There are seriously overlooked features in this game. For instance, no option to "quit" or "exit" from the race in-game. You must ctrl-alt-del to get out. This is inconsistent from machine to machine. Some have it, some don't. Also there is no way to skip the long prerendered video you have already watched. After your first test race, your account does not save your progress and you must watch the video over again AND do the race. These are the simple things, EA. You're killing me. The standard for good games is MUCH higher than this.… Expand

Very good graphics; sometimes has frame rate issues. Realistic handling though, although AI is too good to be real. Sometimes drivers actually screw up, but not in this game. Other than that, solid racing overall.

Awesome game. I can't really understand the negative reviews. Have you tried to change the steering sensitivity in the controls menu? I am using the "Thrustmaster Ferrari Wireless GT 430 Scuderia" steering wheel and it's working perfect. I changed "Steering Sensitivity" to 20 and "Speed Steering Sensitivity" to 100.

I just don't understand these critics who gave this game 9 or 10. Have they even tried to play this game, cause it's almost impossible to drive straight in this game, the cars just slide all the time like cows on ice skating rink!

Worst... NFS... EVER. I thought after Pro Street they couldn't sink any lower with the series but this must be what rock bottom is like. The handling is absolutely dreadful, this game is trying to position itself as a combination of GRID and sim racing and as a result fails at doing either one of those. Went into the closet after less then half an hour of playing...

This one is good, expecially with a wheel controler. It's looking nice although Shift 2 Unleashed is now nicer. But it behaves better than S2U and also is less ressources-greedy. A good experience and a good intro for simracing games like GTR², RACE07, or iRacing.
This gives you a taste of it without beeing too difficult.

This game is a terrible excuse for a simulator, it cannot even touch the awesomeness that is Grid and Gran Turismo. The cars do not handle as they do in real life, the multiplayer is engulfed in a mostly horric community and the UI system is the most unnecessarily complicated and confusing that I have ever come across in a PC game, ruining the customization of vehicles etc..

The game is hardly playable: feels like driving a soapbox car on a greasy road. Depending on the level you choose you either spend your time spinning for no apparent reason or the computer will control too much of your driving. Cars feel slow at 60mph and you may get some sense of speed at 120mph. However graphics are pleasing.

Boring. I played it for 4h and I haven't played ever since. What else can I say?

The game has decent graphics and not arcadic drive physics. Real simulators, I suppose, have physics closer to the real, but they have low graphics. For me the game is a best tradeoff between realistic driving and good looking picture.

Good game, a bad console port. I was disappointed in the vinyl placement, seeing as it had crappy textures.
That aside, I really loved the racing in this game. You felt like you were actually in the **** of a race-car, and crashing animations were outstanding. graphics were fairly good as well.

Do. Not. Buy. This. Game. OFFENSIVELY UNTESTED.

handles like a horse and kart. Littered with technical hitches and problems. Frame rate SUCKS and i have arguably one of the best set ups its possible to have.



My Spec:

i7950 3.3ghtz
6gb ram
ssd HD
gtx480 SLI

Itâ

A nice change from the usual excuse story lines and shoehorned cut scenes. I give it an eight since the car selection is good, the tracks are standard package for simulators, the AI is not annoying and can rip you a new one if you aren't careful and the progression is actually pretty quick. Cars don't handle at their smoothest but I've only played with a controller so if someone has a high quality wheel and bothers to tweak please leave a review. I only suggest grabbing it if you need a quick fix that's semi simulator.… Expand

"0" -very bad console port: all the menus are a pain and being able to use the mouse to select stuff would be so much easier. -it doesnt add anything new to the genre, apart from non-steering cars (reminds me of gta IV) -requests an even longer-than-usual "grind" through low-tier cars before you can unlock anything worth driving. -physics engine makes for fun times, because its a joke
i dont understand why they bothered to add vinyls and such when there is no way you can see them since there is no 3rd person camera, meaning driving different cars doesnt change the experience by much. all you'll notice is better speed, etc
ive been playing and loving NFS since porche unleashed. ive completed the careers for underground 1&2; most wanted, carbon, i liked them all, yet i uninstalled shift after 2 days.. -all the (terribly boring) cutscenes (for example before and after each race) cannot be skipped.
the critics who gave this an 83 mustve been either high or very well paid.… Expand

Awesome graphics but thats about it. Driving the cars is like driving a car on scalectrix track.You get no input through the wheel.

although it does not follow the same concept of the best version of need for speed - most wanted, NFS Shift believe is the best version presented in comparison to pro street and undercover, the career mode is excellent and it becomes even better when your skills increase, experience who will not be disappointed!

Need for Speed: Shift is like a gateway drug to the world of hardcore simulations. With all driver aids on - easy opponents, automatic braking, traction control, no damage, driving line - the game's circuits can be navigated with one hand on the controller. Turn them off and it's totally different. Your opponents aggressively attack you. Take a corner at speed and you'll spin out. Crash at all and it's game over. Shift is the first racing game where I've wanted to drive using nothing but cockpit view. It's thrilling, peering over the steering wheel as the screen shakes slightly because of the speed, feeling like the car is just moments away from flight. It also seems authentic. Shift is an excellent balancing act between arcade racing and simulated driving, but there's danger when mixing styles that you end up satisfying neither group of fans. The hardcore get annoyed by all the whoosh-banging menus and lapses of detail. The common man gets intimidated by statistics and toe angles, that's why the user score is far lower than critic score. But Shift is the best attempt in a while at providing something that balances both, while providing a route for the unintiated into an imposing genre.… Expand

just beat the game. was pretty good. 1st time i installed it i didn't have a gamepad so i gave up but later i bought a gamepad and installed again. i tweaked the controls to suit my style and had a good time. what i love about the game: -graphics are stunning overall, - the cockpit view is fabulous, i played like 90% from that view -the sound is great, you can really feel the engine and the tires shredding -the career mode is excellent, you get points for everything you do, from being precise to knocking opponents off the track -the ai is pretty good, i played it on medium most of the time and its a challenge. it will kick you out the track, it will block you, it will pressure you, sometimes it will make mistakes, overall its pretty good -i love that i don't have to win every single race, it feels more natural to me when sometimes i have to struggle for 4th or 5th place on a track i don't like that much. i am sick of games where you have to win every single race like you are schumacher, this game allows you to progress without being forced to win every single race -tracks are beautiful, some of them pretty tough, some of them a joy, good mixture of real and fictional tracks -good selection of cars and supercars now what i hated about it: -controls, you must tweak a lot before you can actually drive -physics are kind of shit, most of the time i feel like driving a soap, you either oversteer or understeer through the corners, from cockpit view though the feeling is less present, but its awkward how the cars behave sometimes -drift races, hate them, the good news is you can skip them -loading times are a pain in the ass overall i loved to play it on my gamepad, i love the mixture of sim and arcade. though i beat it I will keep it and have a few races once in a while. many compare it to grid but they are totally different. i loved drift at its time but now i prefer shift… Expand

