Need for Speed: Shift

10 Review to this product

• 

  D@rkFX
  October 11th, 2009 on 3:21 pm

  Rating

  + Graphics on par if not little better than Gran Turismo Prologue, simulation is also better.
  
  + Removed unnecessary police chases
  
  + Removed emo/rock music as the game de-facto for the in-game music
  
  + Finally some power cars (European sports cars such as Lamborghini, Ferrari etc)

  - You have to work hard to get all the stars of each challenge

  (Load times make sense for such a “big” game – we’re not talking about Tetris here)
• 

  M. Frost
  October 13th, 2009 on 3:52 am

  Rating

  I haven’t played a Need For Speed game since probably the original release(s) several years ago. This one got pretty good reviews for the most part so me and some friends picked it up when it had a temporary price decrease on Amazon.

  And I have to say this game is darn good!

  It’s super fun to play. Like others have said, it’s somewhat simulation somewhat arcade-sh, though probably more on the arcade side than simulation. The one player game is fun stuff, earning stars for podium finishes and other tasks such as clean laps or earning enough points during a race to advance your career to the NFS World Tour. The modes you mostly play are racing, time attack (almost exact same thing as race though), and drifting.

  Practically everything you do in this game is applied to your driver profile. Almost anything you do during a race earns you points – such as corner slides, drafting, following the race line (basically staying on the track), “trading paint” (Yes, hitting another car earns you some points!), or clean passing an opponent. There are 50 driver levels. In addition to this, there are badges you can earn (which is where you will get most of your trophies). Stuff like drafting enough opponents, winning online races, or getting enough miles on your cars. The trophies in this game are pretty easy overall, and platinum doesn’t seem too bad either, seems like one were you just need to put enough time into the title (you don’t have to do 100% of the badges, only like 20 / 27 of them). All these things you unlock as you race really keeps things addicting and fun!

  The single player game is quite lengthy and fun to go through. Online is also a blast. I hardly ever go through a race were I’m not racing neck and neck with another driver. You usually don’t just sit there racing far behind other players (no handicap either, as far as I can tell). Ramming other drivers off the track on corners is also fairly normal.

  The graphics are pretty good, but could be better. The cars look pretty good and include damage when you hit something. The tracks look alright graphically, and also have nice scenery instead of just boring grass. The game only runs in 720P unfortunately, but like I said, it looks good. Really nothing to complain about. The driver seat view also looks fantastic (you can even look left and right and see inside the car a bit using the right analog stick). Others have talked about blurred graphics. The only thing that I’ve noticed that blurs in this game is when you hit a wall really hard; Running into a wall really hard makes the screens’ vision really blurry for like 2 seconds.

  This game has a lot of style in it’s presentation. The menu and cut scenes look sweet. There are over 30 tracks and a large selection of American, European and Japanese cars to drive.

  As I said before, I thought this was a very fun racing game. I’m a hardcore gamer, too. Very highly recommended!
• 

  L. Floro
  October 14th, 2009 on 5:49 am

  Rating

  Great game. The best racing simulation to date, especially if you experience the game in cockpit view. Needs some customization when using G25 wheel. And what happened to 1080p for PS3?
• 

  Grandma EJ
  October 24th, 2009 on 3:13 am

  Rating

  I personally enjoy this game because it has a figure 8 track. It’s very easy to learn how to use the game. (Easy for Beginners!) Awesome graphics and so much more!!
• 

  Amanda Zophin
  January 4th, 2010 on 11:15 pm

  Rating

  Let me start by saying this game is different than any other need for speed you’ve played before. It’s by far the most realistic need for speed game ever. Gone is being able to whip around corners with like a madman mashing the accelerator. Now its all about taking the turns with finess. Not only do you have compete for first place but the game also gives you stars after each race that help you advance through the game. Stars are awarded for being aggressive and taking corners perfectly. If your a novice the game will even assess your skill during your licence test and if needed assist you with braking for corners. This game is good with a regular analog controller, but its great when using a steering wheel. I tried this game at my friends house with the logitech gt wheel and my husband and I were so blown away by how fun it was we ordered a wheel from amazon as soon as we got home. The game takes a few minutes to get the wheel set up correctly but is worth it.
• 

