REVIEW: Need for Speed SHIFT - GamePro Sports - Athletics' virtual news collides with reality's top headlines, rumors and gossip

This review seems to be a little late at entering the party, but we all know that that's when all the cool people arrive.

Need for Speed SHIFT is the franchise's first entry into the world of simulation racing. A virtual U-turn away from it's street racing predecessors. But, is it a new formula for success as they attempt to break away from their previous design? Not really. Those that yearn for a free roaming, story lined filled game won't find it here. Instead it's replaced by a sub par, not so simulation game.

Much more after the jump.

I'll give it to them, NFS SHIFT looks amazing. The cars and tracks look great. The in-cabin view is fantastically detailed and the team at EA has managed to do great things with their blurring effects; the crashes really hit with an impact.

Playing this game in the cockpit view is the only way to go. The blur effects really manage to capture a dynamic sense of speed; as you go faster your forced into a tunnel vision like blur that forces you to focus forward. The effects also add tension to every hard bump you take – or crash into a wall – as your driver suffers concussions ranging from Tim Tebow to Troy Aikman. On exceptionally strong hits, your driver groans and the deafening noises around you leave only your heart beat to be heard.

However, there are far more downsides to the game than ups. For an attempt to break into the simulation genre, SHIFT never leaves first gear, and EA has a long way to go before they can be considered a contender alongside real sim games like Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo, or the SimBin games. SHIFT's identity crisis drives the game off a bridge between arcade racer and simulation and lands it somewhere between Race Driver: GRID and Project Gotham Racing.

As soon as you leave the starting line you'll notice the game's physics are sketchy at best, as the cars go from having managable handling and feel to being an out of control cinderblock on ice. I should note here that I played with both Microsoft Force Feedback wheel and standard controller. The wheel did aid in providing consistent lap times, however, with the vehicles' constant need to oversteer, it was tricky at times.

As soon as the game starts, you'll be asked to drive a placement test lap where the game tells you what difficulty you should play on and what assists you would need. And, the rest of the game follows this formula by dropping you into it's races. No time for practice laps to learn the track, so most players will be forced to use the game's built in racing line.

As I progressed through my career, I didn't worry so much about my opponents on the track since I was too busy battling my own vehicle for control. The cars were too eager to break traction and I found my self constantly toggling with traction control and stability management and I never found the right feel. Even AWD vehicles felt like out of control RWD cars, and I never knew that an e-brake linked to the rear wheels would stop every tire like 4 wheel disks. It seems that more time was spent making the game pretty than it was making it realistic.

Points that matter

The points system in SHIFT feels close to the kudos system from the Project Gotham series, but with points going towards precise or aggressive maneuvers. These points are geared towards leveling up to unlock several different things such as event invitations, new tiers of races and parts, and paint jobs. Whether you have more points in the precision or aggression category weighs heavily on what type of event invitation you'll receive. For example, if you are a precise driver you'll receive event invitations for hot laps where you try to break a certain lap time, But, as an aggressive driver, you'll be invited to race in last man standing-type battles.
The system works well enough, but its fundamental problem is that aggressive maneuvers seem to be worth more than precision, and that just doesn't make sense for a game geared towards simulation. Bumping into every car on the track and sliding around corners is a good way to find yourself out of the race with a heavily damaged car, but from my experience I guess that would only happen in a simulation game; which we've established that NFS SHIFT is not.

Drifting towards failure

Drifting in SHIFT is probably the most frustrating experience in the whole game. The cars feel heavy and cumbersome as you try to slide around corners, and, at times, it feels as if the car is turning on a center axis. When drifting, prepare to have an epic duel with your vehicle as it either over-steers dramatically, under-steers you into a wall, or snap over-steers randomly. It's not so much drifting as it is a lesson in spinning out, smoking your tires, or not drifting at all. Oh, and don't even think about looking at your e-brake as it doesn't work in a realistic or predictable way. It's more like a "let's spin out or just stop" button, and it's a coin toss as to which outcome you'll receive. Attempts at drifting in Forza Motorsport 2 and GT4 were far better, and Race Driver: GRID's drift mode was probably the most enjoyable out of the games to date. Hell, I'd even take the drift mode from Need for Speed Underground 2 over SHIFT's.

Where's the damage?

Visual damage allows players to just have at it and crash into whatever, whenever, and completely defeats the purpose of trying to race with precision. However, even with full damage, players can still get away with a lot. I spent a good bit of time slamming cars into walls at top speed and the only damage that was caused was throwing the alignment of the car off. Sure, parts fell off and doors were crumpled in, but that's still all visual. There was no decrease in acceleration or complete engine failure after continuous meet and greets with the barricades.

Need for Speed MIS-SHIFT

This game had some great and creative ideas to bring to the racing genre, but it fell short in several key areas. The main attraction to this game is that it looks good. But, that's all it brings to the party as the other problems are hard to ignore. If you're into real simulation racing, this game is definitely a rental at best, and if you were looking for some sort of traditional story from the Need for Speed franchise, you won't find it here either.

If you're looking for a semi-arcade, semi-sim racer similar to Race Driver: GRID, then this game might be right up your alley. Some casual players might be able to pick this up and have a good time, but in some cases it could present itself as too difficult for casual standards. Need for Speed SHIFT is a step in a direction, but not necessarily the right one.

For those looking for a realistic racing experience, I would just wait for Grand Turismo 5 and Forza Motorsport 3.

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