Need for Speed Shift: sim racer?

[j.o.s.h.1408]

I personaly feel that rfactor and gtr needs a upgrade on the graphics department. Plus whats wrong with having another "forza" on the console? competition is good you know

Forza 3 may have more cars and tracks but maybe, just maybe the handling is better on this game? seriously man if your remotely interested in games like forza, you should try out nfs shift. you may like it. wait for a demo or something

[kalniel]

But what are you expecting? a semi racing sim like forza or a proper sim like gtr evo?

Neither. They're trying to sell it as Forza 3 content with GTR simulation.. which it ain't. I expect it to be Grid + NFS style blinging and points for crashing into people.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

You dont get points for crashing into people. anyways it seems you have made up your mind about this game without trying it yourself.

Here is the US review of the game.

http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/102/1023577p1.html 9.0 score

And the pc version here http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/102/1023587p1.html

[kalniel]

You dont get points for crashing into people. anyways it seems you have made up your mind about this game without trying it yourself.

You asked me what I expected.. what was I meant to do, say that I can't expect anything without trying the game?

But you do get points for crashing into people.

Here is the US review of the game.*

http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/102/1023577p1.html

setting up a full-lock drift, with the tyres squealing like a chorus of burning kittens as the game's trademark exaggerated oversteer kicks in.

although cars bounce, flip and roll convincingly, they're often left with little more than a scratch and a cracked windscreen, and it takes several serious impacts to wrestle any of the bodywork off

taking a pedestrian road car and gradually transforming it into a stripped down racer is the single-player's greatest pleasure

drift competitions feel like they have strayed in from a separate game, and they're a little broken

full quota of eight drivers

And the pc version here http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/102/1023587p1.html

Now, as I previously mentioned, Need for Speed Shift isn't the most accurate racer around. I have driven a few of the cars in the game and the handling, feeling of weight and all that just isn't as accurate as what you'll find in the likes of Forza or Gran Turismo.

*Apologies - I'm assuming this is the same as you linked yesturday, I can't actually check.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

You asked me what I expected.. what was I meant to do, say that I can't expect anything without trying the game?

But you do get points for crashing into people.


















*Apologies - I'm assuming this is the same as you linked yesturday, I can't actually check.

seems like IGN just copied and pasted the original review of the 360 version across the pc review and made it slightly longer as the 360 uk review was only 2 pages.

I have not got this game pre ordered by the way and wont buy it until i try it. it has to be very good in my opinion to justify buying it as this time of the year their are loads of games comming out and cant all spend my hard earned cash on all of them!

All reviews and impressions have pointed out that it is indeed a good game. probably nfs's most realistic racing game ever done.

edit: new review

Here's a translation from a Swedish review...*note lots is typo's but you get the idea.

Need for Speed Shift - First Reviews Coming In » VirtualR - Sim Racing News


Here's a full review (translated from Swedish from Gamereactor)

ext: Petter Hegevall

Peter has sat behind the wheel of a toktrimmad EVO IX and called out to chastise the asphalt in EA's upcoming Need for Speed: Shift to once and for all make up the game show's past

After an hour I am ready to give up. Although I have promised myself not to lose patience, faith that I have informed myself on the Shift developed by the people behind history's most difficult racing game, GTR 2nd But still ... I cut almost together at first. Yelling at the TV, pulling my hair. I lose race after race. My blue Honda Civic is so dull that time stands still, the sway of an old hammock, and the brakes to overheat after just one lap. Opponents fly by right from the start, each curve will become a new irritant. I'm worthless ...

Need for Speed: Shift starts really badly. Not only difficult (I'm playing with all the facilities refused from the start) but really bad. It takes a while to get accustomed to the unforgiving physics, and a while to get rid of that unchristian poor Civic. I switch to the steering wheel, penetrating into my old racially old man back in the newsroom PlaySeat, throw your controller behind the couch and takes new tag. Civic is gone, replaced by a heavily tuned EVO IX and I sit as grounds in his chair with his hands in an exemplary Ten two-grip. Now, it takes off, literally. Now wake Shift to life. Seriously.
This is an advertisement:

Seriously.

