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Need for Speed: Shift

races are fun, but some challenges are almost impossible to achieve. Master all corners??? there is a 20 km track with 33 corners. Drifting?? Please DON'T let me get into that. I get they want to make a realistic game, but c'mmon this is ridiculous. -- Very hard...

I have been playing the Motorstorm series and this game, while not a sim, was a good change of pace from racing through and over anything. The game penalizes you for getting even slightly off the track and you actually have to learn how to drive the car and use a brake. I liked the colored racing line that shows desired speeds, and the game monitors "mastering of corners" which makes you think more than just flying around the track like an arcade title and gives you a reason to retry tracks.
The oddest thing about the game was the career mode. You earn stars to advance through the 5 tiers. Somehow I unlocked tier 3 before starting tier 2. I unlocked tier 4 while in tier 2, and I unlocked the final tier and won the title without even playing tier 4. In addition I didn't get any stars from the drift races which I pretty much skipped due to my inability to master sliding around a track. (I was racing on normal and had limited success on hard)
Online play ran smooth but the fellow players I've encountered treat it like a demo derby. I also like the real life car selections. -- Fun but Odd

I wanted to add my two cents, even though it'll probably get lost in the huge bag of Amazon's reviews. I've owned this game for almost a year now, I play on my PS3 with a Logitech Driving Force GT wheel, and I'm still turning to it to get my fix of track racing.

I've taken my [real] car out to the track a few times (NFS:Shift doesn't do autocross) and my overall reaction to the game is that it feels and plays wonderfully. The unique camera jostling and tunnel-vision effects help immerse the player in the game and allows them to "feel" the Gs through a corner better than any other racing game I've played. That being said, yes it has a slight arcade-y vibe to it, but turn off all the fancy computer aids like stability management and traction control (I think they may also have brake assist and other non-purist features like that), and you've got yourself a rather realistic racing sim. The graphics are beautiful, the physics are realistic, the engine noises sound great (I can't personally vouch for the authenticity of a specific Ferrari or Porsche engine note, unfortunately). It's the little things that I enjoy, like requiring the driver to shift into first gear on the grid before the green, and being able to feel the bumps in the road surface.

Turning to my one huge pet peeve about this game... You can be the best driver out there, but if you play against a cheating 14-year-old that rams into your car to brake himself in the first corner, you're done. It can be really frustrating and I would really like to see the developers release an update to allow ghosting in online races, to avoid intentional crashing. But you can always do what I do and just drive a quick race on the nurburgring over and over and over... :D

If you're a fan of racing games, unless you only play super arcade-y games like RUSH 2049 or Ridge Racer, at least give this game a shot. I wasn't too comfortable with it when I started playing it either (first hour or so), but I quickly warmed up to it and it's one of the best racing games I've played. -- Excellent game, but online play can be frustrating

the game itself is pretty fun! BUT there are one or two things that the buyer should be aware of... maybe it is just my copy of the game but there is about a one second lag in the controls... which has made the game rather difficult to get used to, and the customization is very tedious and requires much time/patience... graphics are awesome and so are the tracks cars features... to be honest i was looking for a game that closely resembles forza and this has come pretty close! -- great but a few tweaks wouldnt hurt

I was a pretty avid follower of NFS. Mainly on my computer. This time around I got NFS Shift for the PS3 instead. Going from a joystick to an analog stick was interesting and took some getting used to, but after that the game was a wonderful experience.

I appreciate the games fine tuning aspects of what type of racing you want. I will warn right now that NFS is not a full sim. You can turn off all driving aids, but you will spend most of your time off track and spinning in circles if you do. There is no way to control the higher tier cars without some sort of driving aids. I have mine set up with no braking assist, no traction control, low stability control and low driving aid. This set up allows me to keep the car competitive without it becoming frustrating. Yes, the steering assist set on low still gives a healthy amount of under steer, but it also keeps one from spinning out uncontrollably.

The game itself is fun. You can race in a variety of cars, and I love the tuning options, you can get as detailed or as vague as you want. Quick tuning is a must for your cars. AI isn't too difficult on normal, if set higher up it becomes vindictive. But I do like that the "catchup" feature is not very prevalent in the game. If you get ahead, you usually stay well ahead.

Graphics are decent, I wouldn't say they are great, but they do a decent job in representing the cars, the tracks are so so. Damage detail is very basic.

Audio is horrible, Sound Effects are great. I am not sure who or what decided on the music for the game but it is annoying. Thankfully it isn't present when actually racing. The car engines and exhaust sounds are very well done and can be music to someone's ears.

Learning curve, yes it is there. You will have to decide for yourself what type of set up works for you. But the great thing is that NFS allows you the freedom to do this. From the tuning of the car, to the tuning of the driving abilities it gives you a great range to find what is right for you.

All in all it is a very decent showing for the NFS franchise.


-- It is after all Need For Speed