We review the Need for Speed: Shift for the PC this time, and from now on we will be doing a lot of video reviews as well. Published by Electronic Arts and Developed by Slightly Mad Studios, the game very well revives the struggling Need for Speed franchise by giving it a burst of fresh air. The game returns to the track racing roots and street racing is not present here. The developers very cunningly balance the racing sim and arcade racing experience. Its a wonderful experience, consequently. Watch the review!
Update: Vimeo removed review video. Re-embedded Youtube Stuff. Replaced the low quality Youtube video with a HD Video on Vimeo. The Video Review of Shift is hosted on Youtube (Poor Quality) and embedded below.
Below the video is the whole transcript of the review.
Hi Guys!
Welcome to the What I Say Game Reviews. I am Kinshuk Sunil and today we will be looking at Need for Speed Shift – the new racing title from Electronic Arts in the Need for Speed franchise.
What we are going to do is look at a game-play video of the game and see how things have changed in the franchise. Slighlty Mad Studios, the developers, bring back the game to its track racing roots.
So its loading right now.
The game follows your racing career, where you go through tiered events, this is tier 2, and one by one you climb up the ladder. This is tier 2, and, these are the various race events. Now again tier 2, this is tier 1 so I complete 1 and move on to tier 2. As you advance through your career, you unlock these invitational events – which are special events that earn you more bonus. So ,this is a
Lotus Elise invitational event, which we will be looking at. It is loading right now.
The load screen presents us with some information about the game. As a driver, my actions on track are being classified as aggression or precision driving. So, as you can see, its defining various actions for me in-game. All of these actions earn me various points, experience points and unlock new stuff for me in the game.
So, its loading right now. The load times are a bit high.
Okay! So, as you can see, visually the game is very rich. The cockpit cam returns and its really very thoroughly done, very detailed. This is the cockpit cam, rich textures, but I am a clumsy driver, so I prefer the chase cam to the cockpit cam. So, the race is going on now..
Here, you can see there are some green lines on the track. This is the race line and it guides new players like me towards safe driving.
These arrows are defining how I should drive. So, Green arrows mean that I should focus on accelerating and speed. If it turns Yellow it means a turn is approaching and I should focus towards controlling the car, steering and decreasing the speed so I can turn properly. When it turns red, it means a turn is imminent and I should definitely move, brake down, brake because the speed is high and focus on the turn. So this feature helps a lot in turning.
So its Red, Oh Shit! Okay that’s what happens when you don’t focus properly on the turning.
So, visually the game is very rich. textures are high and the lighting is done very well. This game-play video is on a Core 2 Quad machine, with 4 gigs of RAM running on Nvidia GTX 260. Max details at 1360×768 resolution. the Post processing in the game is very awesome, its amazing and.. specially when you crash. We just saw something and we’ll see again in detail how the crash happens. Blurs and the environment is also very richly done. Sound is rich in detail as well.
The HUD is showing me the various points I am earning right now plus the usual race details. so the Progression I am having in the game is very easily traceable throughout.
The In-game physics are also very well done. Cars handle very realistically, even though this is not a true racing sim. The cars are much more grounded and heavier. They skid and spin off turns. Crash realistically. A lot of emphasis in the game is on the balancing act – the game teases me into being a sim driver with the fun of arcade racing. That is a very.. makes for a wonderful experience. The race line and the various assists keep the game fun for me while they can also be disabled to make it more challenging. So that’s how it keeps on progressing. So.. I am a very clumsy driver.
Hey I also acquired a new driver level! That just means I jumped a level in the.. in my career ladder and unlocked new stuff for the car.
So.. ooh, some nice speed. Okay. so.. I am turning.. shit! Ah.. Ouch! So, that’s some awesome visual design.
All in all – the visual aspects of the game are very well done. Sound is very well designed. Physics is very realistic yet the game is an arcade thrill. That’s something Slightly Mad Studios has done perfectly. In fact, this game revives the series very well, the game play mechanics are really nice. experience system works very well, throughout. Need for Speed Shift is an awesome experience all in all. Earn a lot of points, keep racing – and be rewarded. It’s a fun game.
So now I have filled up my points meter above the rear view mirror. So, I am getting a bonus modifier right now. All points I earn now, its gone though, err… so, all points I was earning, they were twice the normal. So, the foliage and ambiance stuff is also nice.
Okay! the race is complete. So, all my points are being assigned to me now. So, this is the podium and speed threshold rewards.
Now, this is the Driver Profile. So, the points for my precision and aggression driving actions are being calculated and assigned to my profile, which is basically the experience system. So.. on the basis of how I drive and how I play this game, it will rate my driving style as aggressive or precise. Those hammers mean that I am an aggressive driver. So, I am a level 6 driver and my aggression level right now is level 3. It just turned level 3.
So – race complete. Level up rewards. I unlocked.. new rims and I also got a new invitational event. And, these are the minor and master badges. The Minor and master badge system rewards my achievements for consistent actions.
Okay. The race is complete, replay has begun. Time to head back to the menu.
The load times are a bit high. Now Shift is a nice game, but it is not what we loved in Underground or Most Wanted. Track racing is not the NFS.. Need for Speed forte anymore. Shift is good though.
That’s the new invite. So, I just completed the Elise Invitational event and got invited to the Ford Tier 3 event as I leveled up.
So.. Shift is a good game, its fun.
That’s all for Need for Speed Shift. Have fun – its a game worth playing.
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Author: Kinshuk Sunil (72 Articles)
Kinshuk Sunil is the founder of the WiSy Blog. An active evangelist for Open Source and a enthusiast Game Designer, Kinshuk focuses on reviewing Softwares, Services and Games here. However, a jack of all trades, Kinshuk can be found talking about almost everything. Catch up with him on twitter @kinshuksunil.
