The most immediate change was the reduction of input latency. Slightly Mad Studios rewrote how the controller polling worked. On the PS3, specifically, the patch introduced a "Deadzone" slider that allowed players to eliminate the mushy center steering. Suddenly, you could counter-steer a drift without predicting the future.

Shift 2 + 1.02 + DLCs is a better simulation than Project CARS 1 (its direct successor). The tire model feels more organic. The sense of speed is unmatched. And the career mode—spanning from showroom stock cars to Le Mans prototypes—has a progression that modern NFS games have abandoned.