Need for Speed returns as a simulation game. But is there anything left in the tank?
For the first time in it's history, NFS attempts to tackle the genre of racing simulator, a genre almost entirely dominated by fan-favorite series Forza and Gran Turismo. I am personally very excited about Gran Turismo 5. However, because that game's release date is constantly jumping around, I figured what would it hurt to give Shift a chance. Sure, it is a very big deviation from the typical NFS formula of police chases, spike strips, and helicopters. However, that doesn't mean they couldn't pull off an excellent sim game, right? Well, here's my Game Breakdown after spending hours upon hours playing this game on launch day:
Graphics: When I saw the trailers for this game, I was floored. It looked so amazing, especially since the trailers claimed that they showed "actual game footage." Well, all I can say is their setup must be different than mine. I have a very nice HDTV setup, but this game does not live up to the graphical hype train it rode in on. That's not to say it's ugly: It does look decent, but it doesn't give me that "WOAH" feeling I got when I played Test Drive Unlimited for the first time. The menu is SCARY close to the menu in NFS:Undercover, which isn't really a horrible thing but I didn't like it much myself. The car models are crisp for the most part, but there's just something....missing. I can't even put my finger on it really. Maybe it's the lighting, texturing, I don't know..but for some reason the cars just look like what you would expect in ANY generic racing game. The hyped-all-to-heck cockpit view that everyone and their mother wants to see, which included myself, is pretty good..but that's just it. It's pretty good. I would like to have seen clearer gauges....in come cars, you can barely make out the speedometer reading, which there's just no excuse for. All in all, it's good, but please don't spend your money thinking you are going to see something that blows your mind. The Project Gotham Racing gamesTest Drive Unlimited, and GRID can all pretty much match what we have going on here. Moving on, the tracks look good. There's not much to say other than if you have ever seen a walled-in road course, that's what it looks like. My biggest problem with the graphics is in the HUD (heads-up display). The map in this game will drive you absolutely insane. The sense of scale is horrible. It looks like you have a ways to go before you have a small turn, but in reality there's a sizeable turn coming up in less than a mile. Also, impact damage is minimal and mostly limited to windshield cracks and scratches. They tried to work in this "knocked silly" effect for your driver. When you hit a wall or another car, your vision goes blurred for a few seconds to make it seem like you actually felt the impact. Personally, this is nothing more than an annoyance to me.
Sound: This is hit or miss. When I first started playing the game, this was what impressed me most. The engine was roaring and sounded pretty darn good. I have to give props...when you drive through a tunnel in this game, the sound echoes are some of the best you are going to hear. Bar none. However, as I worked my way through a few cars, I started to notice that alot of them sound almost identical. In addition, the superchargers in this game have a very off-tone whine to them...not sounding much like the real deal. Turbos have a blowoff valve sound effect, but depending on the car, sometimes its inaudible for the most part. The voice of your crew chief was done decently, and doesn't really get annoying. The music in this game is entirely forgettable. If you expected some sweet EA Trax jams, you can look elsewhere..this soundtrack sleeps with the fish.
Control: For the most part, it serves it's purpose. Despite sometimes coming off as a little stiff at times, it feels like they came pretty close to getting it right.
Gameplay: At first look, this game doesn't seem very difficult. However, as you move up tiers, you quickly find that the computer is much better at driving the line around the track than you will ever be. I mean that literally. Most of the time, they don't even tap the brake. They use the handbrake to take turns at speeds that are pretty much impossible for you to duplicate. Be prepared to repeat races in an attempt to achieve first place and get all the stars you need to progress. Also, there are events called Invitationals in which you race in vehicles provided for you. That's all fine and good, but I have done more of these races than I have races where I get to use my own car. It's a bit excessive. The computer opponents in this game are merciless..they will ram you off the track and keep driving like it never happened. The game awards you points based on your driving style. You can either race clean and get Precision points, or you can play bumper cars and such and get Aggressive points. This point system kinda has some flaws though. For instance, why the heck is DRAFTING someone considered Aggressive? You would think that would be Precision. I mean, you are tailgating someone at 120mph through a turn...if you don't tap them, I call that Precision. Of course, none of that really matters though because until you go to race online, there's no real bonus to racing either style. Besides, when the computer rams you, you get docked for it. So you might as well slug'em back right? This game was advertised to be mind-blowingly fast paced, literally. However, I do not feel that sense of speed. I have raced some of the very top tier cars, and I have to say....I never saw the kind of speed I saw in the advertisement. It does have some nice blur effects to indicate you are moving at a good clip, and yeah, it does feel like you are going pretty fast, but NOT that fast. Also, the driving line in this game is ripped straight off of Forza. Only a ton less accurate. Everyone knows Laguna Seca right? Well, at the infamous slolem, this driving line will stay green...GREEN...which indicates acceleration. If you do that, I can guarantee you you will be plowing into the wall. Bottom line: don't trust the driving line. And that's hard to do, because in order to get Precision points, you are supposed to follow that darn line as closely as possible. BUT IT SUCKS! While you are following the line on the outside of the turn, the computer is driving right past you on the inside! Come on! Another complaint of mine is the vehicle selection. It would have been nice to have more achievable cars in the game, ala Forza or GT. Instead this one is chocked full of BMW's and supercars. Kind of a bummer. Also, this game does the same crap that a few of the other NFS games do: Offers you the option to buy, with REAL cash, upgrades and cars. COME ON!!!! How is that fair? So someone can just buy their way through the game? And it gets really annoying that it pops up with this question every time you purchase an upgrade. They should have put an option in the game to turn off SOLICITATION!! I paid you $60 freakin' bucks already! That's all you get!
All in all, Need for Speed Shift is not a bad game. But the repetition will grow on you, and so will the A.I. If you can rent this one first, I would highly recommend it. If you just HAVE to have it, then you won't hate yourself for purchasing it, but you won't love yourself either. I was hoping I could pop this in the PS3 and show some people what the console was capable of in a racing game. Unfortunately, that is not the case. One thing is definitly for sure: The NFS franchise will definitly have to "Shift" out of it's slump before I purchase another dud. I just can't recommend this as a purchase at $60.