Need for Speed series was one of the highlight racing series of its time. With its street racing and cop chases, it took us to another world. However, it was only a matter of time before the series began to fall back in the pack with the appearance of Forza, and Gran Turismo and even Project Gotham. With a new developer and a new concept, Need for Speed Shift is turning for a more professional look, does it still have the arcady feel that we’ve known from the series?
Gameplay
The fast and furious night time style racing that we’ve known from the series is gone. In its place we are given a more professional and traditional style racing game taking on real physics, true handling and a different kind of simulation racing. You’ll be strapped into g-force inducing cars that will test your strength and handiness in a blast of unimaginable speed. While you’ll be able to change views, the cockpit view is the trademark of the game and the one we will be discussing here. There is an incredible attention to detail in environments, tracks and cars all at high resolution textures with incredible damage physics and night and day time rotations. It’s surprising that the game is actually able to keep up at its 60fps ratio.
To start, the presentation is slick and can be easily navigated. The large white text that populates the games menu makes sure you don’t get lost. There are options for launching Career mode or Online depending if you’re on Xbox Live or PSN. There are also instructional videos that will help guide you to making the best of your Shift experience. In the game you are given your Driver Profile. Here is where all of the stat tracking takes place. This also details your particular driving style, whether you are aggressive or passive for lack of a better word. In the end, the game itself already has a sense of your style to begin with and gives you the best difficulty and settings it believes will benefit your racing. It can all be adjusted, so if you think it needs changing you can go in later and fix it yourself. This means that Career mode is tailored to each individual person for their own unique Shift experience.
Moving onward, even though there is a great selection of cars, over 65+ to be exact, its how you go about getting those cars that may confuse some. First, you have to unlock after playing certain races and reaching designated levels. Outside of that you have to make sure you have enough in-game cash to support the purchase. What I found interesting was that EA will also charge real cash if you want to buy the cars immediately. Afterwards you can customize the car to your hearts desire and even add some nitro for those into the street racing. There isn’t a great selection for graphics and other logos you may want on the car unfortunately. There is even an option for a “work conversion” which also maxes out the performance of the car and gives you the best racing vehicle you can own.
Now, taking a look at the trademark of the game; the cockpit view. You’ll be strapped into the driver’s seat and literally facing the intensity of what real drivers face on the track. The dashboard is extremely detailed and has everything down to the odometers in front of you. During the race, you’ll hear the driver gasping as a crash flies in front of him and get momentary blurred vision when you suffer in a crash. This driver POV makes the game that much more realistic in every sense of the word. It’s a wonder why anyone would bother going into third-person view. Need for Speed Shift offers a fair challenge throughout your career so you will be tested. There are modes like drifting, time attacks, endurance races and obviously the standard races. All of these will gain you experience and be able to compete among the best in the Need for Speed World Tour.
There are over 50 tracks in the game including visits to professional stadium tracks, and even fictional tracks in London and Tokyo. There are plenty of online races to be had with you and up too 7 others. As a reminder, if you cut corners during races you will be penalized online and off. Your driver profile also carries over online, so you won’t have to worry about losing anything you accomplish in Career mode. There is a fun mode called “Driver Battles”, which pits two drivers against each other in pre-determined cars and tracks in 2 out of 3 rounds. Winners move up to face more difficult opponents and losers are kicked back down the ranks.
Car handling in Need for Speed: Shift is simple but accessible, there isn’t too much of a learning curve until you hit the later tiers. The difficulty settings help manage the learning curve and give you assistance throughout each tier. For example, easy difficulties help you out on tight turns…being a little loose on brakes. Harder difficulties are challenging and the other drivers will certainly give you a ride for that top podium spot. Don’t be discouraged, a little practice makes perfect after all. When you’re behind the wheel, each car has its own unique handling ability. So, you’ll have to make sure you are versatile enough to compete. For instance, the Audi is quick and fast and can easily spin out if you’re not careful. Need for Speed Shift completely nails the sense of speed as you’re flying through the track and start to feel the heat. The AI in the game is thankfully handled well. All drivers adapt to your instincts and habits, so be careful when you reach the later tiers of your career.
Graphics
While it may not be up to the likes of Forza or Gran Turismo, it’s pretty damn close. The cockpit is the center piece of our attention and again is detailed to excellence. There is everything down to individual meters on the car that even show metric readings. The dashboard does reflect on the windshield and when you crash your vision gets blurred and your driver struggles to regain composure. While everything else is in place, it is odd that there is no handbrake animation once you reach the tight turns at each track and all you are relying is your ABS brakes. There are unfortunately lengthy load times as well as a glitched replay mode. The damage mode isn’t detailed much, though it’s the thought that counts.
Sound
On the road, you’ll be hearing the bustling of the car you’re driving. You’ll hear the engine roaring to life as you speed out of the starting gate. Need for Speed: Shift also carries with it a soundtrack that you would expect from the series. Hip hop and rock fill in the background as you browse throughout the game. You’ll also have and partner with you throughout you’re career guiding you through radio transmission. The game makes you feel like you’re in the NASCAR races getting coached as you figure out how to pass other drivers on the fly.
Plasma Factor
Need for Speed Shift has all the pieces to the puzzle and adds in something extra. The game is fun and manages to keep you’re attention for as long as you are willing to lend it. For casual players, it may not exactly be the kind of game you’re looking for to pass the time. For hardcore racing fans, however, it’s a plus when you are in the middle of the action in that cockpit in full control of your car. It’s one of those games that remind you of Codemaster’s, Race Driver: GRID. Need for Speed: Shift is a game that will no doubt go under the radar sooner rather then later.
Conclusion
With the disappearance of street style racing and night time fun, Need for Speed Shift still represents a good entry in the series. Purists of the series might take the new turn a little harder then others. Despite that, Shift is one game that if supported could easily stand against Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport.
System Requirements (if you play it in PC)
Minimum
OS :Windows XP Service Pack 3
CPU :Intel Pentium 4 (or equivalent) CPU running at 3,2GHz or higher (3.4GHz for Windows Vista)
Memory :1GB RAM (Vista 2GB)
HD Space :10 GB of free space
Graphics Hardware :256 MB RAM with Pixel Shader 3 (PCI-Ex)
Recomended
OS :Vista Service Pack 1
CPU :Intel Core 2 Duo 2,5GHz or AMD 64 X2 2,0 GHz
Memory :2GB RAM (Vista 3GB)
HD Space :10 GB of free space
Graphics Hardware :512 MB RAM with Pixel Shader 3 (PCI-Ex)
Other
Sound Hardware :DirectX 9.0c compliant card (DirectX 10.1 compliant if applicable)
DVD Drive :8X or faster DVD Drive
Online Play :Network card with broadband connectivity
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