Sup all Speedhunters! A lot of gamers and fans are anticipating the release of SHIFT2 UNLEASHED at the end of this month and I sure as hell am hanging out for it too! Rod Chong has sent over a few teaser pics of my BADBUL NFS/Red Bull RX8 from in game and I couldn't wait to share them with you all! 


 
One of the things that always annoyed me with games was you could never get the car's to sit just right (if you're into the same style as myself), one of my main concerns was replicating the look of my car, in a word – Badass. Here you can see the team have accomplished exactly that!


 
Even down to the zip ties holding on the body work!


 
It was essential the dish, stretch, camber and offset was all spot on. I must say the team at SMS have done an amazing job replicating the Weds Kranze Bazeria rims and Lokey Industries wide body!


 
Here you can see how well they executed the livery, the graphics and decals are to no surprise perfect. Their attention to detail is so precise as to what I flossed in 2010 FD series including the incorrect spelling of my last name on the FD door card haha!


 
Love this pic; what lens did you use here Rod?


 
I’m excited about the new helmet cam view, this now enables you to see where you are actually going whilst in mid drift rather than looking at K-Rails/ walls and banners. As you can see even my office has been precisely replicated with the HKS sequential box, Tein EDFC, HKS gauges and HKS Camp2 digital dash and Turbosmart E-Boost 2.


 
So my second main concern was capturing the sound! This was real important and I know a lot of rotary enthusiasts will be eager to hear this for themselves. I was fortunate enough to test the in-game car after Formula D Seattle last year when we visited the EA games HQ in Vancouver.

They had created the overall cosmetics of the car and driving characteristics which had immediately made a massive improvement from Shift1 but straight away as soon as it hit the gas pedal the sound of a crisp 13B screamed through Rod’s speakers. That was not gonna cut it.

So Rod scheduled his sound crew to head out to Willow springs CA for an entire day of sound recording with 11 microphones positioned over the entire RX8. These guys had just finished doing the sound recording/editing for the recent movie Inception so I was confident they would capture all the weird and wonderful sounds coming from the BADBUL. 

Sounds from the pulsing Bridgeport 3rotor, the whistle of the HKS T51R spooling, the scream from the 60mm Turbosmart waste gate, the whine from the Gilmor belt drives, the clank from every gear change and the sweet sound of 666.6hp as it exits the 3 ½” straight pipe.


 
So in SHIFT2 UNLEASHED I am the Works Champion. You will need to beat me to unlock all my goodies, you also have the chance to win a Mazda FC RX7 with most of the kit from my RX8 including the 3rotor swap. 


 
The Works FC is also aesthetically pleasing with its oversize wide body, huge dish rims and then of course there’s the symphony of the killer 20b under the hood.


 
The graphics take gaming to a new level and it’s evident that the input and experiences of the many real drivers featured in the game have a huge influence, ensuring it's the most realistic driving simulation game available.


 
As the smoke settles and a fresh set of rubber is fitted to the BADBUL I will leave you with that teaser that hopefully has you now even more pumped about the game's release. I am so grateful NFS has given me this opportunity to share the pleasure I get from piloting the BADBUL.  Now you can try and beat me at my own game.

Peace
MADMIKE

Click HERE to here some layered samples of Mad Mike's Rx8 in game