Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Mike Escobar

One of the most contentious genres in the gaming world has always been the sport of racing, and one franchise has been a major player for the past 15 years.  That franchise is, of course, Need For Speed (NFS).  Constantly reinventing themselves as well as how video game racing is played, the Need For Speed franchise has always been a leader in racing.  At one extreme of the racing genre is the pure “simulation”, where vehicle performance, track conditions, and vehicle damage are all modeled as accurately as possible and have a huge impact on the way your car performs.  At the other end of the spectrum are the “arcade” racers, where real world car performance and statistics often have no relationship to how your car actually drives, and the biggest effect that vehicle damage has is to change how shiny your car is when you cross the finish line.

As surprising as it may seem to current fans of the NFS series, the original Need For Speed (released all the way back in 1994!) was far closer to the simulation end of the racing spectrum.  Starting with Need For Speed II in 1997, the focus of the series changed to a more forgiving, arcade-style type of racing along with the hunt to unlock a huge stable of exotic cars.  In 1998 NFS changed gears again and introduced us to Need For Speed – Hot Pursuit, where players either had to outrun police pursuit or play as the police and chase down speeders.

Since the release of Hot Pursuit, many fans have felt that the series had become stale, with the only real changes from year to year being an improvement in the graphics and a possible update in the types of cars available to drive.  Some folks complained that NFS was “too-arcadey” while others felt that the titles weren’t realistic enough.  To address all these concerns, Electronic Arts announced earlier this year that they were splitting the Need For Speed franchise into three separate titles, each focusing on a different aspect of the racing genre. 

Need For Speed World Online was announced as a free-to-play, open-world arena available exclusively for the PC.  Basically an MMO for racing, Need For Speed World Online would have access to licensed cars, as well as tuner upgrades and multiple game modes.  Need For Speed - Nitro is the arcade-focused version of the series, and the new home of the Hot Pursuit and High Stakes (racing for pink slips) modes.  Which brings us to Need For Speed – Shift, the simulation side of NFS.

One thing that all the NFS titles have always excelled in is their graphical presentation, and Need For Speed – Shift is no exception.  As console processing power improves the graphics get closer and closer to photo realism.  All the cars look phenomenal, both inside and out.  For those that like the extra challenge of racing in cockpit view, you’ll be treated to some of the most realistic dashboard views around.  As you change cars (or even upgrade your existing ones) the dash view will change to reflect the upgrades you’ve purchased.  You’ll even see the small changes, to the point where engine upgrades will change the point that your car redlines, and the speedometer reflects the new top speeds you’re capable of.

Don’t think that EA and Slightly Mad Studios have forgotten about the tracks themselves though; there are nearly twenty different courses to navigate in the game.  Comprised of a mix of real world locations as well as fictional race circuits, players will be absolutely blown away by the gorgeous scenery on and off the track.  Players are sure to recognize the beautifully rendered surroundings of such famous courses as Laguna Seca, as well as some of the more common fictional circuits like downtown London.

The real test of how good a racing game looks is how good it looks while you’re actually driving, and Need For Speed – Shift delivers with some absolutely amazing visuals.  On top of the stunning graphics, Shift employs a couple of nice tricks that make the experience even better.  As your speed increases, the depth of field adjusts and the perspective will shift to the distance, putting the car and everything near you out of focus.  Every time you crash, be it with another driver or with the environment itself, the screen will go black and white and blur out, simulating the impact and disorientation of a real crash.  While it doesn’t sound like much, these changes end up having a huge effect, making you really “feel” every crash and bump that happens as well as improving the overall race experience.

The audio throughout the game is solid, with distinctive engine sounds for each vehicle as well as the usual screech of rubber as you skid around corners and the crunch of metal and glass as you crash into the scenery and other vehicles.  There’s not a whole lot of voice acting present, and what’s there is limited to short announcements at the start of each race, usually to give you the individual goals of the race and maybe a quick piece of advice for the course or a particular driver you’re racing against.

The controls are also the usual layout for racing games with the right trigger being the accelerator, the left trigger being the brakes, and X being the handbrake.  As with pretty much every other modern game, all these controls are fully customizable and can be re-assigned however you want.

