{"id":4539,"date":"2009-10-01T10:14:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-01T08:14:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T22:00:00","slug":"need-for-speed-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/reviews\/4539-need-for-speed-shift","title":{"rendered":"Need for Speed: Shift"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update<\/strong><\/p>\n

We recently learned that many users are having problems with the PC release of SHIFT. Specifically, those who are running the game using ATI graphics cards. Reports of Crossfired HD 4890s struggling to maintaing 30+ frame rates are common. You can view the complaints on EA’s forum page.<\/a> Other complaints which PC users have raised relate to issues with racing wheels and buggy AI. We therefore recommend sticking to the console version for now.<\/p>\n

Original<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is no secret that the last few years have not been kind to Need for Speed fans. Without getting too bogged down in the franchise’s recent history, it suffices to say that it was about time EA took a step back and rethought its direction.<\/p>\n

This is exactly what they did, and the decision to commission Slightly Mad Studios, who are responsible for the much praised GTR series, has paid off.<\/p>\n

SHIFT kicks off by putting players behind the wheel to perform a test lap. Based on their performance here the game adjusts difficulty settings accordingly. These settings are manually adjustable so your performance in the first race is of no long –term consequence. One still has to respect the bold approach taken by Slightly Mad in throwing the player into the driver’s seat before they see a single menu.  The player is also awarded an amount of money based on their performance with which they can purchase their first car.<\/p>\n

Once this first race is finished, players are taken to a very slick looking user interface and menu system. The whole thing feels solid and is intuitive. A mentor figure will guide you through the menu system, and will continue to guide you through the game, outlining particular race goals and continually motivating you through the different tiers.
First impressions of the game indicate extremely high production values, and the veil is dropped very few times throughout the experience.<\/p>\n

Gameplay<\/strong><\/p>\n

While a slick interface, life-like sound effects and photo-realistic visuals are all great, gamers are really quite simple, and at the end of the day all we want is a game that is a lot of fun to play. Of course these factors add to the overall enjoyment of the game, but a compelling campaign progression and an enjoyable basic gameplay experience are far more important.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, these are areas where SHIFT excels.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the basic racing component of a racing game, there are a few very important things to look for. Firstly, it has to solidly re-create the impression of speed. Secondly, cars must handle in such a way that high speed driving requires skill and planning, but must not be unforgiving to the point of having to constantly restart.<\/p>\n

SHIFT walks this tight rope very well. Never has a game re-created the feeling of speed better than in SHIFT, and the first few times you hit the 230kmph mark you feel a mixture between terror and exhilaration. When it comes to preference there are enough setting s to tweak the game perfectly to your liking. If it feels a bit too arcade like, it is quite easy to up the realism, and vice versa.<\/p>\n

My personal preference was playing with most settings around the medium mark, with manual gears activated in cockpit view.<\/p>\n

Campaign progression <\/strong><\/p>\n

Slightly Mad have crafted a number of fantastic innovations on top of what is a very solid and thorough racing engine. Players will constantly be earning race points as they hurtle around the track. Points are constantly awarded for sticking to the optimal racing line which is shown using an interface indicator.<\/p>\n

Additional points are earned for moves, such as “clean overtake” or “trading paint”. Depending on the nature of the move in question, players will either earn ‘aggression points’ or ‘precision points’. At the end of each race these points will be broken down and you can see exactly what you earned them for. Points are then stored and go towards increasing your driver level.<\/p>\n

Each race consists of a number of stars that one can earn. Three stars will be awarded for the three podium spots, and additional stars are awarded for other goals like “master all corners”. The manner in which stars are allocated per race in varied and makes every race difference.<\/p>\n

Stars are then used to increase the tier which you can compete in. Fifty stars for example will unlock tier 2 races and cars, and so on until players are competing in the world tour.<\/p>\n

Each race also earns the player money, depending on their performance. Money can then be used to purchase new cars and upgrades of which there is a fantastic variety.<\/p>\n

Of course there are a variety of race types, from one-on-one car battles which pit specific pre-chosen vehicles up against each other to the more generic time trials, races and of course drift events. These combined with a wide variety of customizable cars, tracks, and of course a solid multiplayer component give the game plenty of longevity.  
The ultimate goal is to work your way from driving something along the lines of a polo in tier one races, to competing in the World Tour driving highly tuned performance beasts.<\/p>\n

The formula combines excellent racing with a compelling campaign progression, and it works incredibly well making for one of the most enjoyable, exciting and rewarding racing games ever made.<\/p>\n

Visuals and Sound<\/strong><\/p>\n

As mentioned before, the visuals are simply incredible.<\/p>\n

Cars are rendered with magnificent detail, and the tracks, backgrounds and crowds are all superb. SHIFT is truly is a step up in the visuals department from any other racing game currently on the market.<\/p>\n

Music is automatically disabled, indicating that Slightly Mad really wanted players to take in the actual racing sounds, and so they should. Car engine sounds are immaculately recreated, and anyone with 5.1 or 7.1 sound is in for a treat. From bassy rumbles to high pitched whizzing and everything in-between, each car engine has had its audio footprint accurately modeled from its real world counterpart and the result is that no car ever sounds or feels the same.<\/p>\n

