Review: Need for Speed: Shift for PS3

Need for Speed: Shift

Feel what it’s really like to race high-end performance cars as Need for Speed SHIFT thrusts you into the heart of the action for the true driver’s experience. Immersive and exciting features such as a stunningly realistic first-person cockpit view and an all-new crash mechanic deliver an unrivaled sensation of the speed and exhilaration of racing a car on the extreme edge of control. Plus, an ultra-realistic physics engine lets you feel every bump as you race around some of the world’s top tracks. Whether you’re battling online or playing through your career, build your unique driver profile from moment to moment and from race to race and get rewarded for driving the way you want to drive.

The newest Need for Speed title takes the franchise off the streets and onto the race tracks for more realistic racing, or at least that's what EA claims. Does it live up to it's words? Let's find out.

When playing Need for Speed Shift, I found myself surprised with how easy it actually was. Getting money in career mode isn't hard, so you can buy some pretty nice cars from the beginning. I starting out with a BMW 1-Series, but soon had a Camaro, Mustang, M3, and more very quickly. Unless you turn off all of the assists (which I would never do), you'll find yourself whipping through the profile mode.

Shift is supposed to be a very realistic racing simulator. I found it a lot more realistic than previous NFS titles, but nowhere near a Gran Turismo standard. Whenever you crash, you fuzz out and things go into black and white for a little, which mainly just annoys me most of the time. However, damage is pretty realistic, and running directly into a wall will affect your car's driving.

Aside from that, I did find vehicle selection to be good. The cars are all split up into groups depending on how fast they are, and you have to get your level up to unlock more cars. Some of my favorite cars available are the Lamborghini Reventon, McLaren F1, Chevy Camaro, and Shelby Mustang. Vehicle customization is good too. You can create your own paint jobs and decals for your cars, and also purchase body kits to make them faster and better looking.

The tracks in the game look amazing. Every part about them is realistic, and the overal graphis of the game are amazing too. There are oval tracks, drift courses, and road courses. For events there are sprint races, circuits, drifts, timed challenges, and more.

Overal, I feel Need for Speed Shift is an ok game. I still miss the old cops and robbers styled games and street races, but Shift is good for what it is. The only thing is that when you compare it to something like Gran Turismo, it's no competiton.

My Rating: 7/10

Would I reccomend this game? Only if you're a die-hard NFS fan.