Where Need For Speed – Shift really excels is the great variety of race types, reflecting real world goals and challenges.  There are five racing tiers to unlock and conquer; as you earn stars for completing goals in each event, you have more cars and venues available to test your skill.  Each race can earn you anywhere from three to six stars, depending on the pre-defined goals of the contest.  This is another nice twist in gameplay – not only can you earn 1/2/3 stars for finishing 3rd/2nd/1st in a race, you will also have additional goals, such as racing a clean lap (not bumping any other cars) or hitting your car’s top speed anywhere on the track.  While these may sound easy to accomplish, they add a new dimension to each race.  Not only do you need to win the race, you have to drive the course in a certain way to maximize your stars.  The good news is that if you have a tough time accomplishing all of your goals in one run, you can come back to that race and just focus on the goals you missed.  For example, one of your goals might be to spin out three other cars without leaving the track yourself.  This isn’t that tough to accomplish, but it is hard to do this and still win the race.  You can get around this by winning the race and then re-running it with your only goal being to spin out your opponents.  Even if you place dead last in subsequent runs, you’ll still get full “star credit” for your win.  The best part is that all the challenges make sense within the framework of the game.

The addition of in-game achievements is very well implemented and adds to the replay value for all those completists out there.  Every piece of each race is evaluated and contributes to the various achievements – whether it is getting 150 “dirty passes” (passing another car while giving them a little bump) or drafting 100 cars without touching them, you’ll be constantly challenged to drive each of the races in different styles to accomplish all these goals.  At the end of every race you’re given a grade on whether you drove the race in a Precision style or an Aggressive style.  In career mode these stats are cumulative, showing the player what type of driver they really are.  Unfortunately that’s all it does – the Precision/Aggressive score has no effect on unlockable cars or upgrades.  Need For Speed – Shift also implements an RPG-lite facet of the gameplay.  As you complete races and challenges you level up (all the way to level 50) and each level provides benefits like extra sponsorship dollars or garage slots.

There are a total of eight race types in the game:

Race – Standard Races allow a mixed field of cars and competitors, each battling it out on the track not only showcasing their skills as a driver, but also their prowess at building and tuning their cars.

Driver Duel – A head to head competition between two drivers.  Pick your ride, and then battle it out in a best of three rounds competition.  The goal is to put five seconds between you and your opponent, or be the first across the finish line.  Driver’s take turns in the lead position, and if necessary, an overtime round will determine the best driver.

Manufacturer Races – Sponsored by various manufacturers, all drivers are provided with the same make and model of car, the goal out there is to prove you’re the best driver on the track.  This is a true test of your driving skill, because it eliminates any advantages your other upgraded cars may have.

Series – Run consecutive events and earn points based on finishing position.  This race type adds some strategy to the mix because you can target drivers that are close to you in point totals and concentrate on blocking them or spinning them out to hurt their overall standing in the series.

Drift – Each drift event consists of three rounds, with scores being added for each round completed.  Drift is the ultimate test of car control as you need to hit the corners at the right speed, and then be able to hold both speed and angle around the course.  In addition, clipping points are set around the track; the closer you position the nose of your car to those clipping points the higher your score will be.

Time Attack – Compete against a variety of cars and competitors around the track to post the best lap time.  Run as many laps as you can within the given time limit, but once the clock stops you’re on your last lap.

Hot Lap – Driver’s take turns competing in a sponsored car and posting their top time’s on the track.  When you’re up you will get your chance to best one of the top three times.

Lap/Time Eliminator – Out-drive, out-maneuver, and out-battle your opponents to stay out of last place in eliminator races.  In time eliminator events the last place driver is eliminated until there’s only one driver remaining.  Lap eliminator races knock out the last place driver after each lap.

All of these race types are an absolute blast to play, and with the exception of drift racing (the majority of the drift events aren’t available until tier 5, well into the game) every race type becomes available fairly quickly in career mode.  As for online play, all the usual bells and whistles are available, with ranked and unranked matches as well as support for friends lists and scores.  Driver Duel ladder matches are also available online, and with every successive win you’ll be invited to race with better and better cars. 