This is exactly how I would summarize the Need for Speed: Shift. A solemn simulator to sneeze at the smooth arcade racing series' last six games arranged for us. Forget the flimsy Fjose races in Undercover or Most Wanted, forget free cities, but details and cheese-scented between sequences with the gaming Hollywood rejects. Shift is a new direction for EA. An attempt to attract all of us who are waiting in vain (and suktar) after Gran Turismo 5, or GTR 3rd Need for Speed: Shift is a very successful merger of GTR 2 and Project Gotham Racing, with a display reminiscent of Forza Motorsport.

It's about racing simulator, including the ability to trim and decorate their cars. If unforgiving, tough races where the drivers are tested at every single curve. Shift is not perfect, but a damned good start on something that can easily outperform last year's fiasco. When Need for Speed: Shift starts (career mode), is one of the Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo completely without a car. You get to test their skillz in a tuned BMW M3 at Brands Hatch and, depending on how well it is the game itself in severity, the number of facilities that will be activated in the car and how much money you get to buy even the first cart. I win the race at Brands Hatch, and starting my career at Expert difficulty level.
This is an advertisement:

20 $ 000 in his pocket for it to act smart, get through the necessary slave races and then be able to trade up. Career State is divided into five different sections. The first four parts of the shift is called "Tiers" and where the racing circuits around collecting stars. For each race won it receives a number of stars that makes you can eventually unlock the next portion of the game, with the stars as their currency.

Two-thirds of the stars in every race you win by putting himself as number one in the race. The rest lost it by performing some minor småuppdrag, or challenges, during the show. Often these challenges circles around a number of overtaking, or that it will rub off the color of one of the opponents' carts. If you want to be ******, this is a rather awkward part of the shift, and a futile way of trying to make this simulator a bit more mainstream. A little more ... Grid. For me, it works not at all and I do not care respectfully in these small challenges, and instead focus wholeheartedly on to win. Just to win.

At the beginning of the game informed you that the drivers in Need for Speed: Shift universe is divided into two different categories. Aggressive driving and driving precision. My first race at Brands Hatch, is pretty wild to when I involuntarily happen to push out an innocent little Seat Leon Cupra out into the gravel. The game considers me as aggressive and therefore my småutmaningar before each race circuits almost constant around which includes bilburet violence. "Run on an opponent," "makes an angry overtaking", "do so to an opponent, spins, turns and goes by without you doing it." Ridiculous. A piece of Need for Speed: Shift, which I dislike, and that does not belong in a racing game with an otherwise so-serious approach to asphalt racing as it actually exists here.


My expectations of bilfysiken and the körkänslan in Shift has been enormous. Completely unrealistic it is, after all, the people behind the GTR 2 and GT Legends who put together this. Well, did you not? Although I have tried to repeat it in about 100 different småtexter over the past year? This is how it happened (in greatly simplified form, of course): Core team of Swedish SimBin Studios (which accounted for most of the skills in the development of GTR 2) drug and shaped studio Blimey Games. Bilfysiken in Shift is based on the devised for use in Blim previously announced games, "The Ferrari Project". Blimey purchased, Slightly Mad Studios was born, and work closely with the EA as well.

I would thus be lying if I said that körkänslan in Shift recalls in particular the GT Legends. For the do it, but a few important differences. The cars are slightly heavier, tires physics have improved and changed to simulate more momentum and the system of friction are bulls, more sensitive. Forget what you learned in the Gran Turismo games where there has never been waxing through curves, or where a four-wheel-driven sports car over and slid through the curves in the same way as a front-wheel drive.

Forget also that you learn in Forza Motorsport 2 where excessive stability assistant made it possible to brake into the corners while suddenly starts to tear into the steering wheel to turn, without losing hold. In Shift, with facilities refused, it is important to use the quiet movements. Throttle calm, reassuring steering wheel movements. Everything suddenly and erratically punished quickly at high speeds and terms to be clear and let gravity move before starting to rotate the car through the hairpin are.

Shift requires patience, time and training. Like most simulators. We must find balance in his car, learn to gas analogy and to move the center of gravity effectively. It is very important to the tougher levels of difficulty to not force the tires to do several things at once. Just like in real life. If you do it quickly loses momentum and goes often to.

Fastest is always on the brakes to first, strong and sometimes even excessively, select narrow lines and then Gas from the curves. It requires some training but once it sits is racing both rewarding, exciting, addictive and terrible intensity. Unfortunately, unlike for example, GTR 2 is the computer-controlled opponents a little too aggressive and a bit of pre-programmed to a very tight financial and driving style will be financially beneficial to the extent it does in real circuit racing.

