personal customization, there's a convenient (but expensive) shortcut called the Works that maximizes each car's potential. I'm not big into tuner culture, so I ended up going with The Works every time the opportunity presented itself.

The online is about what you'd expect from a modern racing game, and that's just fine. More notable is the inclusion of Hot Pursuit's Autolog system. If you didn't play Hot Pursuit, imagine a garden-variety leveling/experience system and then combine it with social networking. It tracks your statistics alongside your friends, as well as the rest of the world. It's a really great system, though it's not as immediately innovative as it was when it was introduced last year.

Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed is your best friend one moment and your worst enemy the next. This is primarily due to the inconsistent and occasionally unresponsive handling; that's unfortunate, since handling can make or break a racing game. Here, it comes closer to breaking it, but it doesn't quite. Customization options aside, you'll feel like your car has a mind of its own half the time, so much that you may find yourself questioning the assist lines.

Despite the handling issues, Shift 2 Unleashed is still on the challenging side, and once (or if) you ever get a proper feel for the way your vehicle of choice works, it becomes an incredibly satisfying challenge. This is to the credit of the game's opponent artificial intelligence, which is refreshingly ruthless for a racing game. That's a good thing, because after all, this game's all about putting you in the driver seat and then scaring you half to death.

As mentioned before, Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed's racing is solid despite its few lingering annoyances, and it covers the main bases when it comes to objectives. Straightforward races, time trials, and gauntlet runs aren't anything to be surprised at, but it's nice to have a selection of events, at least. Unsurprisingly, the experience/reward system is the ace in the hole. Sure, it's nothing new when it comes to games, but its implementation into this game is clever. The game constantly rewards you for perfecting lines, mastering corners, drifting, and revving to the ideal RPM for a perfect launch. Each time you see those numbers add up at the top of the screen, the game becomes that much more fun and satisfying.

This is also one of those games that can turn a screw-up moment into something truly horrific. The wrecks in Shift 2 Unleashed aren't as absurd as the ones in Burnout, but they look realistic enough to make you think twice about disobeying the rules of the road; the damage effects are astounding and produce entire chunks of debris. And while the wrecks are fun to watch, they can ruin entire races. I ended up wishing for one of those "rewind" mechanics that have been showing up in racers lately.

Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed's contributions to the evolution of the racing genre aren't very substantial, and there are a few problems under the hood, but it is still very much a quality product. It feels like the developers really went out of their way to introduce a new sense of perspective, and that's something most racers don't even bother with. As a result, Shift 2 Unleashed is worth checking out.