People giving this game 0 - 3 scores, what did you expect this game to be? It's a NEED FOR SPEED game! Have you played the last 5 of them? Seen what they are? They're not Sim games and never will be as long as EA is publishing. However, this game is probably the most fun I've had with NFS since Underground 2. I enjoy the sim style mixed with arcade options. Playing this with anything less than an analog gamepad is just asking for a headache. You NEED analog shoulder buttons for gas and brake or you'll never drive properly in this game. Graphics are fantastic, and the sense of speed is great (although the blurring of the gauges is kinda funky). Sounds are top notch, if you have 5.1 speakers you'll want to crank them. Cars can be a bit touchy if you don't play with the control settings to find the setup you like, so make sure you spend a good half hour tweaking until you're happy. AI can be a little funny at times, been rear ended coming into a corner more than a few times, and the take certain corners really slow. Overall great mix of sim/arcade styles. Pick it up if you aren't a nutball who expects something this isn't.… Expand

This is not a game designed for a PC audience. Console control themes permeate the game too much and make it far too annoying to play. Bad physics, terrible control, not-quite-there visuals and a half-hearted attempt at intruding into the sim genre rather than staying closer to NFS's more arcade style roots makes for a dismal game. Bring back NFS 2 SE.

This was a huge disappointment. The cars do not drive well; the AI drivers are terrible slowing down way too much at turns; and when you do inevitably hit another car, the collision physics is embarrassing. It is not a fun game to play at all. The cockpit view is unimpressive and the effects are forced. If you want to play a game with a great cockpit, try Dirt2.

Great game that requires some practice,good controller/wheel and not a poorly home built pc or some cheap off the shelf pre-built junk.

Lot's has been said here already. If you like Arcade/semi-sim racers and you own a copy of GRID don't bother with this; you will be disappointed! GRID although older, is in the opinion of this veteran sim racing driver superior in every way! If you own neither of these "games" buy GRID used for the above reason and it will be a fraction of the price. If you think this is to difficult to drive don't bother with any of the simbim driving simulations, they make this look easy. IF you want real hardcore sim racing don't bother with Shift or Grid, buy GTR2 for next to nothing. This is the pinnacle of the genera and given the decline of the excellence of PC gaming and rise of console mediocrity it will likely never be surpassed! Codemaster is our only hope. BTY Who is paying the so called expert reviewers who gave this 8 and 9 out of 10? Kudos to "PC format" for having the guts to tell everyone the truth. I'll give this 6 out of 10. If I though it was the best they could do. I would have given them 7 out of 10 but I know that they could have done a lot better if they wanted to.… Expand

Everybody who rates this game below 6 are idiots. Judging from their description of their experiences they have configured their controller improperly and that's not the game's fault. This game provides the best racing experience of any racing video game up to date.

NFS:S, while far from the simulation game it looks to be, is easily worth a rental. My main complaints are the handling and physics. Never once in the game did I go around a corner without sliding the back end. The damage engine is worthless. It's possible to slide your Aston Martin into a wall at 80MPH and come away with nothing more than a slight pull to the left. The cockpit view, however, is pretty freaking sweet. I've never been able to drive from the cockpit view, even though I'd like to consider myself a simulation driver. They're too cramped, too wide, too narrow, too whatever, to drive from. In NFS:S, however, the cockpit view is spectacular! I absolutely loved it. The blurring at speed was a little over the top, but it's not TOO bad. Like I said, worth a rental, but not MSRP.… Expand

Just played the demo for the PC. I totally recommend this game if you have a game pad. It does take some getting use to but once you do, WOW it is fun. I didn't know if I wanted to buy this at first but after playing the demo, I'm going to buy it right now! Play the demo and see for yourself.

its not the best of simulators, but it does have its level of fun. The cars are beautifully modeled and unlike most people say the handling isn't that bad, hell I'm surprised I'm able to play it properly just with the keyboard. The tracks detail is rather average but sound quality is very good. Shift does indeed have its problems but as a gamer I'm able to go beyond those problems and found myself addicted to the game. The level of car costumization is reasonable and the paint tool alows the players to express their creativity on the cars paint job. I believe the game is rather good overall and hope EA continues to improve the Shift franchise.… Expand

Its a solid game that takes genuine practice and skill to drive without the assists off, just like in real life. Has a much better engine than any other game and caters to players of all skill levels. And yes you do need a controller or wheel of some sort to play it, but what racing don't you.

An awful lot of moning minnies out there and as far as i can see completely unfounded! Granted i am playing the game on quite a high spec pc with a G25 wheel but surely the console versions cant be that different! I go home pop this on and emerse into a world of realistic racing genious every night laughing my ass of half the time at the mayhem surrounding me. The game isnt easy but neither is the real thing! It takes practice skill and wit and the rewards are also realistic. Ive never really been a fan of electronic arts...until now. GENTLEMEN START YOUR ENGINES.… Expand

Poorly optimised, flashy graphics, shitty "revolutionary" physics engine (you run your car into a wall at 200 MPH and all that happens is your fender falls off) 2008's GRID beats the crap out of this game in every way, except shiny cockpit effects and graphics... WAY overrated.