To become so successful that it really should be, run smart and with a focus on hard braking into the corners and a lot of gas out of them, you need to take to the grid where the human resistance (which surprisingly often seem to believe that Need For Speed: Shift is the same as Race Driver: GRID) will be an economic driver can easily win on pure intelligence and good knowledge of the runways.

Perhaps the best part of bilfysiken in Shift, in addition to a very stable simulation of tire adhesion, is the difference between different types of cars and powertrains. Short, small cars are fast in the curves, over-driven, but compact and stable. Rear Wheel Drive muscular monster Corvette Z06 and Ford GT are swaying, disorderly, super strong and loves to stick out the back end. Unlike, for example Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, you can go wide if you feel like it. It is perfectly acceptable to turn off all assists and tackle curves Samuel Hübinette rather than Mattias Ekstrom, if that is the case you want to be perceived.

Fun to drive, the four-wheel drive cars with a steady hold and superior kurvegenskaper allows a more steady and fast driving than any other type of powertrain. Just as it should be. Slightly Mad Studios, for example, caught the körkänslan in Mitsubishi EVO IX perfect and gave it just the right character. It is a kamikaze-money directly driven, witty, fast acceleration and stable but with a bit of ground in the engine and a pale top speed. I tuned the form is 9: an, however, one of the game's very best and most easy to drive cars that I always seem to return to when the super-monsters making cornering unpredictable and chaotic.

There are several different racing disciplines in Shift. Apart from regular competitions against eight other opponents here are Time Attack, Race, Elimination, race, Car Battle Drift. Most fun is the Time Attack and duels where you meet a rival and have to beat him in three attempts to win the prize money. Drift is worst-event which leaves a lot to be desired.

In addition to operating-piece, there are a few other smaller problems, in Shift, which must be highlighted. That lag in governance, which I talked about in the console versions is the game's greatest weakness and cause problems, especially if you want to see the entire car on the screen while driving. As in the case of GTR 2 differs körkänslan depending on the view you play in, which I guess has to do with the simulator foxes in Slightly Mad Studios worked with the absolute worst urgrymma cockpit view. As in the case of GTR, GTR 2, GP Legends, Live for Speed and GT Legends is the only way to get really good at Shift to play the cock-pit view which, unlike many others of this generation racing game not made by a visually delightful but körtekniskt useless decoration, but actually plays a very important function.

In the case of minus points to even the GUI have a boot when it is scribbled and often illegible with rotten fonts cool and packed with excessive information. To read the text which lies to the left (on the challenges, driving style, opponent, motståndartider) is almost impossible when it first presented in an extremely compact linear but also made semi-transparent.

Apart from the cluttered interface is Need for Speed: Shift extremely neat. Car models are the most delicious I've seen in a racing game ever, including Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. Polygonantalet is to say the least massive and the fantastic real-time reflections in the paintwork is impressive large. Even inside the cars look brilliant Shift out with the most realistic interiors I've seen.

The courts are, like cars, scandalously realistic and often drenched in wonderfully charming (and hot) evening sun forming lens of radiation effects on the car's polished roof. Komer to do horrible high-resolution shadow projections and wonderfully delicious effects of focus and motion blur. To Slightly Mad Studios also had the good taste not to use very little bloom (this generation's largest graphic torture anyone?) I am A simulator-heart like mine.

As to the distinction between the different versions of Need for Speed: Shift (PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) is the PC version that feels best. With a powerful PC, you can scare up the graphics beyond what the consoles can handle, and because the shift must be played with a steering wheel (according to me) is the PC edition, which I would recommend the warmest. The two console versions are identical except on the loading times for the PlayStation 3 is a few seconds longer.

When I first tested Need for Speed: Shift, I am surprised how unforgivable and simulator money it actually was. Today, after having passed all the game's races, I am pleased to Slightly Mad Studios chose the hard way. Sure, this is not flawless and it will most likely be run on the Forza Motorsport 3 next month. But Need for Speed: Shift is a cruel first-attempt and a good racing game. My tip to you as tired of the superficial arcade racing in Race Driver: GRID will be the purchase of a cruel wheel, and an example of the shift. Autumn is saved.

[kalniel]

That's a good review, thanks for posting it up.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Im hoping this game will be mod friendly. if its using a similar cut down engine of GTR then maybe it will be mod friendly?

cut down as in the physics and handling department.

