Need For Speed Shift

 

After a lot of terrible games, EA is back and with a Bang, The idea of changing the game studio was great and Slightly Mad Studios pulled it off.

PROS = Cockpit view is very detailed and beautiful, It's very easy to drive in Cockpit view, Sound is executed perfectly in almost every aspect from sound of the car to the commentary everything is top notch, Car models look beautiful and damage detail is great, Controls are perfect for a game which tries to be an arcade and Simulator at same time, The different Driving styles mechanism is a good addition, Customization as always is great.

CONS = City looks a little rough around edges at times, The Career mode is weak as compared to it's competitors, Drifting controls are very awkward.

FINAL WORDS = If you are fed up of the NFS games and don't like them anymore, You should still give NFS Shift a try. It's a great addition to the dying NFS franchise and has likely changed a lot.

The game knows itself, It's not trying to be a simulator nor an arcade racer but tries to be something in between and this effort has been successful. It's easy to pick and learn for the Arcade racers as game is not as punishing as it's competitors and is a lot forgiving at times and at the same time is a very good game for simulator fans. The new Cockpit view is awesome, I never played any game in cockpit view before because it's very hard but NFS shift has made a great use of this view and the camera angle in this mode makes it very easy to drive and see the road clearly and you would likely play the game in this camera even though if you don't like Cockpit view in other games.

The sound is top quality and everything from engine to commentary is great and feels like you are sitting in the original car. Car models look realistic although I drove in Cockpit or first person view in entire game except drifts. The damage modeling is beautiful although it gets a little hard to drive in cockpit view once the windshield breaks. As said before the controls are easy and responsive and you will master them in no time, The controls have Arcadish and simulator feel at the same time.

There are two driving style Aggression and Precision, At the end of a race you are awarded with aggression or precision points based on your driving style and which points are more (in total), You are given that type of Driving badge either Aggression or Precision, Game rewards you on both type of driving styles.As more and more you level, More rewards unlock, Level 50 is the highest and it's not easy to achieve.

City may look rough at edges sometime but overall presentation is good and tracks look real. Drift races have awkward controls but the good thing is they are very few in the game, Career mode has very few options as compared to other simulators but many people wouldn't mind it, As the game has tried it's best to make the game simple and easy for Arcade racing fans to jump in.

RECOMMENDATION = I'll highly recommend it all of the people who think NFS series is long gone, The game is a lot of fun and is a good comeback from NFS Franchise and is an entertaining game for both Arcade and simulator fans.

 

RATING = 9.0 out of 10