Well been looking forward to this game for a while now and to tell ya the truth... totally disappointed, the handling of these cars in this game is nothing short of crap, not fun and not worth purchasing. It would seem the highlights of EA's franchise is underground 2 which, ok wasn't THAT realistic compared to simbins games (gtr 1+2, gt legends and RACE) or to codemasters grid, but it was fun to play, gave you a fair amount of a challenge and didn't pretend to be anything that it wasn't, a true simulator. OK the graphics might be pretty but that's the only thing good i can say about it and to be honest when your immersed in a game you kinda forget all the sparkling polygons flying by because your concentrating and having fun. So my advice would be leave this drissmal game on the shelf, save 15 or 20 quid and go buy GRID, Dirt or a simbim game, i guess the next racing game to look forward to is codemasters f1 2009 game, and unlike EA, codemasters don't continually let you down.… Expand

Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Whoever wrote the physics engine for this game has obviously never driven a car above 12mph. The controls, even after careful adjustment and much trial, are atrocious. Either severe over or understeer, with no possible solution between. New in-cockpit view? Give me a break. Vision blurring as soon as the car breaks 100mph? I've never seen the gauges in my car fade to a fogged texture at speed. Feel every bump? Oh yeah. Every single one that's not there. The AI is pathetic, the driving sucks, the upgrades are the same bolt-on no-sense crap usually found in NFS games. The car stats are bar graphs. This game really is EA's attempt to make a Grid, and it's a miserable failure. If you're looking at this for your next driver, go get Grid.… Expand

Game runs smoothly on my core i7 and 4850, that wasn't a problem for me. What is a problem is that every single car feels like it's a stick of butter flying around on the track. It is impossible to drive any of these cars. There is no reason to not have default keyboard controls setup properly for a playable game.

I really tried liking the game. At first glance it looks and feels like a decent race simulator but once you dive deeper it starts to fall apart. I'm quite a racing fan and have played tons of racing games, both semi arcade and simulation, but I can't recall having so much frustration with one of them like I did with NFS Shift. There is so much wrong with this game. The controls being the main issue. I tried playing it with my xbox360 gamepad but it's just way too sensitive. Steering (which is pretty useful while driving) is so hard because your driver is turning the wheel left and right at the speed of light. There's no linear delay. Add the factor of some realistic friction and even your Fiat Panda will go ice skating after each corner. This actually concerns the main skill you'll need for the game: DO NOT SPIN OUT. In general all the opponents are way slower but don't seem to suffer from faulty monkey steering wheels. You can however tweak the controls (did didn't really work for me) and maybe a future patch will solve this problem but till then I don't recommend this game to anyone without a steering wheel (and helmet). Don't even think you can play this game with only a keyboard. Another issue are the loading times. I've quite an high-end game machine but the loading times are way too long. Most of this time the hard disk isn't active so the game is probably precalculating, which could have been done in advance and saved on disk. Even when the next event contains the same drivers, the same track, the same everything: the loading screen appears (with some very exciting hints and tips). There's a mini map in the lower right corner, which shows the track you're racing. This is ofcourse quite handy if you don't know the track and it would be alot handier if it didn't have an alpha blending of 20%. It's way too transparent to be any helpful. What I do like however was the great cockpit view. I mostly race all games in from the cockpit view but this one is without doubt the best. The fov is just right and the blur effects are great. The graphics are good/okay. But nothing near breathtaking. I've played the game on a GTX285 and it runs fine (ofcourse), but since the lack of polish in all other areas it wouldn't surprise me that you actually need quite a decent card. Don't believe the skin deep reviews on the web. A user score of 45(!) against 85 should say enough.… Expand

Very choppy, and unplayable, on even a high end machine. Physics are sloppy and arcade like. Why would you want to see your wheel and hands in motion especially when you are using a wheel and can see your own???

Reviews with 0 are ridiculous. All I can say from my experience is, that with a good racing wheel (using the thrustmaster rgt) and a bit setting-customizing the games handling (even with aids completely turned off) is in no way unplayable. Its challenging, yes. But please come on: get a grip all you cowards.

I gave 1 for graphics... it work good as expected. When I'd launch NFSS first time and run the first 2 laps I though Im just so bad and i dont understand physics of that game. After that i tryed to finish first race... it was impossible. car spinning around like twister! turning was terrible.. like online with ping 450-600. I was frustrated by cut scens taking ages to start race every restart. finaly i decide to quit. and what happed? THERE IS NO QUIT IN MENU DURING FIRST RACE !!!!!!!!!!!! that is just unforgivable. Need for Speed SHIFT is actualy WORST race game i've ever played.… Expand

Inferior to GRID in every way. The single most important point in a racing game is the handling. In Shift it's horribly broken. Graphic effects are strange, at 60mph in cockpit view you'd think youre car is falling appart. KI is dumb, too.

Phil.... Gamespot was one of the two review sites to review the game right. (The other was Eurogamer.) The rest of the sites must have been paid off by EA. Seriously, this game doesn't deserve a 6, and it is a crime to rate it a 9! The sound is terrible! What the heck is the hype! The handling and physics could have been put into a game called "Gas Powered Shopping Carts!) and been awesome, but retarded. The cockpit of my vehicle in real life does not tremble and shake when I get to 60 mph, sorry. I don't get tunnel vision at 70 either. If you hit the nitrous in this game the engine revs up no matter what speed you are going! I was going 160mph in my 700hp Camaro 2010 and hit the nitrous and it fricken went from 6000rpm to rev limiter and the speed went up 2mph! Like it was on ice. What the **** EA! The handling model from Need For Speed underground would have been better than this!… Expand

I don't think the game was as bad as some of the other before me seem to think, a bit too harsh. but the game is a disappointment. i liked the graphics, on par with Forza and Grand Turismo, but the comparisons stop there. handling and physics are really poor, especially on the supercars(which is why i bought the game in the first place). also, it looks like there is suppose to be a story line, but its extremely crappy. boss races(or rival races) don't have any meaning, unlike in previous nfs games. i personally think nfs need to go back to its roots, thats where they grew their fanbase. their gonna lose all of their support if they keep pumping out games like this.… Expand

I'll start by saying that I'm not really a 'racing-game'-fan. After playing this game, I think I've become one. I plugged in my joystick, and set the graphics to high. First I had to configure a lot of settings, but once that was done, the fun started ! This game has very nice graphics, but it sure doesn't end here. Once I started playing, I simply couldn9;t stop. The game really puts you in the driver's seat. This game might not be the most realistic racing game out there, but it sure is a lot of fun playing. And after all that's the only thing that counts. If you have a pc that fullfills the requirements, I see no reason why you shouldn't buy this game!… Expand