[kalniel]

Im hoping this game will be mod friendly. if its using a similar cut down engine of GTR then maybe it will be mod friendly?

cut down as in the physics and handling department.

It's not really an engine question, more whether EA expose the data structures or not. I'm sure people will find a way to mod it regardless, but I've not heard anything about it being easy to mod (unlike GTR:Evo for example).

[j.o.s.h.1408]

good review

First lets get this out of the way! Need for Speed Shift is NOT a driving simulator or Sim if you like, does that make
it bad? no but there are a few rough edges. What Shift does do that no other console racing game has done to this extent is
give a sense of actually being in the middle of a hectic race on a track day! in fact the best way to describe shift is a race track simulator.

When you first boot up the game your put straight into a car and are made to complete one lap, after the CPU judges you and adjust the setting to what it thinks you will cope with! Now after my first go it changed the settings to medium, and some aids off and others set to low so I must of done something right, but I just ignored the computer anyway and instantly set all the aids off and the AI to hard, might as well jump in at
the deep end seen as EA is banging on that this game offers Sim quality's.

So first you buy a car, and then start your progression through the career mode, now I wont go into too much detail except to say
it's your basic kind of career mode where you do single events, unlock new ones, unlock challenges and so on. You also get plenty of rewards for just about anything you do in fact maybe too much? After each race your greeted with a few screens showing your rewards, badges, stars, points, skill level, time, stats, driver level, so on and so on!

It gets to the point after so many races you just skip these screens as your not really that bothered after seeing so many clutter the screen. Maybe after you complete the game and go back to get everything available then this may be of more interest but to begin with all you want to know is did you win or not? was the time fast enough?

The game is broken down in to 4 tiers and then a NFS championship, each getting harder and with longer races and challenges so all in all pretty good and I would think to get all the badges and the paraphernalia it will take a bit of time especially on the settings I used, put all aids on and AI set to easy it will be a lot quicker.
Unlocking cars, parts, paint options, decals, tunning options all tie into the career mode and are unlocked as you go, no creating design master pieces to start with, as there all unlocked as you go you do need to play the game to the end to have full enjoyment and all the rewards and benefits.
Basically you only need one or possibly two cars per tier so you don't need to constantly keep changing cars and upgrading to a better one to win races, just pick the best and if your struggling, upgrade, tune and add some parts.

I would say the upgrades and paint, style options are not as deep as Forza and I doubt any paint master pieces will be created, you never know though! but it is basic stuff and it just gets the job done.
Other modes are quick race, here you can pick a quick race, time attack and drift. Quick race is up to 15 cars and 20 laps, with morning, midday and afternoon track settings, plus same cars or same class. I suspect the on line portion of the game which I couldn't test as there was no INTERNET where I tested the game is similar. I would hazarded a guess and say either 10 or 20 laps max and 8 cars so not many options.

Time attack is just like a TT but they have screwed up here as far as I'm concerned! one of the best ways to test cars and practice your skills is in a TT, but this TT is 3 laps! and then it ends, you then need to pick all the options again and start over.
For the life of me I can't understand this and why it was implemented this way, no going round the track and putting in 30 laps to find your grove, hell you can't even get used to the car and then you have to start again!

There is a small fix if you set the game to single player race and turn the CPU cars down to zero, this way you can at least do 20 laps, but if you quit before the full 20 you lose all the points you earn as you drive and I don't think your lap times will be updated on to a TT leader board like in the time attack mode. So I'm disappointed in the lack of options regarding TT's and single races to a extent.
A lot of the other options, modes, settings are similar to other racing games and it all just follows a set of rules that everybody else does! maybe more thought should of gone into creating more racing options and verity's like what Forza 3 promises.

The AI cars are a mixed bag, in one way their pretty good drivers on the hard setting but they are too aggressive and constantly push you or knock you out of the way if they want that line! I'm not saying they take the same line each lap like a train but when they decide to do something and your in the way it's tough luck, you'll come off worse.
Also sometimes they seam to be driving great and your racing close to them, say your in 3rd then all of a sudden the 2nd place car will slow down way too much for the maneuver it needs to do creating a instant road block for you, also at one point I was side by side with a car and all of a sudden he just rammed straight into me crashing me out just so he could be on that part of the track, there was no other reason for this.
Cars will constantly bump into you as well from behind but at the end of the day what driving game has perfect AI? it's good and bad in places but gets the job done and a puts up a challenge on hard.