  Y. Chow
  January 7th, 2010 on 7:36 am

  Rating

  I loved this game. I played this game for hours and hours and hours when I first got it. It has tons of game play, if you’re awesome enough to beat it you can still jam out and play some more. There is tons of extra stuff to do.I been playing the Need For Speed Franchise since I was a kid and this is definitely the perfect way to put off studying for exams. If you’re going to get any racing game, get this game. GO GATORS!!!
• 

  S. Carlesimo
  January 7th, 2010 on 7:45 am

  Rating

  This game is very good overall. Excellent graphics, fun to upgrade your car, multiple skill settings so just about anyone can play and have fun. Not quite a Gran Turismo, but a very fun and well developed racing video game.
• 

  Jason Kessinger
  January 7th, 2010 on 11:50 am

  Rating

  One of the best Needs for Speeds out there. Great driving awesome graphics. All around good game. Highly recommend. I waited till Amazon had it on sell which was an even better deal.
• 

  Jenk Man
  January 11th, 2010 on 12:51 pm

  Rating

  After reading the reviews on Amazon I wasn’t sure if this game was going to meet my expectations. With comments on compatibility with the Logitech wheel (I have a G27) and “launching” issues, I was willing to wait for Gran Turismo 5, until they pushed the release of that back to April 2010. I’m glad I didn’t wait because this is the best racing game I’ve played, whether SIM or arcade. It’s just plain fun, and what else is a video game supposed to be? The inside dashboards are very accurate, and feedback through the wheel is amazing. This may not be the best SIM game on the market, but it keeps me glued to the TV for hours at a time as I try to improve my precision or aggressive driving skills through the game. I especially enjoy the invitational events where different “tiers” of cars are available to race, rather than being stuck with the cars that you’ve purchased. This variety adds interest to the game and lets you drive the car that suits your talent and mood. Why pay $25 for Prologue when you can tune up for the next 4 months with this?
• 

  Sixstring59
  April 5th, 2010 on 9:57 am

  Rating

  I can’t for the life of me figure out why someone who (in general) likes driving games would not like this game!

  Pros:

  - The graphics are eye popping and run smoothly throughout on both my PS3s (80GB fat and a 120GB slim).
  
  - The sound is top notch, especially on 5.1 (or better?) systems.
  
  - Driving can be challenging or easy and is highly configurable to let you decide which is best for you.
  
  - There are a ton of different cars to master that all drive differently (as it should be).
  
  - You can upgrade each car with engine, suspension, braking and other technical improvements.
  
  - You can customize the visual aspects of each car if you’re into that kind of thing.
  
  - You can be either a precision or aggression style of driver and you earn points for both along the way
  
  - There are many different racing styles represented (standard, manufacturer events, drift for example)

  Cons:

  - At release, there were some bugs but they have been addressed now as far as I can tell.
  
  - This game melds elements of arcade and simulation racing which may put off hard core fans these genres.

  The Need for Speed series is a tale of two franchises really and that is why the widely differing reviews I think. If you are a fan of NFS: Hot Pursuit and other “cops and robbers” racing games, then you will likely not like this game because there isn’t a cop in sight. You are racing on tracks and other closed courses and not in city streets with other civilian cars running around. If you need to see flashing red lights in your rear view mirror, or just have to run down a mother and her baby carriage then look elsewhere.

  What this game is a pretty simple I think. It provides you with all the best elements of actually racing in environments designed for racing, plus the ability to tweak your ride to a reasonable level. This is where simulation meets arcade to me because while games like Gran Turismo allow you to tinker until your knuckles bleed, NFS: Shift dumbs all that down a bit so you can just concentrate on driving and having fun.

  Bottom line is this; If you want an all out utterly realistic simulation, this ain’t it. If you want chase epic scenes, running from the cops and driving crazy fast amongst the general population, this ain’t it. But if you want to just have fun while driving nice cars on actual race courses with limited tweaking — then this is the ticket. If you can accept what this game brings to bear, you will enjoy it.