Although I usually purchase for the PC, this time I just wanted to try out this game on my PS3. Although the game is visually and aurally magnificent, once you're past the first few tiers and get into the higher level cars, the game just falls apart. As previously mentioned here, the bugs simply prevent this game from getting any higher of a score. It took me forever to beat the Bugatti Veyron Invitational thanks to the bouncing physics problem, and then when I did, the game caused my PS3 to reset to the XMB! That's happened over 4 times since I started playing on Friday. That's simply ridiculous! It blows my mind the review that have been given by the above websites. Did they play it any farther than Tier 2? Just a horrible, horrible job...where was the QA on this game? EA still hasn't learned that the developers need time to get things right. I expect more from a Console game. I expect it to be near bug-free and to just work. Now, console games are apparently no different than what has become of PC gaming. Release then Patch. EA has reall screwed the pooch on this one. I'm returning it on Monday and picking up GRID or Dirt 2 instead. Shame on the professional reviewers, too! You guys have lost alot of respect from me on this one!… Expand

It took a bit of tweaking to get the controls adjusted, but once that was done the game is great. It's not the kind of game you can just floor it and go, nor is it the best simulator out there, it's just something fun. Kind of a cross between the simulation and arcade styles. The cars them selves don't match their real world equivalents, but meh, it's still a fun game.

Seriously anyone who gave this game a high score works for EA and is simply uploading good reviews. Why is there no one who says the game is alright but needs to improve in certain areas? because its a huge propaganda campaign: 1. get all the reviewers and, well, employees to say how great this game is. 2. Watch as it sells millions of copies. 3. Laugh as you go to the bank! Seriously don't buy this game and when you read a good review of this game don't believe it, what have I got to gain by saying its a bad game when actually it's a good game? it is the worst game ever!!!… Expand

You cannot be serious? Why is this game getting high ratings? Graphically, this game is sound. A few glitches here and there, but otherwise visually stunning: and that's where the good stuff ends. The cars handle like shopping trolleys whether you're using a steering wheel or a gamepad, whether you have all the assists on or off, it's makes absolutely zero difference to whether your car handles like it's supposed to. I am constantly wrestling with every car, some may say this is how a simulation is supposed to be... all lies. a simulation is supposed to be realistic. This game however, is not; even as an arcade racer, it just isn't fun to play. If there was ever a case where the high-profile reviewers were allured by EA, this is it. Shocking game, if you want to buy a decent racing game until F1 2010 comes out, may I suggest Grid, GTR2 or Dirt.… Expand

Wow, impressed. I thought GRID was the best it could be but I was wrong. NFS: Shift is good for multiple reason. On PC, it looks really good. Cars are incredibly detailed. The dashboards are incredible. I could play on very high detail with 16x AF and 2x AA and it was really fluid except on some rare occasion when you'd have 8-10 cars bumping on each other in a curve. It's really not serious however. The controls are really advanced. If you play with a gamepad, you really can't use experience steering. I did it for half of the game. It works but it's really frustrating and I don't recommend it. Playing on normal with adjusted deadzones and sensibility, it started to shine. All the curves were tricky and rewarding but not frustrating. AI is tough. I'm playing at medium and I'm regularly beaten. You can't really win without going a bit on the risky side. I guess it could be easier if I bumbed other cars more but I don't find it as fun as going for precision and working my way up by making perfect corners. The game XP system is rewarding. Making perfect corner (following the help line while not touching another car or grass and by following speed guideline) marked the curve as Mastered. If you master all the curves of a track, you get a kind of achievement. Great stuff. I also like that you get point when you cleanly pass someone. If you trade paint, you'll also get points however so.. whatever happen, you never feel screwed. Always finish race because even if you loose, you'll get XP for the track. So it's still great stuff. You can also concentrate to master curve for example. The physic can be a bit screwed up however. It's easy to completely lift another car in the air by just going for his back-side. It's a bit weird and when it happen, cars looks like toys. When you crash in a wall or take a car from the side, it looks perfect however. You get AWESOME feedback with blur and the screen desaturate. You really get confused youself and seriously.. crashing hurts. It's so good in fact that I hope to see more game do that. The driver animations inside the car are awesome too. When taking a rough turn, you see the driver really holding the wheel hard and going with all his strength. You can almost feel the Gs yourself. To me, it's more technical than GRID by far. Grid had more arcade feel, even if it's awesomely rewarding too. In Grid, I can absently do a track and win. In NFS, you can't. You have to really focus on the track and put a little somehting that'll make a difference. Tracks are beautiful. Some curves are really tricky and the line help really had to the driving experience. I haven't finish the game yet but I'm on Tier 3 now. What I didn't like was that the tracks were often only 2 laps. It makes things really short and if you don't go aggressive from the very beginning, you just can't win. I would have prefered 4 laps or something like that. I'll have to see if I can change that for career. I know you can in Quick Race however. You seem REALLY limited in term of racing type. You get Racing, Drift, Battles, Time Attack. I liked Grid Drift FreeStyle and the Togue. Time attack just feel exactly like Races but lap-time count instead of race time. Battles are even less fun. While technical, it feel a bit plain to me and if you crash, there seem to be an elastic logic where the AI will go less fast. I didn't like it. The game is still worth trying however, really. I don't call it a definitive buy but if you're looking for a new racing game and are interested by racing simulation, I'd take this. You'll get challenged by every corners! If you prefer a more arcade feel, take GRID. Drift is REALLY tricky. I only tried it on experienced handling. I'll have to try again. It took me a long time to even get the race and I never did one cleanly. Definitely more technical. 8.7/10 ATI HD4870, Intel E8400, 4GB of RAM and Win7.… Expand

