Review: Need for Speed: SHIFT

So EA are back with their thirteenth installment of the Need for Speed (NFS) franchise but the whole series has taken a refreshing reboot! NFS: Shift does away with the usual street racing scene and moves into the realms of simulation racing. Forget what you knew about the NFS previously, a ground-breaking change has occurred within the franchise with the aim of competing with the ‘big-boys’ of simulation video game racing.

The first time you put SHIFT into your console, you are required to perform a test lap in order for your driving ability to be assessed. Based on your first lap, a handling mode, traction control, ABS, difficulty level and stability control settings are selected for you, all of which can be altered as and when you please. The whole purpose of the game is for you to progress from a rookie racer into one which is capable of competing in the ultimate prize – the NFS World Tour. To get to the world tour, you firstly have to go through four tiers of racing which include various events including normal races, duels, drifting and time trials.

Now an understanding has been developed of the type of game NFS: SHIF has transformed to, continue reading to check out if NFS has shifted into the correct gear this time around:

Graphics: There can be little complaints about the graphical prowess of SHIFT, it is more than capable of competing in the same beauty pageants of the other sim racers out there. Some of the scenery in tracks is incredibly detailed and the in-car views are simply stunning. The interior of the cars truly match their real-life counter parts and it is great fun to drive with the interior view. For those of you who normally drive with the exterior view, you will be slightly disappointed as the cars look fairly well enough detailed but nothing overly jaw-dropping.

Did we already mention the interior view is stunning?

This racer also exhibits some nice dynamic graphical touches while racing. For example, when your car is travelling particularly fast, the perspective will change so that your car or cockpit becomes out of focus at the expense of the more focused oncoming track. Moreover, crashing in a racing game has never been more fun as the car view becomes all disorientated depending on how severe your hit is. Overall, the graphics of NFS: Shift are great, but what makes the graphics brilliant and provides a ‘wow’ moment is the practical and incredibly realistic interior view – 8.5.

Gameplay: The great thing about SHIFT is the realistic realization of speed with ALL cars. Other sim racers typically make lower tier cars feel like ‘slugs’ but SHIFT manages to find time to feel the need for speed with any car. The great thing is that the feel of speed progressively gets far better with each tier of car and it truly portrays the feeling of adrenaline pumping speed. But it’s not all about speed with SHIFT, the cars also handle well. The best way to describe things would be simulation with a serious touch of arcade (but not too much). The blend between the two racing genres is admirable and should keep both sets of fans happy. However, one issue we have with the ‘drive’ is that the turning itself can seem a bit jagged and rigid at times but perhaps that’s the simulation perfectionist within us talking.

Drifting in NFS: Shift can be challenging but also rewarding when pulled off correctly.

Things are kept fresh and rewarding throughout the 150 or so events you will compete across all tiers via an appealing driver profile system. Not only are you awarded for being a precision driver, but you are also rewarded for being an aggressive one by performing things such as ‘blocking an opponent’ and conducting a ‘dirty overtake’. It all provides good fun and everything you do is in somehow rewarded and converted into more cash. Even if you lose the race, the fact that you followed a great driving line, dominated curves and spun off some opponents will be taken into account. And if you’re a fan of the likes of Tokyo Drift, you will be delighted to hear that SHIFT rewards and features plenty of drifting opportunities. While the drifting mechanics may seem a little frustrating at first, after you get the hang of things and perform some huge multi-second drifts you truly feel a big sense of reward. To sum up the gameplay of SHIFT, it is fast, fun and dynamic while retaining realism - 9.5.

Longevity: The career mode requires you to progress through four tiers to achieve the reward of participating in the world tour (although you do not need to complete all the events before reaching the world tour strangely enough depending on your racing skills). Ultimately the rate at will you progress will depend on the amount of stars you receive at the end of each race. Stars are awarded depending on the position you finish in the race, achieving a bonus objective and completing specific aims such as hitting a specific speed or ‘spinning out’ fellow racers. The career mode itself will keep you going for a good deal of time if you complete all the 150 or thereabouts events across a number of real-life and fictional tracks such as Downtown London. There are opportunities to tune your car even if they are a little ‘basic’ and the great thing is that there is no depreciation if you wish to sell one of your motors and buy something new.

However it must be said, the play time in single player mode is not as extensive in comparison to some of the competition and it probably won’t keep you going for many hundreds of hours potentially.
Unfortunately there is no off-line multiplayer and on-line racing options are fairly scarce. There is the option to take part in a versus race against a number of other cars or take part in a duel in which you race another car with the aim of beating your opponent by either spinning them out successfully or driving with precision to at least a 5 second lead to cut-short the duel. While it is lacking in options, the online modes in particular the duel option do provide a great deal of fun and will always provide something compelling to come back to – 7.9.

Audio and other considerations: On the road, some of the audio effects are near first class. The noises made by some of the engines are delightful and dynamically change if a car is tuned. However, we can’t say the sound-track is particularly great for SHIFT and can get annoying fast and the narrator’s dull and boring accent is un-inspiring. Off the road, the presentation of the game also leaves a lot to be desired. The menus of the game are lacking any kind of identity and are basic which makes the game feel as if it is not fully completed on a surface level.

Feel the need for speed as well as hear it!

Elsewhere, the selection of cars may sound pale in comparison to the completion at 72 but there is a great deal of variety in there ranging from low tier cars to the VW Golf, to the BMW M3 and right up there to the highest performing of cars including the Zonda and Bugatti Veyron – 8.5.

Bottom Line

The Need for Speed Franchise has received a successful reboot with the new simulation experience that SHIFT manages to provide. Where SHIFT truly shines is in its realistic realization of speed and its rewarding driver profile system which appeals to both the naughty and nice side of drivers. Admittedly the game does have some minor flaws, but SHIFT has found a perfect balance between arcade and simulation racing which provides a fresh, exciting and thrilling ride from start to finish.

The good: Incredibly fun yet realistic gameplay, the realization of speed with all car tiers, being rewarded for both precision and aggressive driving, good variety of tracks and cars, great noises from some of the higher tier cars and a fantastically detailed interior view of all cars.

The bad: No offline multiplayer and limited online options, turning mechanics can seem rigid, far fewer cars and tuning options than some other sim racing rivals, presentation is lackluster and the style of SHIFT may not bode well with extreme sim racing fans due to arcade elements.