The graphics in Need for Speed Shift will blow you away, but you'll find that the gameplay offers nothing new over previous popular racing titles. Even so, there's no point in breaking away from a winning formula.
Need for Speed Shift is a great racing game, but it’s like most every other great racing game in that there’s nothing new here. It’s a lot like one of the Gran Turismo games, but with much more forgiving controls and truly excellent graphics. If racing games are your thing, then this is the one to get. It is available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC.
You begin this game with a little bit of money and the option to buy your own car. You’ll have ten or so to choose from, and your racing career starts there. After competing in a few events with your new vehicle, you will earn money to upgrade everything from the engine to the tires, and eventually you’ll start making enough money to buy a better car and upgrade it, too. By the time it is all over, you will have a small fleet of vehicles ranging from BMW’s to Ferrari’s. Your goal in the game is to compete in a series of racing events all over the globe, and as you get farther the cars will be faster and the racing tracks more complex.
This game uses an experience point system where you earn points for driving technique. As you gain levels in the game, you will get sponsors who give you money, plus it will unlock extra features for customizing your vehicles. You get experience points for winning races as well as doing things like passing other drivers, running them off the road, going a whole race without crashing, and so on. You can be awarded for either being aggressive or non-aggressive, but it is much more fun to crash into other cars. Depending on how well you drive, you can level up pretty quickly. This means you won’t be stuck driving the same vehicle for too long.
I have seen several television commercials advertising this game, and part of the ad shows actual gameplay footage that looks like it came from a movie or a real race. This game really does look that good. I’m playing it on a 47” HDTV with an HDMI cable, so I have the highest possible quality picture and sound, and it looks stellar. The cars all look and move just like the real cars, and it’s the subtle details that really add to the realism. For example, you can see shiny reflections in the paint and glass on the vehicles. When you are driving at a high rate of speed, there’s a little bit of vibration on screen that really makes it look like you are moving fast. It’s almost dizzying to watch. The graphics in this game really show off the potential of the PS3 system’s video capabilities.