I'm getting old... While during the time of NFS the first and NFS SE my TT rankings were on a hair length from the world record without having to dedicate one bedroom for a formula 1 cockpit Fair play, playability (Sidewinder 3d pro) and days of training motivated by an unrivaled sense of immersion of open road driving supercar feeling NFS Shift lets down quickly. Driving skills need to be maintained. You really thinks that after 15 years you can still handle a super car? + Graphics they are very ok especially in motion + Sounds of engines: lovely + Sense of speed + We can buy some upgrades -Drifting occurs at slow speeds on roads that are wide as a highway (I hereby thank 89 Audi 80 Turbodiesel with Econo 175 width tires for saving my life many times at high speed 90km / hr corners) -Learning curve by fake realism -Tuning controls can be a pain (unlike Grid, you have to quit your race to fine tune sensitivity, dead point etc,... Crazy) -No damage model, no punishment, no total loss. (apart from the hood obstructing your view) -because of no damage model you can skillfully use other cars as means of braking -because lacking damage model results in lack of tension and educational value like in Toca 3 (cars are supposed to be higly vulnarable to impact / abuse just like the humans they contain) Despite the renewed realism touch, NFS Shift's damage model is so bad it compares to playing a FPS in god mode. I can reassure those of you preferring the god mode racing that the all times standard view where you "control" the care by floating in the air 10m behind your car is still available (tradition dating from the times that rendering a cockpit was technically impossible.) Missed chance. I see no evolution here so I can only conclude this game is aimed at the next army of teenagers that plays their first likewise racer.… Expand

Overly generic racing game with sub-par handling and controls, boring career progression, AI that doesn't function on the same rule set as the player, the list goes on. The game looks good though and a lot of people seem to be basing their entire decision on whether or not this is a good game on the graphics. One thing must be noted, approx 40% of the races in career mode do not use your car that you customise throughout the game. Overall, a very disappointing game.… Expand

A broad range of tracks, cars, challenges and upgrades make for a promising new title from EA. However, poorly executed physics and unrewarding gameplay dissapoint all round. The game has a very uneven learning curve where smaller races are far too easy and then become disproportionally more difficult with each progression through the game. If you're likely to be using the keyboard rather than a wheel, don't buy this game, buy GRID instead. The controls are so unforgiving that all the rear wheel drive cars (almost all of the top-end ones) are unusable because of uncontrolable oversteer round the gentlest of corners. If you do have a wheel, you still won't be impressed as the physics and car control are well below standard. The graphics are completely unremarkable and don't measure up to Gran Turismo 3 on a PS2. In particular, dissapearing objects and cars in the rear-view look rubbish. Despite being relatively large compared to other titles like GRID, the game feels poorly finished and generally unsatisfying. It just doesn't measure up.… Expand

Fantastic game which makes my heart race every time I fire it up. The most fun I've had with a near-simulated driving game. Totally realistic graphics and gameplay, but take the time to configure your controller yourself - it's worth it. Runs great on my ATi (AMD) HD4850x2 on crossfire @ 1920x1200 all highest settings >50 fps. Single GPU works fine with AA turned down or off. I pity those who had a hissyfit and given this a low score without looking further into it. Adjust your settings and you'll love the game. Zero? How immature.… Expand

Great driving game. Everyone who is giving this game a bad score must be flippin retarded. I have never played a racing sim that is this good. When Im playing in the cock pit view with a 7.1 surround sound system and a 24 in. monitor it really feels like i am driving the vehicle. I get so into i am startled when im actually wrecking feeling the shock of impact. Once again i must say great game. The only flaw is that it is to easy to make money to buy the best cars. Other than that the gameplay is flawless.… Expand

I was really looking forward to this, the nfs franchise moving forward in what i thought was the correct way, although i do miss the old ones (cop chases in particular) This game is pretty bad. It try's to be semi realistic, yes maybe the cockpits are kind of there, however, the handling of the cars is rediculous. utterly brainless. The graphics are too. Lots of nice flashy rubbish, which doesnt represent anything close to even semi realism. Its all very tacky. oh so tacky.. its even tackier than the underground series. It feels more like a meeting in a car park with your suped up corsa than any other nfs game. The controls are also really really bad... I tried and failed to get any kind of feeling of the cars with my logitech g25. The sensitivity is all over the place, and the same goes with the deadzone, no matter how hard i try to mess around with the settings, its either way too sensitive or i not at all.. Some of the reviews ive read are laughable, 9.0's and 80%+ haha, it almost makes me wonder if they are paying the magazines/reviewers to give it an obviously fake score... This was the nail in the coffin for nfs. once an amazing cop chasing/robber chasing thrill ride, to a local meet up at tesco's car park with a few chavs, who have the brainpower of 0. what a joke....(although the gfx are nice :P ).… Expand

FOR THOSE OF U WHO SAY THAT U CAN KEEP CONTOL OF THE CAR AFTER 60 MHP, U R IDOITS WHO CANT CONTROL THE CAR. DON'T PLAY RACING IF U SUCK

NFS SHIFT ONE OUT YET. THE GAME IS JUS THOUGH FOR THE PROS. DON'T COMPLAIN UNLESS U PLAYED IT. AND DONT COMPLAIN IF U STINK.
10/10 FOR NFS

A polished turd, clearly made for consoles, with little respect shown to the PC. Has a capable engine deep within, which is severely dumbed down to appeal to the mediocre console masses. An obvious attempt by EA to maximize profits by trying to be a sim and an arcade racer in one with watered down results. They have made a lot of money with it, but it's one big sell out.

For all those that expected it to be street racing, its not. Thats why everyone is giving it bad reviews. i have played the game a lot. got used to it and turns out its not bad at all. Car selection is amazing, just cant see it beating forza motorsport 3. Personally i was expecting street racing but its not. theres no other leading games designers doing street racing games i wonder why.

This is not only the worst NFS game ever, it is the worst racing simulation for a PC ever. It is simply appalling in every way. Even if they get to patching it, they surely have blown the Christmas season by letting this out in such a state. I'm returning mine and getting another copy of RFactor instead. Just mind-boggling how poor the final product turned out.