What’s wrong with it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are a few of minor problems which detract ever so slightly from what could have been a perfect racing game.
Firstly, load times are troublingly long. While this may just be due to hardware limitations (we played the Xbox 360 version), it is still an annoyance, although considering everything the game does right, it seems like a petty one.<\/p>\n

Apart from that, the overly complex scoring system which follows each race is likely to be lost on most people.<\/p>\n

There were a few other rare niggles with regards to the physics occasionally behaving strangely, but for the most part, SHIFT is a near-perfect racing game.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

SHIFT represents a big step for the recently troubled Need for Speed series. While it probably won’t be taken as seriously as the two racing heavyweights; Gran Turismo and Forza, it is a very enjoyable game with hours of compelling gameplay to offer.<\/p>\n

Second Opinion (PC version) <\/strong>by <\/strong>Ian Sharland<\/em>
<\/strong><\/p>\n

When one thinks of the Need for Speed series, one generally thinks of an Arcade racer, where the objective is to reach the finish line first. You are free to bump or spin your opponents off the road without fear of penalty. The worst thing that could happen was that you had to spend some of your winnings on repairing your car’s bodywork. This is where Shift attempts to differentiate itself from it’s brethren. Developed by Slightly Mad Studios, who are renowned for their realistic GTR series of racing sims, Shift presents itself as a much more mature sim, with an emphasis on increased realism. This comes through in the use of actual racing tracks, as opposed to street races, along with the option to adjust virtually every performance aspect of your vehicle.<\/p>\n

So, if the game itself appears to take realism seriously, you would expect the gameplay to be just as realistic. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case with the PC version of Shift. The game is by turns, both arcade-like and realistic. The depiction of the tracks and vehicles is realistic. The handling of the cars at high-speed is not. This may be due, in part, to the incredibly poor force feedback implementation in Shift. The game has a number of default profiles for various PC wheels, of which I used the profile for the Logitech Momo. For example, at high speed, the BMW 135i felt extremely jittery, and required much wrestling of the wheel to keep it on the blacktop. By comparison, in real life, the 135i is exceptionally planted on the track up to speeds exceeding 200kph. However, other vehicles such as the Subaru Impreza STI handle extremely similarly to real life. It would appear that EA\/SMS had so many vehicles to model that they were unable to model all of them properly before the release date.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the force feedback and wheel set up options are not the only gameplay-related issues. In most realistic sims, if you knock your opponent off the track intentionally, you are penalized and\/or disqualified from the race, assuming you don’t destroy your car in the process. In Shift, irrespective of difficulty level, it is virtually encouraged that you knock your opponents off the track. Indeed, at the higher AI levels (advanced and higher), it is almost required that you knock your opponent off the track in order to win. On more than a few occasions, I was well into a corner before the advanced AI driver attempted to dive down the inside, from a ridiculously long way back. The end result was a hard shunt into the side of my vehicle, followed by me spinning and having to restart the race, since it is exceptionally difficult to catch an Advanced AI driver from such a long way back. This is rather contrary to what a realistic sim should portray. What makes the AI issue even more vexing is the vast gulf between the Medium and the Advanced AI. There is a substantial difference between the two AI levels, whereas the difference between Easy and Medium is far less obvious. It feels almost as if EA\/SMS put the driver skill level on an exponential curve, as opposed to a linear progression.
Nic covered the campaign progression very thoroughly, and it is one area that Shift gets perfectly correct. The desire to always get to the next tier of vehicles, and the next set of upgrades propels the game very well, and keeps you playing until you’ve reached the World Tour.<\/p>\n

The visual and auditory aspects of the game were also covered by Nic, and both of them help add to the realism of the game. Both the cars and the tracks are beautifully rendered. Particular mention needs to go to the cockpits of the cars, as they are beautifully and accurately rendered in game. The sounds the cars make are also incredibly well done, especially if you have a good 5.1 system. However, the visual aspect has a serious flaw on the PC version – if you are running ATI graphics cards, you will almost certainly suffer from serious FPS issues. I am running Crossfire HD 4890 cards, and had an FPS ranging from 15-40, at 1680X1050. There is, currently, a 25 page thread on the EA tech support forums with a number of irate customers reporting framerate issues on the PC version of the game. As of the time of writing, there has been no response from an EA or SMS employee confirming they are investigating the issue. In his review, Nic also mentioned the long load times in game. This is also an issue in the PC version, although by comparison with the other problems, it is a minor niggle.<\/p>\n

Need for Speed: Shift is an odd beast. It tries to present itself as a realistic sim, but manages to come off as little more than an Arcade racer with tracks and the option to tune your vehicle. To me, it feels as if EA have once again released a product based on a marketing deadline, not a development deadline. This would appear to be borne out by the imminent release of Forza 3 and Gran Turismo 5. It would be incredibly unfortunate if this is the case, since Shift has the makings of a truly great racing sim, if EA\/SMS can sort out the framerate issues for ATI users, along with the control issues ingame. As it stands now, I believe the game deserves nothing more than a 6.5 or 7 score.<\/p>\n

Discuss Need for Speed: Shift<\/a> in the forums<\/p>\n\n\t\t