This is not GRID, Stop comparing it with GRID, Then you will have the real fun.
1. They are not colourfull and have bland environment ( GRID did solve that).
2. No car customisation ( Forza offers some degree of car customisation but not on PC ).
3. They are too difficult to tackle, maybe not for hard core driving fans.
Everything has been done into in the NEED FOR SPEED SHIFT. First off all all tracks are precise to a milimeter, Only they are in a fictious environment which is not only colourfull but also catchy. There are lot of car customisation options, maybe not as much as previous need for speeds but remember its by far greater than any other sim offers you may it be Forza3 or GT5.Just to mention ,those bodykits for all the cars have been totaly redesigned, unlike those previous bodykits in nfs games which were all recycled ( which i always hated) , have to say all bodykits look briliant( good work there SMS). SHIFT also offers greatly detailed tuning mechanism, even the bodykits n aerodynamics affect your car's on track performance.
The game offers different driving models from arcade to simulation, solving the difficulty problem.... even a new entry to simulation racing can enjoy this game without much problems. Ah...... n people with problems on frame rate should notice that the shift's graphics engine needs a really really powerfull graphics card i mean seriously powerfull..... if u havent got one please turn down your resolution.... if don want to stop complaining about problems on FPS......... I have a 9400GT 1gb ddr2 ..... but at 1024 X 768 i get around 25 to 30 fps..... turning down the settings i got upto 45- 50 fps....... Y IS IT NECCESARY? at below 30 fps, believe me its impossible to drive.... no wonder so many people think SHIFT has a crappy driving engine.... actually thats what evn i thought .... so much i didnt want to play the game anymore. the i heard that only a Nvidia 250 gtx could provide good fps at high settings, i minimized my settings n wamos i got better fps n with it great gameplay.... N one more thing this game has to bee played in first person view .... in the third person view its difficult to manuver the car n also the fist person view is just mindblowing ..... i don normally prefer first person view in racing games but in SHIFT thats what i loved.The cockpit view captures the tension of being a real race driver... once again SMS have done an awesome job... which i doubt will be matched by anyother game in the coming years.
I heard people having trouble with crashes in the first test race at the career start, please set your shadows in graphics setting to either OFF,Medium or High ..... Do not set it to LOW .... that is what is causing the crashes. It worked for me.
The cars handle briliantly, each having their own persona n behaviour.. and thats the way it should be. you can try out cars which u may never own in your garage through the career itself in races like car battle and manufacturer battles. The dissapointing thing after all the cool driving physics is the drift engine .... totaly crap. But u can easily skip those events without any effects on your career progress because its based on stars ... n you do need to bee in the podium to earn stars. The AI are pretty challenging and the best ive ever seen in a racing game.
the only complaint i have about shift is the vinyl system.... it does allow a phenomenal 1000 layers , but the vinyl selection is to depleted. N there is no Mirror option ! Oh well its just a a small price to pay.
Verdict : Need for speed shift is a new step in a new direction for the franchise .... n its a great achivement. All thanks to slightly mad studious ( SMS ). This game requires lot of skill to master it, so for all people who who just want to play it because its an NFS , forget it .... this isnt the NFS everybody has known ... its a grown up NFS . I stricty recomend everybody try the DEMO first before buying this game. Those who cant handle this game should stop criticizing a briliant release N get back to Playing RACE DRIVER GRID.... This is in a different league.
Im waiting for the next NFS, which is beeing developed by Criterion Games.. and i belive its going to be a good one.