This game is a complete fail. If you are looking for a solid sim racer, this is not it. It is not realistic at all, graphics are cheap, control and feeling is horrible. This game is not worth your money, don't believe the critics and avoid this game. I'm giving this game a 1 just because it ran flawlessly on a GTX 280, 4GB DDR2, Q9550 4Ghz, 19x10 res, and every setting at almost max. And even then, the graphics are still cheap and fake.… Expand

First of all, to all these tools saying about how bad the handling is, it is because you have it on easy, and your playing with a keyboard. Before even thinking of commenting on how a racing game handles play it on a Logitech G25 and on the Simulation settings. I laugh at these idiots complaining how bad the physics and handling is when they are playing it with WASD or arrows. Second of all, this game is only 1 in 3 NFS games coming out for real systems. The other 2 is a free run game set in Carbon and Most Wanted and is only online where you have a sandbox mode and play with people around the world. The other game is a tuner game made by Criteron. So obviously this game is made to please the semi-arcade gamers. IMO, this game is very enjoyable when played wiht a simulation spec wheel and there is nothing better than going round the 'Ring in a Zonda R, as this game does perfectly. Please wait until the other NFS come before complaining that its not like MW or Underground.… Expand

Can i just say, that this game is absolutely awful. ive been a fan of need for speed since the glory days of hot pursuit, i enjoyed playin underground 1&2 over and over, after that tho, the nfs series just got worse and worse. i seen it advertise on the telly, this shift, and thought it looks good, granted its nice to look at, and has good graphics, but the game play is rubbish, the physics arent even there i dont think, there is no sense of control as soon as you hit high speed, it feels as tho your driving on ice. my computer is an alienware, with core i7 extreme processor, and a gtx295 graph card, and it still runs absoloutly shoking. this game is a waist of time and money, if i were you, get a 360 and wait for forza 3, for those who have played previous forza games, youll no its amazing and its generally brilliant.… Expand

What the hell is this garbage you see the ads on tv and wow it looks amazing you read the reviews on IGN and gamespot (until now i respected their reviews) and your thinking finally a good NFS since underground 1 & 2. when in reality you sit down to play, admitably the graphics are very pretty but sadly that's where it ends. As soon as you hit 60MPH it feels like somebody has replaced your suspension with pogo sticks the cars cant even drive in a straight line without losing control. This has to be one of the worst driving games on handling and physics since the PS1 days and i have played loads of Driving games since then. If you want a Sim get Race07 GTR or Forza if you want Arcade get GRID until something else comes along that honestly is better. All i can say is roll on forza 3 good times to come :) avoid this EA lack of creativity garbage EA big boys are killing the industry by eating up all the little boys they are killing the imagination that came from the numerous small guys that used to be out there how long are we the consumer going to put up with this and this trend that has been happening since the beginning of this decade. slightly mad studios is about the most appropriate name i could come up for the developers you have to be mad if you think this absolute s**t is going to compete with Forza, Grid, Colin Mcrae and dare i say the evil PS3 Gran Turismo (lol) all these titles leave you standing eating their brake dust if you had any sense of decency you should call in a product recall redevelop this tripe and refund all the mugs like myself that believed the paid of reviewers and the well presented ad campaigns. (i did give it a fair attempt of 2 days of frustration i cant take no more after upgrading my RX8 to max spec it still handles like a robin reliant with two fat ladies sat in the back).… Expand

I would have given it 9/10 if it could run on 4870 the way it run on GTS 250, but bugs are PC user`s way of life. Has terrible AI and super cars are not realistic, e.g Bugati beaten by a Zonda and muscle cars are undriveable. Compared to Grid, the game is big and has replayable value, but it looks to be a rushed job. To be honest, with all problems i enjoyed it and playing it on higher difficulty second time around and am more experienced to deal with the AI and the racing line… Expand

Simply awful game. Deserves a negative vote.

How did this game pass the testing phase? It's awful on every level. The graphics are dull and lifeless, the engine is old, the gameplay is static and repetitive but worst of all is the handling is akin to doing aerobics in cement. The NFS really dropped the ball on this one.

Wow. 85 average according to critics and only 5 out of 10 according to users? this shows that either critics are all sucking up to companies and thus should not be trusted... or are completely out of touch with the gamers and thus... should not be trusted. what a paradox! but seriously. giving this fish 85? that's hypocrisy. GRID or GTR are not dead yet to warrant the urge of gamers to buy anything with a word 'racing' in the description. hence, if you have any of the mentioned games, you already own a game more advanced, better looking and handling than SHIFT.… Expand

Great driving game, runs smooth with e8600 + 8800GT and 4GB ram + Vista. Good physics, very good. But the controls are bit sloppy. Not very sharp. Great engine sounds. Who needs music if you can listen to the roaring engines. And stop complaining about bad physics and sliding cars. This game requires that you use brakes too ;) Great and lots of fun. Every racing game fan should pick this up. Good mix or realism and arcade. Best racing game of the year so far. NFS Rebirth indeed.… Expand

the look of the game is great while the playability is very poor. The AI are like god drivers at times while the controls for the user seem very delayed resulting in alot of over and under steering.
maybe looking at the game play before the graphics is a better option.
this is all based on the PC version.

Well , only thing counting for this game is the graphics . Handling is useless, with the game assists on your never really in control .When you put them of the car is imposable to control. even when you put the steering sensitivity on 1% its still way to sensitive.And most of the reviewers like cockpit camera change but whats the use of it if you can only use it with a xbox remote. ITS A PC GAME !!!!… Expand

It's one of the best in the Need For Speed series. It runs well on my pc but frame rate drops somewhat where there are a lot of cars driving close to you.The physics are better than any of the previous versions, but not perfect. I do think racing games should be slightly forgiving due to the fact that even with a racing wheel, it's still not quite like a real steering wheel. Trying to put vinyls on cars in this game is too time consuming. You don't have the ability to mirror the vinyls. This game (though there is still room for improvement) is way better than the last few NFS games that were released.… Expand

This is the worst racing game I've have ever come across. It's a complete and utter mess. There is a massive stickied complaint thread over at EA: Shift Technical forum from those using AMD hardware. Issues are but not limited to stutter, microstutter (with single video card with high FPS), pausing, warping, and lower then expected frame rates regardless of resolution with reduced IQ settings. Some tracks simply crash/loop or have black sky boxes. Other reported server input lag or the game simply doesn't work at all. The majority of complaints seem to come from those with Radeon video cards and/or using AMD CPUs. Some nvidia users are not immune to this but they are the exception not the rule. Some believe that the issue is the use of CPU physx. PC Game Hardware states that physx is used in this game for low level calculation, etc. As for the actual game play the AI is horrendous. They play as if you are online against users who are playing a racing game for the 1st time. That's the best description I can provide you. You have AI rammers, AI who slow down for no reason, will block you from passing, etc. There is an unnatural oversteer to cars that are upgraded. Or the car would unnaturally slide around mild corners at lower speeds. The tuning aspect of this game isn't working properly were under/over steer sliders may have been switched. Also some reported having to restart a race more then once to get their tuned settings to work with that vehicle. I can go on and on about this game but it's obvious wasn't ready to be released. The only truth to this game is that it has a higher poly count then Grid. This is using the original released version using the 1st patch.… Expand

