Need for Speed: Shift for PlayStation 3 Reviews by Gamers

I've played almost every ND4SPD title since I can remember. I've skipped a couple - but the game is still fun.

In this ND4SPD your working your way up the ranks and defining your driving by your actions. I have always found myself to be an aggressive driver, making others spin out to get a win. HeII, "rubbing is racing!" (Days of Thunder). However, according to this ND4SPD I am a precision driver?! Either way, I'm cool with it. A win is a win.

The upgrades are pretty cool, body kits look great - but I'm not a fan of trying the way you can customize the vinyls. It seemed a lot easier on past games. Maybe it's just me...

The racing itself is awesome! Very realistic. I love the fact that the screen goes blurry went I hit the wall at 100+mph or the fact that I can't see out of my winshield after 5+ crashes. It makes it more fun! (You shoulda seen what my Veyron looked like after one race - ha!)

The tracks are cool and can be pretty challenging at times. The different events - time trials, 1v1 competition - give the game some new things to do so that your not stuck playing the same thing over and over. Although...I do miss getting chased by cops and blowing through scenery, and watching them run into immovable objects on replay. Those were the days...

They really went all out for this title.

The only bad thing about this game is the long loading times, other than that I do not have anything to complain about.

The sounds are awesome, very hardcore and intense at times. Really makes you feel like you are part of the action.

Graphics are killer. Best graphics in any racing game.

Plenty of cars to pick from. Great customization options. Great level up systems. Lots of fun tracks.

The best part though is the cars can be adjusted to your liking. You are not stuck driving a car you can not control, you can adjust just about every aspect of the car in order to make it drive how YOU want it to drive.

You can make this game as easy or as hard as you want.

This is a must buy.

The first half of the game was fun and enjoyable, simulation is right up my alley, but some of the tracks just suck. There is one where your car just jumps up and down trying to go around corners - and don't get me started on running an exige around that track. I have never seen a street car pull wheelies and fly through the air.

Next, the AI are a bunch of retards! I've seen more traffic jams with all of them trying to fit into a hairpin. Then I also have to ask one question - if this is supposed to be a simulation style game, why are we running arcade laps? Passing 10+ cars within two laps is a pain in the higher tiers. Sure start me out in last place but at least give me a few laps to pass everyone.

The biggest let down though are the tier 4 supercars - I really have only driven the Bugatti and the zonda, but they drive almost like the vehicles on RC ProAm. They just seem to swivel on an axis when you try to steer them.

Interior view... Absolutely awesome, nice realistic feel, but it is harder to stay competative bast tier 2 races.

Last parting words... Could have been an awesome sim racer, but the physics need help - no racing game should allow you to drive your car straight underneath another.

I'd be real disappointed if I bought this game; it is better than undercover, but I enjoyed Pro Street more...

I want to like shift, and to a certain extent I do. Its got a great selection of tracks and cars, lots of tracks and the graphics are superb. However, there is one major flaw that the developers either missed or just completely got lazy. That is the controls when using a wheel. Like the first DiRT, using a wheel is entirely useless. There is so much lag that you can't even control the car let alone race with any kind of speed. Now I have the Logitech G25, and it works perfectly with GT5: Prologue, DiRT 2 and even Grid, so there is no reason it shouldn't work well with NFS: Shift. As a matter of fact, this being a racing game, ANY wheel should behave like clockwork. I mean, I don't think I'm alone when I expect a racing game to not require you to use the controller- where's the fun in that? So, overall, an okay game but could have used a bit more time in the oven.

I guess you could say, for a nfs title, that it lives up to its name. But, I think this is my least favorite nfs title to date. I love simulation racing and arcarde racing, I know now that I dont like a game that tries to be both at the same time. I dont recomend this to either arcade or sim racer, and to EA: stick to making the best acrade style racing games ever made, the simulation market is cornered and you shouldnt even touch it.

Fantastic game if you realize it is not designed to be a sim; it's not GT5 or supposed to be. It has sim elements combined with arcade elements for a great balance. Extremely fun to play and entertaining. Some drawbacks with vinyls and career progression....a bit easy from the career standpoint and the game does not actually require you to complete everything leading up to the finale but very fun non-the-less. Plenty of gameplay if you want to earn all trophies/awards. Overall a great game as long as you realized its not a sim...rather a blend.

