Boomtown X

Electronic Arts has announced that the Legends and Speedhunters DLC packages - already available on consoles - will be released for the PC version of Shift 2 Unleashed on June 30th.

The publisher says that unlike the console versions the content will be released free of charge and will be available for download at Origin.com.

One hopes that this doesn't mean the content is for Origin users only and that those playing a boxed retail or Steam version can join the fun.

The Legends content is particularly brilliant as it features old versions of tracks such as Monza and Hockenheim along with classic older cars.

I've become somewhat bored of DLC, especially as much of the rubbish peddled at us these days is just game content removed to sell back to us. Thanks an effing bunch publishers.

But sometimes you see some extra content that really seems worth the money and the Legends Pack for Shift 2 is just that.

Not only will we get 14 new cars, but we'll also get six classic tracks. And by classic I mean just that - Monza as it was in 1958 for example.

Check out the full details after the break.

Slighty Mad Studios' Shift 2: Unleashed is one of the best racing sims released in recent times. Certainly in terms of excitement it tops the rather dry Gran Turismo 5. Dig deeper though and you also find that its not just the excitement of racing the game simulates very well - the underlying physics engine is very neat indeed.

The suspension and tyre modelling are much better than Gran Turismo, it's easy to see if you watch replays of both games concentrating on suspension movement. Bringing up the telemetry data in Shift 2 shows how much work the physics engine is doing behind the scenes to present a game that goes quite a long way to create a realistic experience even on consoles.

So you're wondering why so many folks on forums and some critics believe that (a) Shift 2 is merely an arcade game, or (b) the physics engine isn't very good at all? In the case of game critics that's pretty easy - most mainstream sites are terrible at reviewing racing games, or anything else that isn't a straight shooter. But what of user experience? Those gamers who love a good racing game but are baffled by the way Shift 2 handles out of the box? They have a point.