I couldn't give the PC version more than a five just on principle alone do not let the high metascore sway you. Bad optimization, I have a medium-high end computer and this game runs awful. Serious control issues, you literally skid around the entire map as the tires consisted of melted butter. Lack of customization, I could go on and on and on but it's easier to say this game isn't worth entire ones time.… Expand

Due to the fact that this game actually works on my computer, I can rate it properly. I'm lucky. I have: Phenom II X3 720 HIS 4870 1GB PC USB Xbox Controller Works fine, except for slow load times which I'll get back to. I've played a lot of Forza 2, so I come from a background of half-sims, and I personally love this game. The rewards system is not perfect but being rewarded for smashing into other cars is quite fun (very unrealistic but if I really wanted to race a car I'd race a car, not play a game.) The cars are excellent, they all mostly oversteer but that's fine I find it challenging, and best of all all of the tracks are extremely bumpy which is something I haven't experienced in a game before. However, the load times are immense, and for this reason I do not play it. As a game, it is very good and very fun. As a technical feat, it is a horrific failure. Only buy it if you have a solid state drive and you feel lucky. Game reviewed is version 1.1 (first patch). Score (game itself): 8 Score (game including optimisation for PC).… Expand

Hi guys, m really surprised to see negative ratings for this game by users. M playing this game from last 2 days and i must say this is definitely one of the best racing games ever. And as described by "palindrome e" in his review, i did not have any framerate issue even though i have moderate system with all bells and whistles turned on with 2x antialising. Please any one want to buy the game and are avoidin to buy it by reading these reviews, please do buy it. Coz its one of the best games of 2009. My computer configuration P-IV Core 2 Duo. 2.2 MHz, 2 GB ram, Win7, Geforce 9800gt 512 mb.… Expand

This game is a terrible attempt at being a Forza-esque game. If you can even make it run on your PC, you are greeted with poor framerates on a DX-9.0c game. I'm running a 955BE and an HD4890 and get 30-50fps with some goodies turned off. Physics are terrible, the AI has the ability to not oversteer, you as the player are not so lucky. EA support is non-existent on their forums. Playability issues are the main problem, but the moderators have suddenly disappeared when SHIFT came out... wonder why? If you need a racing game now, get Dirt 2 for xbox360 or ps3. I'd avoid this game at all costs.… Expand

Having just tried the demo I have to say that I'm damned glad I didn't pre order this piece of junk. I thought this was supposed to be a return to the roots of NFS, well I hate to tell you this, but the original NFS kicks this thing into the dirt (and it was all down hill from NFS2). With a steering wheel, this thing has worse handling than my 18 year old Nissan Sunny, and that's clocked over 100K miles and so at least has an excuse for slightly naff and vague controls. The AI is a complete joke, every single one of them would get black flagged before managing two laps for their driving standards, it ends up as a crash fest throuhg being brake check on the EXIT to a corner, really realistic. All this has got going for it, is it looks nice, otherwise it would have got 0..... save your money and get Race On or if you want an arcade racer, there are plenty to go for (not my cup of tea), this half arsed concoction should have been strangled at birth.… Expand

It's rubbish! Frame rate is all over the place on an oc'd QX6700, 8800GTX SLI, 4Gb Ram. Feels choppy even when the frame rate is relatively high. Laggy controls too. Whatever your preferences about style of racer the various GTRs and Grid are technically in another league to this. I too am suspicious about the wildly varying review scores for this game - not only many review sites, but also in this user review section. Any employees of EA with us here?… Expand

Ever feel like playing a racing game where the driver is mentally handicapped? Well here's your chance! Over-done camera movements. Imagine going 100kmh/60mph and violently shaking your head from side to side for no apparent reason. When was the last time you did that on a highway? Oh right, never. Terrible car physics. EVERY single car oversteers. No amount of tuning or suspension upgrades resolves this. Not to mention every little bump causes your car to hop. Only adding to the already bad camera. Very poor controls. The steering always feels delayed, like the driver never used a steering wheel before. Only redeeming qualities: Good sense of speed and in-car view. That's it.… Expand

The media kept on telling us that this NFS was NFS back at it's best, that after a few dodgy (disgraceful efforts imo) releases the franchise was saved with Shift. Well, i'm not sure about who has been paying them to say this because NFS: Shift should have been called NFS: Alt+F4. Awful AI, dodgy handling at all levels, slow load times in places, and presentation that would easily induce an epileptic fit to those who don't even suffer from it. EA Games once again proving that they have eaten up so many decent developers that what comes out is a mish mash of good ideas with no substance. Maybe EA are finally reaping the ignorance that they have sewed over the past few years of bully tactics.… Expand

The game is great in any way the music is outstanding,the cinematics are great,the only thing that bugs me is the control.They wanted to make the game as realistic as possible but it makes it too hard to play with a keyboard so i think that they make the controls like MW or Carbon and turn of the realistic control for keyboard and only activate it when a controller with wheels and gas pedal is connected… Expand

Without playing the game, I can tell that something suspicious is going on here. While metascore holds a score of 86 and the users claim it's only worth a 5.0, something is definitely odd here. I heard horrific stories about the bad optimization of the game, and I have a hunch that EA is yet again tries to pull some tricks here to get high reviews from official sources, or just no one dares to offend them because of their full wallets and influence on the industry.… Expand

This is a top racer - default controls (steering dead zone etc) are dodgy and as others have said cause problems with spinning on tight tracks. get the controls right and no other game gives you the same feeling on speed.

Simply put, Need for Speed: Shift is the best racing game to come out in recent years. The immersion and driving experience is absolutely incredible, the graphics are stunning and the sound is awesome. Please do not listen to the haters.

