Need For Speed: Shift reviewed (360, PS3)

The Need For Speed franchise has had a serious overhaul and with the latest version just released we have a look at how it compares to the other racers that are out there.

We can nearly all say quite confidently that the last few versions of the Need For Speed franchise have been not up to scratch.  Not realising its full potential, losing its identity and some would say completely lost in the wilderness, Need For Speed has taken an all new direction with the title Shift and it is all for the better.

Developed by Slightly Mad Studios with help from Black Box, Need For Speed: Shift has taken a completely different direction and is setting itself up nicely competing in the sim racing market taking the essence away from illegal street racing and putting it firmly back on track (no pun intended) with a variety of different events all based around real world tracks.  The cheesy story lines have gone as well as woolly voice acting that would try to meld the storyline together, instead focussing on putting the true feeling of speed to the forefront that made its name in the early days.

A great deal of work has gone into what it feels like to drive at race speed and is best presented via the cockpit view.  There are various views you can have but this is by far the most realistic and with a view that is not restricted like other racers have been you are bombarded by a variety of effects that are in tune to what it would be like to be present in a race situation.  These include blurring depth of field at high speeds, disorientation when you crash and are all included to good effect as you feel more at one with the car than ever before.

Graphically, it is smooth and can best be described on par with Grid.  I’m sure a lot of people will compare the two but Need For Speed: Shift far surpasses it in terms of handling, physics and performance and is a lot more realistic than the aforementioned title.  That said there are a few questionable problems in terms of the actual control system.  When we first played the build the response from the thumbsticks were solid and very easy to control but in the finished build the control system is very sensitive indeed and you will definitely need to have a look at the options to dumb it down.  After my first couple of practice laps it assigned me some settings which I took on board but found out that I had auto brake on without realising and thus immediately went to the settings again to get them off.  The cars do handle well but only after some time of getting the options set to your style of racing and at first rear wheel drive cars can become very skittish if you get the throttle down too quick.  Also, and this was something we did bring up when we got some hands on time, was that having the gears on the bumpers just didn’t feel natural when using the triggers to accelerate and brake.  Unfortunately, this is somethig that still remains and you will need to re-configure the controller again for a more natural feel.

The gameplay itself is very simple and uses tiers of events around 32 tracks and ribbons to earn stars through podium finishes, hitting certain amounts of points for getting corners dialled in, keeping on the racing line, sliding corners etc and all combines well into your profile where you are marked on aggressive and precision driving.  The higher you rank up in this profile the more features get unlocked like decals and things.  This is where the Need For Speed brand had been going and still shows a little in this game.  I feel that Black Box should have been kept out of this and it completely handled by Slightly Mad Studios for a more effective simulator.  Another slight problem with these mini tasks for points and stars are that it can encourage dangerous and stupid driving which with a simulator should not be there.  The beauty of the system in place is that there is so much depth there i will keep you going for a long, long time to gain the perfection you are after.  Once you reach a certain amount of stars though you will unlock a new tier until finally you reach the World Championship and the pinnacle of your single player campaign.  The whole system overall is very easy to use, easy to access and provides a wealth of achievement points on the 360 to keep the achievement whores going for a while.

The physics of the cars, tracks and the aggression of the A.I. are pretty bang on.  Too much throttle on a rear wheel drive coming out of a corner and your car will kick out.  All wheel drive cars feel heavy but hold their own, although you need to pay attention to your speed into the corners.  Every bump is felt, sometimes a little too much, but you can hang the cars out there on the edge but you cannot go too overboard because if you take the wrong line and hit a wrong bump your car will kick out and you will be struggling to get it back again.  The A.I. can sometimes be overly aggressive in this game but the beauty is that they each have their own way of driving and do not “ride on rails” to get past you and all adds to the feel of contact racing.

On the multiplayer side of things, you are treated to 8 player racing on any track and cars that are available with no drops in framerate at all.  It is smooth as silk and I have driven many a lap and had a lot of fun.  Again, it is very easy to access, very easy to setup but in ranked matches you do get the problem of overly aggressive drivers trying to take you off of the track at speed.  Another great feature is that if you start driving the wrong way you will be warned to turn around and if you don’t comply then you will get disqualified which takes the idiotic timmie factor away somewhat and is something that really has to be praised.

Overall, Need For Speed: Shift has great variety of race types from, normal races, head to head races, manufacturer head to heads, time trials and drifting and takes away what some might consider monotonous laps around a track doing the same old thing over and over again.  Need For Speed: Shift has taken a different direction for the better and will sit comfortably in the realms of the other great racers that are out now.  The game is a hell of lot of fun, great to play online and has a great career.  I just feel that when Black Box got their mits on it the simulator that was touted around has lost a little of its edge.  Is it worth buying?  Definitely so but it can improve and I’m sure it will in future incarnations of the franchise.