This game looks great but you should expect that from PS3 games.
The rest is a great dissapointment. They stole the "voice" of the crew chief from Grid as well as the graphics, what they should have taken was the gameplay. Unfortunately you can't give out 0's. Car physics are so bad that sometimes you want to throw the controller across the room. Ram the opponent from behind and subsequently drive under him; ALL cars fishtail, no exception, even the AWD's like Skyline and RS8 and even get me started on the RWD cars. When I play racing games I will usually play them for the driving experience not for a bunch of pretty graphics which are just a plus. So my advice, rent and return, NOT WORTH THE TIME.

I honestly thought that this was the worst Need for Speed I have ever played(although I have not played Pro Street). The steering in the game is terrible. It feels like the car weighs about 400,000 lbs. The customization is okay but it lacks a few things like being able to change the angle you are looking at your car so you can actually see what you're putting on.

EA games tried to take the NFS even farther from the arcade racing side when they should stick with what they know: Sweet cars, extensive customization and free-roaming race selection.

Try the game for yourself if you really want to know what it's like. As for me I got it, played it for four hours, and then dropped it in the mail.

This one beats all the rest. It has a little bit of racing from different kinds of games in it. I loved playing this game i am now going for the platinum trophy. Five more to go!!! What need for speed needs in there games is weather effects. This is one of the best need for speed i have ever played. Undercover was just to short, carbon was good, most wanted was good. One my favorites is need for speed high stakes.

first off this game is takes some practice its a simulation, just because you can,t cheat like arcade racers ,cutting across grass(REAL CARS SLOW WHEN YOU GET OFF THE TRACK DUHHHH) . but this game also rewards you for different styles you can get aggressive by running other cars off or precise zipping thru w/out hitting others cars ,you still get points the better you get you then progress thru tiers,better cars ,upgrades points ,trophies you get it,so if you want some real challenge and great rewards for getting better as you progress thru the game try this!! you can adjust steering ,braking ect as you go ,i love this game its got real in the car view ,its awesome just take some time to get your style and settings adjusted to your way of driving THATS WHEN YOU REALLY CAN ENJOY THIS GAME

This game is great! I love everything about it except for the small slow tracks. So ignore the bad reviews and at least rent it.

I have been a N.F.S. fan for years and although I love the origals,
underground I & II, hot pursuit & most wanted, N.F.S shift is awsome.

The graphics are insane, audio makes you feel like your at the race track.
This game is a suprise from all the bad info I have heard & read.
In my book this a great game!!!!!!!

I'm not someone who is biased towards either Simulations or Arcade style racing games. I own titles in both parks (Burnout's, NFS:Underground's, GRID, GTR2, RFactor, RBR, Gran Turismo's), so when I saw Shift coming, I was initially excited, until I played it for an afternoon. Problem is, people looking for realism, or an actual simulation of the sport of racing are going to be horrified that races never actually last long enough to even get your tires warmed up, that is if warming your tires mattered at all in this hashed game. That's just one of many lacking features in this muddled experience, others include: tweak-able components as detailed as in GTR-2 (5yrs old now), decent physics (touted as realistic, but not at all), changing weather or day/night cycles, replay editing and export, realistic car damage, tire wear, ability to pit, and more is missing. All of those features are found in Sim's 5 yrs old or more, but not here. Lets not forget, the laughably appalling AI opponents that often crash into each other trying to get through simple turns and many other issues as well. Upgrades don't matter, as the rest of the cars just go faster the more you buy, regardless of the types you add. While I was glad to find a livery (paint job) editor that isn't half bad considering at least it works, but whats the point of painting cars that drive like garbage? This is the real shame, as its got a fantastic graphics engine to show off.
People wanting to catch that magic combo that GRID/Gran Turismo's managed to pull off between arcade and realism should just stick to those. It has none of the features that made previous NFS titles so fun, and it's sim elements are so badly executed, that any true sim fan will be ready to throw the game out the window after trying to hook up their wheel. For simulation, just get GTR-2/RFactor/Live for Speed/I-Racing. For Arcade Racing, just stick to Gran Turismo's/GRID/NFS:Underground's and Burnouts. Leave this badly hashed game alone.

Game graphics and cockpit views, get a 10... game play a 4 at best.. Not very realistic to drive a BMW underneath another BMW.. Good feel of speed.. Loved the fact that cockpit got blurry when going over 100 .. Didnt like that in my first day of play i was able to buy some of the most expensive cars game had to offer, made it feel like there was no need to achieve anything.. Over all i would give this game a 6 ..

Great Rental, Terrible Buy..