Not perfect, but a refreshingly fun racing game that is well done in all aspects, something most games can't claim. Sure there are no new ideas, but when you have fallen so far, you go back with what you know works. I voted 10 cause readers are morons. No replays? all you do is slide? clearly you have something configured wrong or badly. Not the games fault.

This game is absolute horse manure. When I heared there was a new Need for Speed game out I was quite excited, I was expecting an arcade style thriller similar to the likes of Underground one and two or carbon. When I actually played the game however I soon realised that this is a completely different game probably designed by a team that doesn't even know the makers of underground and carbon. The game itself is a poor atempt at a realistic racing simulator game. The whole engine is fataly flawed, the cars handel worse than any vehicle I have ever come across, the graphics seem like they are modern graphics pasted on to an outdated engine and the in game loading times are ridiculous especially when you think about what it is you're waiting for. A game that I generously gave a 4/10. It is unclear what style the design team were going for when creating this game and I suspect this game is the result of too many ideas with poor implementation. In summary I would recommend this game to no one, it is a waste of money and the Need for Speed franchise need to realise we dont want games like Shift or even pro street, we want games like underground or most wanted. If you are looking for a fun arcade racing classic go for Race Driver Grid (PC). If on the other hand you are looking for a realistic driving sim GTR2 Evolution (PC) is not great but alot better than this. On the other hand if you own an Xbox get Forza 2.… Expand

Jim two times more or less sums up this mish mash of a game...un skipable videos arghhhh!!!!!....stupid arcade style menus!! arghhhh... what is the point of going to all the trouble of trying to inject some realism into this game with gtr2 staff in its design team then give it dumb stupid menus with awkward retarded navigation!... And No option to quit the first race!...i got so fed up with the extreme unrealistic handling and stupid spinning ... And the pc requirements are very demanding so dont even bother unless you have an up to date top notch setup!.... i have given this a 2.....under the bonnet lies a nice game...but its spoilt by so many stupid restrictions and a daft points system which unlocks cars and tracks!...its a typical 12 yr olds wam bam race me mam type of stupid arcadey racer...it could have been so much more but in the end its not worth the frustration! How the meta score is so high i can only assume some back handers have gone on with the review sites!....still at least we get the chance to give our opinions thank god...avoid this game..it will only end in tears and frustration!… Expand

Jim twotimes is just plain lying... there ARE replays and you CAN skip the cut scenes! Not sure what game he was playing; and as for the the frame-rate maybe it's your PC which is the problem!? Cause on my 'recommended-spec' PC it works perfectly with everything on high. Be more accurate before you feed garbage to people who visit the site. As for SHIFT, it's not perfect, but it comes very very close!… Expand

It's a very welcome departure from the whole kiddie arcade pimp my ride flavor of the prior entries in the series. This is the most visceral racer I've played that gives you a realistic sense of speed, feel of the road, and power of the cars. It's more fun than Forza or Turismo, and more realistic than GRID or DIRT. It runs perfectly smoothly on my 1.5-year-old system. The game can be played as either a simulation racer or an arcade racer as the handling mode can be adjusted to suit professional simulation down to beginner arcade mode driving assists, and the AI can be changed in difficulty. A lot of people who are complaining about the handling simply don't know how to drive with the added realism and should probably just decrease the handling mode, decrease the AI difficulty, and increase the number of driving assists used.… Expand

Unplayable under ATI graphic cards: 25 fps with a 4870x2. Ridicolous. And ridicolous all the review on internet giving 9 to this piece of ...STAY AWAY!!

The 87 metascore doesn't make any sense, it seems like they just copied their reviews from their console section. Anyway, realistic? I dont think spinning out all the freaking time is realistic, these are proper cars so they should handle properly. It's too easy on the easier difficulties so im stuck at the harder ones. First bend, even if you enter it at 5 mp/h gets me spinning, and it doesnt stop spinning until I finish. Before EA tries to make a 'realistic' nfs again they should take a good look at games like GRID and DIRT.… Expand

With a Metascore of 85% and a user rating of 4.5 there has to be something fishy here. After the first races if have to say that i can't support the high Metascore. The games has some serious issues: - The AI Even after a very bad first race i was classified as Experienced, so i set it to Pro :) With the AI set to Medium i was easily seconds ahead. With the AI on Hard i was still doing good. Well, not all the time, read on. - The handling Well, on the first tracks i did good. On the last of the first 5 the car handled very different and i had almost no chance of winning. So i went back and set the driver level back to Experienced. Now it was just too easy to drive around. It is also a balance issue. If you set it to Experienced it is too easy. If you set it to Pro it is too hard. - more handling I know that early cars are not really good, but on the later tracks my RX8 felt really bad on Pro. No matter what i did it was spinning almost all the time. Little error here, spin, little error there, spin. In the winding and tight tracks it was useless. It felt like the game just wants to spin you and there is simply no chance of recovering. - even more handling i normally use the hood camera, but the game starts with the cockpit cam. What i immediately noticed was the sluggish response of the steering wheel. It responded like it was pulled by a rubber string. And this is exactly how the driving feels. This makes it even harder to try to catch the car's rear. And many times the car was just swinging from one side to the other like an old car. With full level 1 upgraded on a sports car this shouldn't happen. I have driven Colin McRae Dirt and GRID where the response is perfect. These are proper racing games. The car response is direct and you can immediately feel the reaction of the car to your action on the controls. Then you can struggle with the track, you improve yourself, you race the opponents. In NFSS you struggle with the handling mostly. I don't feel like i am racing, more like a test driver in a bad car. I can't concentrate on the race because the car feels so bad. But a big disappointment is the way NFS is going. I played all PC NFS titles and it was a great series. But it was going downhill. In the beginning NFS was about racing on public roads with sport/supercars, also against the police. Now it is closed circuit racing, which is rather boring. I can't understand how editors can say that it catches the spirit of NFS. It doesn't.… Expand

Awful game, no replays, unskippable cut scenes, cant quit the first race, wont alt+enter for win mode, very poor presentation, frame rate all over the place, etc, etc.. There is a good game in here, but everything surrounding the racing is sub par, and not up to what we expect in 2009.

It's bad even for Electronic-Arts-console-game standards. Bad optimization, lack of realism, I hope crisis will soon finish EA and his shareholders.