EA has just gone and announced that a sequel to last year’s excellent Need For Speed: SHIFT is currently in development at racing game specialists Slightly Mad Studios, and is scheduled to release in the ‘Spring’ of 2011.

Simply entitled SHIFT 2 Unleashed, this next entry to the Need For Speed franchise has some mighty big shoes to fill, as the previous SHIFT title went on to sell almost five million copies worldwide, and as El33tonline’s review of that game will tell you, it successfully delivered an awesome, visceral racing experience that was equal parts simulation and arcade game.

SHIFT 2 Unleashed, according to EA, is set to improve upon the previous game, with an all-new rendering engine and graphics overhaul, an improved and innovative helmet camera view to simulate the feeling of racing at 200 mph, night racing, car and track degradation, as well as the integration of Need For Speed Autolog – “the groundbreaking network that connects friends for epic head-to-head races and compares player stats for the ultimate social racing competition.”

Not only all of this, but SHIFT 2 Unleashed will also introduce “the driver’s battle, an even more authentic and primal feeling of power and speed which elevates the fundamental competitive race into a struggle for supremacy against other drivers and even the track itself.”

“In SHIFT 2 Unleashed, players’ hands sweat and ache as they clutch onto the controller, their pulse races from the break-neck speeds experienced through the first-person cockpit view.”

Kind of sounds… unpleasant. But fun!

Watch the incredible debut trailer for SHIFT 2 Unleashed below:

SHIFT 2 Unleashed – Debut Trailer