The part you all want to know how does it play and feel? well it's a strange one and I think you can't really compare it to other games, GT5p very different, Forza 2 very different, GRID very different no game that I can think of is like Shift! if I had to be put on the spot and pick I would say a bastard child of GRID, PGR and a mix of Forza! This is no way a Sim in the respect that each car feels like the true life counter part, how do I know as I haven't driven many of those super cars? I have driven one or two of the lower spec ones and comparing them to say GT5p and Forza and how they drive on those games they don't feel 100% accurate in Shift! this is not a bad thing but it kind of knocks the whole Sim argument out of the window a bit?
***** snip

I cant paste the whole review but here is the link to continue reading it

http://www.gtforums.co.uk/gtforumsc1...d=3531#pid3531

[Andy3536]

So the AI is quite poor and seems to ignore the fact that your there. Could be just about the most annoying and frustrating racing game ever.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

i played it on the 360 version and here is a short summary after nearly an hours worth of play.

Graphics:

Not has good as the videos i have seen but looks better than forza 2.

Sound: Loving it but when the car skids in the round the sound is a bit too high.

Gameplay: Best part of this game is easily the gameplay. it feels a bit like GTR evo with all aids off. i tried two cars. one was a slow audi car you get to buy at the begining of career mode which i though the handling was a bit too easy with all assists off but when i played a race on a manufacture type race where you and the AI have the same cars, it was difficult and hard to drive!

That was with some Honda (think it was a honda S2000)car and it was faster and more powerful off the blocks then the audi car i started off with!

Overal this is a must buy for anyone looking for a forza type of game. The handling physics from my initial impressions are VERY good and not floaty as well. it seems as though the car has a firm grip on the track at the appropriate speeds.

The sense of speed and adrenaline is better than forza 2 and gt5p imo.

Loved it and will most definetly buy this now! if only ea came up with a demo early on! I got a feeling this may equal the handling and physics found in forza 3.

This new franchise has HUGGE potential and im not surprised given the fact that the people beingd GT L and GTR2 are behind this.

in a nutshell? its a cut down GTR2 engine under the hood but with next gen graphics. its challenging enough for any racing fans with all aids off. it may take less time mastering this game than GTR EVO/R factor but this is nowhere near a pick and play arcade game.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

I played with a pad and the Force feedback from the bad is brilliant!

Every little bump on the track or collisions you have with other drivers you feel it from the pad. i think its one of the best force feedbacks i have had on a control pad!

cant wait to try this on my i7 rig with my g25 wheel. It really is a good game. Another thing is the AI is very challenging at hard settings! i kept on coming last! had to bump it into medium lol

i dont like the fact that you get points for ramming into people! Hope we can arrange some clean races amongst us!

Some hard on collisions doesnt really mess up your car as in not being able to race on it anymore but the physical damage is there and similar to forza 2's physical damage.

i think the damage internal from the car is a bit weak as you can still race ok when you just had a full on collision on a barrier or something.

When i crashed into a barrier head on, the physical aspect of teh car was ****ed but i could still drive it. only difference internal i can see wrong with the car was that the steering of the car was just a "tad" difficult. If this was in forza or even GTR Evo, The car would have been obsolete.

So the negetive points i have found of the game are:

Loud skidding noises.
Weak Car damage (internal)

Thats all the negetive aspects of the game i have found so far.

edit: the cockpit view is excellent. i can actually see where im going unlike the cockpit view on other racing games

[finlay666]

Weak car damage probably won't be down to the actual game, it will be down to the car manufacturers not wanting to see their cars get smashed, exactly the same why the damage on GT5 looks pretty poor and not very realistic

[Lowe]

I've read a lot of people complaining about the steering. What's it like?

[Terbinator]

I've read a lot of people complaining about the steering. What's it like?

Horrendous. Im sorry but this game is horrible.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

I've read a lot of people complaining about the steering. What's it like?

Horrendous. Im sorry but this game is horrible.

Pro handling / no assists

Controller settings:
Steering Dead Zone 25%
Accelerator Dead Zone 5%
Brake Dead Zone 5%
Acceleration Sensitivity35%
Steering Sensitivity 32%
Braking Sensitivity 30%
Speed Steering sensitivity 100%

give that a go. if all fails then bin the game if you dislike it. i am loving this game