Need for Speed. The franchise is one of gaming's oldest. The first Need for Speed was released in 1994. It was a serious simulation game - or at least as serious as hardware of the time would allow - featuring nine cars with realistic physics and sounds. That was a fairly large stable for a game of that era, and Need for Speed was critically loved for its surprisingly accurate reproduction of racing. Over the years, however, Need for Speed became less about realistic gaming or the love of cars and more about far-fetched arcade antics. I loved Need for Speed 2, but its inclusion of vehicles which were nothing more than imaginative prototypes, such as the Ford Indigo concept car, were indicative of the course the series would take in the future.
That course eventually lead to a dead end. Need for Speed couldn't offer car lovers an experience that matched Forza or Gran Turismo, nor could it offer arcade antics as exciting as the Burnout franchise. EA wasn't quite ready to let Need for Speed die, however, and has instead resurrected it under the guidance of Slightly Mad Studios. Calling itself a hardcore sim, Need for Speed: Shift focuses on racing on tracks, not streets, and places an emphasis on physics rather than flash. That also means it has to compete with some of the best racing games ever made - no small challenge for a franchise reboot.
The difference between Need for Speed: Shift and the previous games in the franchise is instantly noticeable. For many players, the differences will come at the first corner. Where previous games were about drifting at absurd speeds, the physics of Shift are much more in tune with reality. That means trying to go around a corner at speed will, eventually, result in understeer, followed shortly by a face full of concrete barrier.
Shift tries to ease players into the experience using a tutorial lap, during which the player can get a handle on, well, the handling. After the lap, the game will automatically assign a skill level based on the player's performance. It's a great idea, but as with other games that have used the concept, it isn't very accurate. Racing a car around an unknown track with an unknown physics engine is bound to result in a few mistakes, and as a result the automatic settings are far too easy. They're easily fixed by opening the options menu, but that defeats the purpose.
Getting into Shift is easy. The first tier cars are difficult to crash, and the first tier tracks are fairly simple. What becomes quickly obvious, however, is that EA has been conducting a little false advertising. There is no question that Shift is more realistic that previous Need for Speed games, but it is still an arcade game at heart. Besides taking first place, the game also places an emphasis on an arbitrary experience system. Players can gain points for all sorts of things, but their very inclusion makes it obvious that while Shift does include a somewhat realistic physics engine, the arcade elements are noticeable if not dominant.
The lame damage modeling drives this point home. On one early track I over-cooked a turn badly and crashed into the barrier at 80 miles per hour. I thought I was done for, as I had simulation damage turned on. In fact, the concrete encounter left me with a few scratches. This can become absurd at times, as there are certain turns on certain tracks where it is actually quicker to run into the wall full-speed and bounce off than to try and take the turn properly. Simulation? I don't think so.