Enjoy Paul

Firstly if you feel the Need for Speed go watch Top Gun or rent Grid. Shift goes where no NFS has gone before... ULTRA REALISM. Which is quite nice.... at first. The cockpits of each car are faithful to the real life designs and the rear view mirror serving a purpose are all nice touches. The driving mechanics take quite a while to adapt to, and you
never fully get used to them, in the struggle to make every car different they end up all feeling the same: squirrely. I got roadsick at times just trying to stay off the dirt. This game falls betweens the cracks on realism, first of all, these are barely next-gen graphics with quite a bit of clipping issues. GT5 and Forza 3 are still worth waiting for after playing this. I prefer an NFS that doesn't involve Christina Milian in the plot and doesn't present a lukewarm track experiance. GRID and even Midnight Club are superior. This is another EA disappointment.

it seems to me NFS is getting weaker and weaker every year. (except for undercover that one was decent) the graphics and sound are good but its all driver simulation. No open world exploring, no cop chases. All you do is pick a race go go to the track and drive. This game might be great for some who just like to race but its not for me i enjoy the older ones with the goofy story lines, and cop chases in between races to keep me interested. fail =,( EA is taking over the world and ruining all the games

I have ever played! I have played every racing game from the first gran turismo to Dirt 1, 2, and grid. Well you get the idea.

Im sorry guys but im just being honest this game is horrible, i had a feeling it was not going to be promising beginning from the opening movie!! thats how much i lost faith....the NFS series is like on and off these past couple of years i dont know what is going on....a little about the game play.....the handling is like as if EVERY SINGLE RACE is a drift race...the handling is too too real, for those that love real driving simulation this is the game for you nothing against that, but im the type of gamer that loves GRID type of handling...i think that is the best racing game TO DATE....i am not happy with this game the graphics are ok but i think undercover was way better....all in all this is a rental for me, and im giving it back asap. Im going to go for DIRT 2 that seems promising.....overall not a fun game and im just so used to the regular style of need for speed games i guess you can say...not good....i gave it a 5 because i still love the need for speed series and i still have faith in them.

I got this game threw it in waited 10 minutes to load info to the hard drive, and began the initial testing thing. The in the car camera angle doesn't do it for me. So I change the camera to the 3rd person view (where you can see the whole car) suddenly I am playing gran turismo. The graphics look good, and the driving simulation is also pretty good. Now the problem begins...I take a corner, and use the time tested cut through the grass to pass someone....nope car slows down huge! I understand in reality this would happen, but this is a video game. If I wanted reality I would go drive my 1970 Fairlane 500 and risk running it into stuff. I am playing a game to escape reality. The big draw (at least for me) from the old NFS games was the customization of cars, and driving them like I stole them. With this it feels like gran turismo, and I gotta say the lack of older muscle cars is a huge let down for me. Gone are the 60's & 70's muscle cars instead I get MBW's galore, and cars I could never see in person let alone afford. This game reminds me a lot of NFS: Pro street (which I hated). If you are a big fan of driving sims this may be for you. If you liked undeground, most wanted, and even carbon, you may be sadly disappointed by this one.

Well, I'll keep this review fairly short and sweet. I was very excited to play this game when it came in. And first impressions were great after watching the videos. But to my dismay, the controls are NOT gran tourismo fan friendly. There is NO controller layout that will enable you to use X for gas. The only setups (which are three) are for L and R gas or R thumbstick gas and brake. I had this game going back the next day. I'll just have to wait for gt5 to get my racing kick.

Graphics are great... But that's the only plus.

This game was alright for the first 5 minutes or maybe 4 minutes I cant recall! Either way this game is not a typical NFS game. If you want cop chases and other NFS signatures do not rent this game. They tried to make this like gran torismo however its not as good. If I wanted gran turismo I would have rented that but I wanted NFS so needless to say I was severely dissapointed! The one good thing about the game is the graphics are awesome!!!!

I love need for speed games always have. Love the hot pursuit games and especially the underground games. However i am not likeing these cheap knockoffs that they are comeing out with now. Pro street was lame, I didnt care for this one either. Excellent graphics but i think thats the problem with next gen consol games now. They only care about how the game looks and skimp on the gameplay. If you are a hardcore racing game fan then i think you will like this game. However if your really into the underground games or into the gran tarismo games then this one is not for you. I think its worth renting and trying but not worth buying.

all im gonna say is if you dont like Gran Turismo you wont like this game to me i think dirt 2 is way better then this bad game i was like tryin to get n to it but i could not so i stop playing this game was makeing me mad so i send it back so if you want to rent this game dont rent dirt 2 you be happy with that trust me glad i rent was gonna buy it but this game sucks glad i with gamefly they rule

Garbage wrapped in pretty graphics is still garbage.