One of the nice things that Need For Speed – Shift has implemented is the addition of a colored “driving line”.  As any veteran driver can tell you, there is a most efficient line you need to travel through every corner that will give you the maximum speed, acceleration, and control.  Many racing games have implemented this feature, but Shift is the first one I’m aware of that takes it a step further and uses a colored line to give you additional information.  Not only does the driving line show you the most efficient path through the track, but if the line is green that signifies that it’s safe (and advisable) for you to accelerate on your current track.  If you’re coming into a corner a little too fast the line will turn yellow, meaning that you need to lay off the gas a little bit or you’ll slide out of control.  If you’re really coming into corners too fast, the line will turn red, meaning that you need to hit the brakes or manually downshift to bleed off some speed quickly.  This is a great tool to teach drivers how to choose the correct line through the track.  Veteran drivers need not worry though; this feature can be turned off at any time from the options menu.

There were only two major drawbacks that I witnessed while playing this game, and they had to do with how much driving assistance you receive at lower difficulty levels and the way drift racing is implemented.  The first problem crops up when you’re playing at the lowest difficulty – as soon as you try and come into a corner too fast, the AI downshifts the car for you, bleeding off a huge amount of speed.  This isn’t an issue until you’re going into corners too fast for a reason, like bumping someone else off the track to earn a star or trying to hit your car’s top speed mark.  While this doesn’t seem like a huge issue, it gets annoying very quickly.

The other issue in the game is the way drift racing is implemented.  For those who aren’t familiar with it, drift racing is the practice of sliding through corners on purpose; giving a skilled driver the ability to navigate and accelerate out of turns at a much higher speed than you’d normally be able to.  Few racing games are able to hit the right balance of slide versus control, and Shift is not one of them.  Just viewing the plethora of complaints posted on the NFS forums should be enough to warn you away from these races until some kind of patch is implemented.

With any simulation-based racer, one of the most important features is the vehicle upgrade system.  Need For Speed – Shift sports a solid upgrade system that gives you the option of using cookie-cutter upgrades to each part of your car, or lets you really dive in and tweak to your heart’s delight.  For example, you can purchase a standard body kit spoiler upgrade that will help your vehicle corner much tighter.  You can leave the spoiler as-is with the default settings, or jump in and adjust the exact down angle of the spoiler to complement your individual driving style.

Shift continues to expand on the car upgrades system by adding The Works final upgrade for certain cars.  Qualified cars that you have purchased all the other upgrades for make The Works option become available.  For a large amount of cash The Works upgrade provides significant additional performance across the board to your car.  Acceleration, braking, handling, and top speed will all receive a significant boost from The Works.

Need For Speed – Shift does so many things right, it makes the missed opportunities stand out even more.  Drift racing, which can be incredibly fun when implemented correctly, is incredibly hard to pull off even at lower difficulty settings.  Evaluating players as either Precision or Aggression drivers is a great idea that ultimately goes nowhere and has virtually no impact on gameplay.  The nail in the coffin is the relatively small stable of cars available in the game.  The other two major players in the videogame racing genre, Gran Turismo and Forza, both have new titles looming on the horizon and they have always offered a gigantic stable of licensed cars to drive and own.  While there’s always the possibility of new cars being made available through downloadable content, the rather anemic 70 or so cars that are initially obtainable in Shift are a definite downside to the game.

The bottom line is that long time fans of the Need For Speed series should be very excited about the new direction the franchise is going in.  If you’re looking for a return to NFS’ simulation-based driving roots, you won’t be disappointed by the gorgeous cars and tracks waiting for you.  Add in to the mix the large variety of excellent racing modes and you’ve got a definite winner here.  Just don’t expect to see your garage grow to several hundred entries, like some of the other upcoming racing games out there.

Gaming Trend Score

86

1. Graphics: 95
2. Audio: 80
3. Controls: 80
4. Gameplay: 95
5. Value/Replay: 70
6. OVERALL:86